Natural selection and infectious disease in human populations.
The ancient biological 'arms race' between microbial pathogens and humans has shaped genetic variation in modern populations, and this has important implications for the growing field of medical genomics. As humans migrated throughout the world, populations encountered distinct pathogens, and natural selection increased the prevalence of alleles that are advantageous in the new ecosystems in both host and pathogens. This ancient history now influences human infectious disease susceptibility and microbiome homeostasis, and contributes to common diseases that show geographical disparities, such as autoimmune and metabolic disorders. Using new high-throughput technologies, analytical methods and expanding public data resources, the investigation of natural selection is leading to new insights into the function and dysfunction of human biology.
1] Center for Systems Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. [2] Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
Elinor K
EK
Karlsson
1] Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SA, UK. [2] Wellcome Trust Sanger Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK.
Dominic P
DP
Kwiatkowski
1] Center for Systems Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. [2] Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA. [3] Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Pardis C
PC
Sabeti
D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D012641:Selection, Genetic