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Sahelian pastoralism from the perspective of variants associated with lactase persistence

Authors :
Frédéric Austerlitz
Viktor Černý
François-Xavier Ricaut
Carina M. Schlebusch
Edita Priehodová
Zuzana Hofmanová
Jana Nováčková
Martina Čížková
Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ARUP / CAS)
Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (CAS)
Éco-Anthropologie (EAE)
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Processus d'Activation Sélective par Transfert d'Energie Uni-électronique ou Radiatif (UMR 8640) (PASTEUR)
Département de Chimie - ENS Paris
École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris)
Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris)
Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3)
Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Éco-Anthropologie (EA)
École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL)
Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL)
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3)
Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Uppsala University
Source :
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Wiley, 2020, pp.e24116. ⟨10.1002/ajpa.24116⟩, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2020, pp.e24116. ⟨10.1002/ajpa.24116⟩
Publication Year :
2020

Abstract

OBJECTIVES Archeological evidence shows that first nomadic pastoralists came to the African Sahel from northeastern Sahara, where milking is reported by ~7.5 ka. A second wave of pastoralists arrived with the expansion of Arabic tribes in 7th-14th century CE. All Sahelian pastoralists depend on milk production but genetic diversity underlying their lactase persistence (LP) is poorly understood. MATERIALS AND METHODS We investigated SNP variants associated with LP in 1,241 individuals from 29 mostly pastoralist populations in the Sahel. Then, we analyzed six SNPs in the neighboring fragment (419 kb) in the Fulani and Tuareg with the -13910*T mutation, reconstructed haplotypes, and calculated expansion age and growth rate of this variant. RESULTS Our results reveal a geographic localization of two different LP variants in the Sahel: -13910*T west of Lake Chad (Fulani and Tuareg pastoralists) and -13915*G east of there (mostly Arabic-speaking pastoralists). We show that -13910*T has a more diversified haplotype background among the Fulani than among the Tuareg and that the age estimate for expansion of this variant among the Fulani (~8.5 ka) corresponds to introduction of cattle to the area. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study showing that the "Eurasian" LP allele -13910*T is widespread both in northern Europe and in the Sahel; however, it is limited to pastoralists in the Sahel. Since the Fulani haplotype with -13910*T is shared with contemporary Eurasians, its origin could be in a region encompassing the Near East and northeastern Africa in a population ancestral to both Saharan pastoralists and European farmers.

Details

ISSN :
00029483 and 10968644
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....8287b099c6bcb8196b7fccde7a18cd8e
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24116