Dataset Information

Tracing pastoralist migrations to southern Africa with lactase persistence alleles.

ABSTRACT: Although southern African Khoisan populations are often assumed to have remained largely isolated during prehistory, there is growing evidence for a migration of pastoralists from eastern Africa some 2,000 years ago, prior to the arrival of Bantu-speaking populations in southern Africa. Eastern Africa harbors distinctive lactase persistence (LP) alleles, and therefore LP alleles in southern African populations may be derived from this eastern African pastoralist migration. We sequenced the lactase enhancer region in 457 individuals from 18 Khoisan and seven Bantu-speaking groups from Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia and additionally genotyped four short tandem repeat (STR) loci that flank the lactase enhancer region. We found nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms, of which the most frequent is -14010(?)C, which was previously found to be associated with LP in Kenya and Tanzania and to exhibit a strong signal of positive selection. This allele occurs in significantly higher frequency in pastoralist groups and in Khoe-speaking groups in our study, supporting the hypothesis of a migration of eastern African pastoralists that was primarily associated with Khoe speakers. Moreover, we find a signal of ongoing positive selection in all three pastoralist groups in our study, as well as (surprisingly) in two foraging groups.

SUBMITTER: Macholdt E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5102062 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Tracing pastoralist migrations to southern Africa with lactase persistence alleles.

Macholdt Enrico E Lede Vera V Barbieri Chiara C Mpoloka Sununguko W SW Chen Hua H Slatkin Montgomery M Pakendorf Brigitte B Stoneking Mark M

Current biology : CB 20140403 8

Although southern African Khoisan populations are often assumed to have remained largely isolated during prehistory, there is growing evidence for a migration of pastoralists from eastern Africa some 2,000 years ago, prior to the arrival of Bantu-speaking populations in southern Africa. Eastern Africa harbors distinctive lactase persistence (LP) alleles, and therefore LP alleles in southern African populations may be derived from this eastern African pastoralist migration. We sequenced the lacta ...[more]

PMID: 24704073

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background: Whether high dairy consumption is related to longevity is still unclear, and additional studies of prospective cohorts with high-quality dietary data from populations with wide consumption ranges are needed. Objective: To examine the association between dairy consumption and mortality in a Swedish cohort. Design: Among 26,190 participants (62% females, 45-73 years old) without diabetes and cardiovascular disease from the population-based Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort, 7,156 individuals died during a mean follow-up time of 19 years. Data on intake of dairy (non-fermented milk, fermented milk, cheese, cream and butter) were collected from 7 day food records and food questionnaires. A genetic marker (rs4988235) associated with lactase persistence was detected among 22,234 individuals born in Sweden. Results: Higher intakes up to 1,000 g/day of non-fermented milk were associated with only marginal higher mortality rates after adjusting for potential confounders. However, intakes above 1,000 g/day (1.5% of the population) were associated with 34% (95% CI: 14, 59%, p-trend=0.002) higher mortality compared to that with < 200 g/day. Fermented milk and cheese intake were inversely associated with mortality. Cream showed a protective association only among men. Butter was not associated with mortality. CT/TT genotype carriers (i.e., individuals with lactase persistence) had a 27% higher reported consumption of non-fermented milk, and non-significant higher mortality risk (HR = 1.08; 95% CI = 0.96, 1.23; p = 0.20) than CC genotype carriers. Conclusions: Higher mortality rates were mainly observed among participants consuming more than 1,000 g of non-fermented milk per day. In contrast, fermented milk and cheese were associated with lower mortality. Because dairy products differ in composition, it is important to examine them separately in their relation to health and disease. The use of a genetic variant as an objective marker of lactose-containing milk intake should be examined in relation to mortality in a larger population.

Dataset Information

Tracing pastoralist migrations to southern Africa with lactase persistence alleles.

Publications

Tracing pastoralist migrations to southern Africa with lactase persistence alleles.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets