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closeGenetics is then handling the baton to anthropology
Posted by HuiLiYale on 04 Apr 2008 at 16:51 GMT
In this paper, we demonstrated how the geography of a gene with clear functions was associated with culture. The distribution of ADH1B gene diversity, which is an important role in the alcohol metabolism and others, is consistent with the ethnic distribution in East Asia. That is, the populations from the same ethnic phylum always exhibit the same traits of ADH1B gene. In the paper, we compared the ethnic and culture distributions with the distribution of ADH1B diversity and selection signal. The Oriental types with the non-synonymous polymorphism appear in the populations with major diet of vegetable food. The Oriental type 2 has an additional derived allele in the regulatory region of ADH1B gene compared to the Oriental type 1. Oriental type 1 was mainly found in two southern ethnic phyla, Daic and Austronesian, while Oriental type 2 was found to be dominant in Han Chinese, Hmong, Koreans, and Japanese. We also examined the natural selection on this gene in each population. Strong signal of positive selection can only be found in two ethnic phyla, Hmong and Altaic (including Koreans and Japanese). Therefore, we argued that some cultural factors must have played a role in the formation of the ethnically related distribution of ADH1B gene diversity. Genetics is then handling the baton to anthropology.
RE: Genetics is then handling the baton to anthropology
HuiLiYale replied to HuiLiYale on 04 Apr 2008 at 17:01 GMT
A figure with maps of culture distribution and genotype distribution is available from following URL:
http://li-hui.net/documen...
