title: Evolutionary genetics as a tool to target genes involved in phenotypes of medical relevance.
abstract: There is an increasing interest in detecting genes, or genomic regions, that have been targeted by natural selection. Indeed, the evolutionary approach for inferring the action of natural selection in the human genome represents a powerful tool for predicting regions of the genome potentially associated with disease and of interest in epidemiological genetic studies. Here, we review several examples going from candidate gene studies associated with specific phenotypes, including nutrition, infectious disease and climate adaptation, to whole genome scans for natural selection. All these studies illustrate the power of the evolutionary approach in identifying regions of the genome having played a major role in human survival and adaptation.
authors.affiliation: MNHN, Eco-Anthropologie, UMR 5145, CNRS-MNHN-P7, Musée de l'Homme Paris, France.
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Heyer
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Unit of Human Evolutionary Genetics, CNRS URA3012 Paris Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Lluis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quintana-Murci
keywords: epidemiology; evolution; human adaptation; human diversity; human genome; infectious disease; natural selection; nutrition