The role of Beringia in human adaptation to Arctic conditions based on results of genomic studies of modern and ancient populations
The results of studies in Quaternary geology, archeology, paleoanthropology and human genetics demonstrate that the ancestors of Native Americans arrived in mid-latitude North America mainly along the Pacific Northwest Coast, but had previously inhabited the Arctic and during the last glacial maximu...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, The Vavilov Society of Geneticists and Breeders
2023-07-01
|
| Series: | Вавиловский журнал генетики и селекции |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://vavilov.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/3780 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832574990394851328 |
|---|---|
| author | B. A. Malyarchuk |
| author_facet | B. A. Malyarchuk |
| author_sort | B. A. Malyarchuk |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The results of studies in Quaternary geology, archeology, paleoanthropology and human genetics demonstrate that the ancestors of Native Americans arrived in mid-latitude North America mainly along the Pacific Northwest Coast, but had previously inhabited the Arctic and during the last glacial maximum were in a refugium in Beringia, a land bridge connecting Eurasia and North America. The gene pool of Native Americans is represented by unique haplogroups of mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome, the evolutionary age of which ranges from 13 to 22 thousand years. The results of a paleogenomic analysis also show that during the last glacial maximum Beringia was populated by human groups that had arisen as a result of interaction between the most ancient Upper Paleolithic populations of Northern Eurasia and newcomer groups from East Asia. Approximately 20 thousand years ago the Beringian populations began to form, and the duration of their existence in relative isolation is estimated at about 5 thousand years. Thus, the adaptation of the Beringians to the Arctic conditions could have taken several millennia. The adaptation of Amerindian ancestors to high latitudes and cold climates is supported by genomic data showing that adaptive genetic variants in Native Americans are associated with various metabolic pathways: melanin production processes in the skin, hair and eyes, the functioning of the cardiovascular system, energy metabolism and immune response characteristics. Meanwhile, the analysis of the existing hypotheses about the selection of some genetic variants in the Beringian ancestors of the Amerindians in connection with adaptation to the Arctic conditions (for example, in the FADS, ACTN3, EDAR genes) shows the ambiguity of the testing results, which may be due to the loss of some traces of the “Beringian” adaptation in the gene pools of modern Native Americans. The most optimal strategy for further research seems to be the search for adaptive variants using the analysis of paleogenomic data from the territory of Beringia, but such genetic data are still very scarce. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0ab68b5ae37d4dddaedcbfda7b7c849b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2500-3259 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, The Vavilov Society of Geneticists and Breeders |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Вавиловский журнал генетики и селекции |
| spelling | doaj-art-0ab68b5ae37d4dddaedcbfda7b7c849b2025-02-01T09:58:12ZengSiberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, The Vavilov Society of Geneticists and BreedersВавиловский журнал генетики и селекции2500-32592023-07-0127437338210.18699/VJGB-23-451363The role of Beringia in human adaptation to Arctic conditions based on results of genomic studies of modern and ancient populationsB. A. Malyarchuk0Institute of Biological Problems of the North, Far-East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; N.A. Shilo North-East Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute, Far-East Branch of the Russian Academy of SciencesThe results of studies in Quaternary geology, archeology, paleoanthropology and human genetics demonstrate that the ancestors of Native Americans arrived in mid-latitude North America mainly along the Pacific Northwest Coast, but had previously inhabited the Arctic and during the last glacial maximum were in a refugium in Beringia, a land bridge connecting Eurasia and North America. The gene pool of Native Americans is represented by unique haplogroups of mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome, the evolutionary age of which ranges from 13 to 22 thousand years. The results of a paleogenomic analysis also show that during the last glacial maximum Beringia was populated by human groups that had arisen as a result of interaction between the most ancient Upper Paleolithic populations of Northern Eurasia and newcomer groups from East Asia. Approximately 20 thousand years ago the Beringian populations began to form, and the duration of their existence in relative isolation is estimated at about 5 thousand years. Thus, the adaptation of the Beringians to the Arctic conditions could have taken several millennia. The adaptation of Amerindian ancestors to high latitudes and cold climates is supported by genomic data showing that adaptive genetic variants in Native Americans are associated with various metabolic pathways: melanin production processes in the skin, hair and eyes, the functioning of the cardiovascular system, energy metabolism and immune response characteristics. Meanwhile, the analysis of the existing hypotheses about the selection of some genetic variants in the Beringian ancestors of the Amerindians in connection with adaptation to the Arctic conditions (for example, in the FADS, ACTN3, EDAR genes) shows the ambiguity of the testing results, which may be due to the loss of some traces of the “Beringian” adaptation in the gene pools of modern Native Americans. The most optimal strategy for further research seems to be the search for adaptive variants using the analysis of paleogenomic data from the territory of Beringia, but such genetic data are still very scarce.https://vavilov.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/3780genomicspaleogenomicsmitochondrial dnay chromosomeadaptationberingiapeopling of america |
| spellingShingle | B. A. Malyarchuk The role of Beringia in human adaptation to Arctic conditions based on results of genomic studies of modern and ancient populations Вавиловский журнал генетики и селекции genomics paleogenomics mitochondrial dna y chromosome adaptation beringia peopling of america |
| title | The role of Beringia in human adaptation to Arctic conditions based on results of genomic studies of modern and ancient populations |
| title_full | The role of Beringia in human adaptation to Arctic conditions based on results of genomic studies of modern and ancient populations |
| title_fullStr | The role of Beringia in human adaptation to Arctic conditions based on results of genomic studies of modern and ancient populations |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of Beringia in human adaptation to Arctic conditions based on results of genomic studies of modern and ancient populations |
| title_short | The role of Beringia in human adaptation to Arctic conditions based on results of genomic studies of modern and ancient populations |
| title_sort | role of beringia in human adaptation to arctic conditions based on results of genomic studies of modern and ancient populations |
| topic | genomics paleogenomics mitochondrial dna y chromosome adaptation beringia peopling of america |
| url | https://vavilov.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/3780 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bamalyarchuk theroleofberingiainhumanadaptationtoarcticconditionsbasedonresultsofgenomicstudiesofmodernandancientpopulations AT bamalyarchuk roleofberingiainhumanadaptationtoarcticconditionsbasedonresultsofgenomicstudiesofmodernandancientpopulations |