NEWS HUMANS A gene variant partly explains why Peruvians are among the ...
INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SINCE 1921
NEWS
HUMANS
A gene variant partly explains why Peruvians are among the world's shortest people
A common variation in DNA reduces some people's height by about 2 centimeters, on average
Peruvians, like this man walking in the ancient Incan village of Ollantaytambo, are some of the world's shortest people as a population. Some carry a version of a gene that partly explains why.
JANNHUIZENGA/ISTOCK UNRELEASED/GETTY IMAGES
By Tina Hesman Saey
MAY 13, 2020 AT 11:00 AM
Nearly 4,000 common variations in DNA are known to affect height, with each one nudging stature up or down a millimeter or so. But a gene variant found in almost 5 percent of Peruvians reduces height by 2.2 centimeters, on average.
That's the biggest effect on stature recorded to date for a common version of a gene. Some rare variations in DNA have much larger effects on height, but they tend to be found in less than 1 percent of people.
People who carry two copies of the gene variant -- one inherited from each parent -- are, on average, about 4.4 centimeters shorter than the average height of people who don't carry the variant, researchers report May 13 in Nature. The finding partially explains why the Peruvian people are among the shortest in the world. Men average 165.3 centimeters (about 5 feet, 4 inches) tall and women 152.9 cm (about 5 feet) tall.
The variant is located in the gene known as fibrillin 1, or FBN1, which produces a protein involved in forming bone, connective tissues, skin and other tissues. Some rare FBN1 variations lead to Marfan syndrome, a disorder that leads people to be tall, lanky and prone to heart and blood vessel ruptures and other health problems (SN: 6/25/08).
"But those 5 percent of Peruvians who carry [this common variant] are not sick by any pathological definition," says statistical geneticist Samira Asgari of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Asgari and colleagues found evidence that natural selection has favored the short-stature variant, although exactly what evolutionary advantage it gives the Peruvians who carry it is not clear.
CITATIONS S. Asgari et al. A positively selected FBN1 missense variant reduces height in Peruvian individuals. Nature. Published online May 13, 2020. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2302-0.
................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.
Related download
- a template for scientific press releases and science news improbable
- evaluating science in the news educator materials
- a template for scientific press releases and science news articles
- news humans a gene variant partly explains why peruvians are among the
- short science articles about the earth
- branches of science quiz pdf free printable sheets grade weebly
- science magazines for students pdf
- the rediscovery of man complete short science fiction cordwainer smith
- nonfiction articles for kids children s book academy
- cool short science articles
Related searches
- why annuities are bad
- why annuities are good
- why laws are important
- why laws are needed
- why questions are important
- reasons why names are important
- why annuities are bad investments
- why rules are necessary
- why rules are important essay
- reasons why rules are important
- why annuities are always bad
- why annuities are great