The epigenomic landscape of African rainforest hunter-gatherers and farmers.

ABSTRACT: The genetic history of African populations is increasingly well documented, yet their patterns of epigenomic variation remain uncharacterized. Moreover, the relative impacts of DNA sequence variation and temporal changes in lifestyle and habitat on the human epigenome remain unknown. Here we generate genome-wide genotype and DNA methylation profiles for 362 rainforest hunter-gatherers and sedentary farmers. We find that the current habitat and historical lifestyle of a population have similarly critical impacts on the methylome, but the biological functions affected strongly differ. Specifically, methylation variation associated with recent changes in habitat mostly concerns immune and cellular functions, whereas that associated with historical lifestyle affects developmental processes. Fu

SUBMITTER: Fagny M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4674682 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature