title: The African diaspora: history, adaptation and health.
abstract: The trans-Atlantic slave trade brought millions of Africans to the New World. Advances in genomics are providing novel insights into the history and health of Africans and the diasporan populations. Recent examples reviewed here include the unraveling of substantial hunter-gatherer and 'Eurasian' admixtures across sub-Saharan Africa, expanding our understanding of ancestral African genetics; the global ubiquity of mixed ancestry; the revealing of African ancestry in Latin Americans that likely derived from the slave trade; and understanding of the ancestral backgrounds of APOL1 and LPL found to influence kidney disease and lipid levels, respectively, providing specific insights into disease etiology and health disparities.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health National Human Genome Research Institute, Building 12A, Room 4047 12 South Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: rotimic@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Charles N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Rotimi
authors.affiliation: Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health National Human Genome Research Institute, Building 12A, Room 4047 12 South Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Fasil
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tekola-Ayele
authors.affiliation: Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health National Human Genome Research Institute, Building 12A, Room 4047 12 South Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health National Human Genome Research Institute, Building 12A, Room 4047 12 South Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shriner
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D000075944:Apolipoprotein L1 / Q000235:genetics; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics*; D063947:Enslavement / Q000266:history; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population / Q000266:history*; D015894:Genome, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D023281:Genomics / Q000266:history; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D008071:Lipoprotein Lipase / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C108666:APOL1 protein, human; D000075944:Apolipoprotein L1; C548261:LPL protein, human; D008071:Lipoprotein Lipase