Shorter telomere length in Europeans than in Africans due to polygenetic adaptation

Matthew E.B. Hansen; Steven C. Hunt; Rivka C. Stone; Kent Horvath; Utz Herbig; Alessia Ranciaro; Jibril Hirbo; William Beggs; Alexander P. Reiner; James G. Wilson; Masayuki Kimura; Immaculata De Vivo; Maxine M. Chen; Jeremy D. Kark; Daniel Levy; Thomas Nyambo; Sarah A. Tishkoff; Abraham Aviv

doi:10.1093/hmg/ddw070

Shorter telomere length in Europeans than in Africans due to polygenetic adaptation

Matthew E.B. Hansen, Steven C. Hunt, Rivka C. Stone, Kent Horvath, Utz Herbig, Alessia Ranciaro, Jibril Hirbo, William Beggs, Alexander P. Reiner, James G. Wilson, Masayuki Kimura, Immaculata De Vivo, Maxine M. Chen, Jeremy D. Kark, Daniel Levy, Thomas Nyambo, Sarah A. Tishkoff, Abraham Aviv

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Abstract

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL), which reflects telomere length in other somatic tissues, is a complex genetic trait. Eleven SNPs have been shown in genome-wide association studies to be associated with LTL at a genome-wide level of significance within cohorts of European ancestry. It has been observed that LTL is longer in African Americans than in Europeans. The underlying reason for this difference is unknown. Here we show that LTL is significantly longer in sub-Saharan Africans than in both Europeans and African Americans. Based on the 11 LTL-associated alleles and genetic data in phase 3 of the 1000 Genomes Project, we showthat the shifts in allele frequency within Europe and between Europe and Africa do not fit the pattern expected by neutral genetic drift. Our findings suggest that differences in LTL within Europeans and between Europeans and Africans is influenced by polygenic adaptation and that differences in LTL between Europeans and Africans might explain, in part, ethnic differences in risks for human diseases that have been linked to LTL.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	2324-2330
Number of pages	7
Journal	Human molecular genetics
Volume	25
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddw070
State	Published - Jun 1 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Molecular Biology
Genetics
Genetics(clinical)

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Hansen, M. E. B., Hunt, S. C., Stone, R. C., Horvath, K., Herbig, U., Ranciaro, A., Hirbo, J., Beggs, W., Reiner, A. P., Wilson, J. G., Kimura, M., Vivo, I. D., Chen, M. M., Kark, J. D., Levy, D., Nyambo, T., Tishkoff, S. A., & Aviv, A. (2016). Shorter telomere length in Europeans than in Africans due to polygenetic adaptation. Human molecular genetics, 25(11), 2324-2330. https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddw070

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title = "Shorter telomere length in Europeans than in Africans due to polygenetic adaptation",

abstract = "Leukocyte telomere length (LTL), which reflects telomere length in other somatic tissues, is a complex genetic trait. Eleven SNPs have been shown in genome-wide association studies to be associated with LTL at a genome-wide level of significance within cohorts of European ancestry. It has been observed that LTL is longer in African Americans than in Europeans. The underlying reason for this difference is unknown. Here we show that LTL is significantly longer in sub-Saharan Africans than in both Europeans and African Americans. Based on the 11 LTL-associated alleles and genetic data in phase 3 of the 1000 Genomes Project, we showthat the shifts in allele frequency within Europe and between Europe and Africa do not fit the pattern expected by neutral genetic drift. Our findings suggest that differences in LTL within Europeans and between Europeans and Africans is influenced by polygenic adaptation and that differences in LTL between Europeans and Africans might explain, in part, ethnic differences in risks for human diseases that have been linked to LTL.",

author = "Hansen, {Matthew E.B.} and Hunt, {Steven C.} and Stone, {Rivka C.} and Kent Horvath and Utz Herbig and Alessia Ranciaro and Jibril Hirbo and William Beggs and Reiner, {Alexander P.} and Wilson, {James G.} and Masayuki Kimura and Vivo, {Immaculata De} and Chen, {Maxine M.} and Kark, {Jeremy D.} and Daniel Levy and Thomas Nyambo and Tishkoff, {Sarah A.} and Abraham Aviv",

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year = "2016",

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doi = "10.1093/hmg/ddw070",

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Hansen, MEB, Hunt, SC, Stone, RC, Horvath, K, Herbig, U, Ranciaro, A, Hirbo, J, Beggs, W, Reiner, AP, Wilson, JG, Kimura, M, Vivo, ID, Chen, MM, Kark, JD, Levy, D, Nyambo, T, Tishkoff, SA & Aviv, A 2016, 'Shorter telomere length in Europeans than in Africans due to polygenetic adaptation', Human molecular genetics, vol. 25, no. 11, pp. 2324-2330. https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddw070

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AU - Hansen, Matthew E.B.

AU - Hunt, Steven C.

AU - Stone, Rivka C.

AU - Horvath, Kent

AU - Herbig, Utz

AU - Ranciaro, Alessia

AU - Hirbo, Jibril

AU - Beggs, William

AU - Reiner, Alexander P.

AU - Wilson, James G.

AU - Kimura, Masayuki

AU - Vivo, Immaculata De

AU - Chen, Maxine M.

AU - Kark, Jeremy D.

AU - Levy, Daniel

AU - Nyambo, Thomas

AU - Tishkoff, Sarah A.

AU - Aviv, Abraham

PY - 2016/6/1

Y1 - 2016/6/1

N2 - Leukocyte telomere length (LTL), which reflects telomere length in other somatic tissues, is a complex genetic trait. Eleven SNPs have been shown in genome-wide association studies to be associated with LTL at a genome-wide level of significance within cohorts of European ancestry. It has been observed that LTL is longer in African Americans than in Europeans. The underlying reason for this difference is unknown. Here we show that LTL is significantly longer in sub-Saharan Africans than in both Europeans and African Americans. Based on the 11 LTL-associated alleles and genetic data in phase 3 of the 1000 Genomes Project, we showthat the shifts in allele frequency within Europe and between Europe and Africa do not fit the pattern expected by neutral genetic drift. Our findings suggest that differences in LTL within Europeans and between Europeans and Africans is influenced by polygenic adaptation and that differences in LTL between Europeans and Africans might explain, in part, ethnic differences in risks for human diseases that have been linked to LTL.

AB - Leukocyte telomere length (LTL), which reflects telomere length in other somatic tissues, is a complex genetic trait. Eleven SNPs have been shown in genome-wide association studies to be associated with LTL at a genome-wide level of significance within cohorts of European ancestry. It has been observed that LTL is longer in African Americans than in Europeans. The underlying reason for this difference is unknown. Here we show that LTL is significantly longer in sub-Saharan Africans than in both Europeans and African Americans. Based on the 11 LTL-associated alleles and genetic data in phase 3 of the 1000 Genomes Project, we showthat the shifts in allele frequency within Europe and between Europe and Africa do not fit the pattern expected by neutral genetic drift. Our findings suggest that differences in LTL within Europeans and between Europeans and Africans is influenced by polygenic adaptation and that differences in LTL between Europeans and Africans might explain, in part, ethnic differences in risks for human diseases that have been linked to LTL.

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Shorter telomere length in Europeans than in Africans due to polygenetic adaptation

Abstract

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