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Identifying adaptive alleles in the human genome: from selection mapping to functional validation

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Abstract

The suite of phenotypic diversity across geographically distributed human populations is the outcome of genetic drift, gene flow, and natural selection throughout human evolution. Human genetic variation underlying local biological adaptations to selective pressures is incompletely characterized. With the emergence of population genetics modeling of large-scale genomic data derived from diverse populations, scientists are able to map signatures of natural selection in the genome in a process known as selection mapping. Inferred selection signals further can be used to identify candidate functional alleles that underlie putative adaptive phenotypes. Phenotypic association, fine mapping, and functional experiments facilitate the identification of candidate adaptive alleles. Functional investigation of candidate adaptive variation using novel techniques in molecular biology is slowly beginning to unravel how selection signals translate to changes in biology that underlie the phenotypic spectrum of our species. In addition to informing evolutionary hypotheses of adaptation, the discovery and functional annotation of adaptive alleles also may be of clinical significance. While selection mapping efforts in non-European populations are growing, there remains a stark under-representation of diverse human populations in current public genomic databases, of both clinical and non-clinical cohorts. This lack of inclusion limits the study of human biological variation. Identifying and functionally validating candidate adaptive alleles in more global populations is necessary for understanding basic human biology and human disease.

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Acknowledgements

We want to first and foremost thank all the study participants from diverse populations across the globe—and through time—who were included in the research papers reviewed here. We would like to thank Stephanie Bielas for providing helpful comments on the manuscript and Michael Bamshad for early ideas related to selection mapping.

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Correspondence to Abigail W. Bigham.

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Werren, E.A., Garcia, O. & Bigham, A.W. Identifying adaptive alleles in the human genome: from selection mapping to functional validation. Hum Genet 140, 241–276 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-020-02206-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-020-02206-7

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