ArticlePLoS computational biology2009
The origins of lactase persistence in Europe.
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 151 papers.
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151 citing papers in PubMed.
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- Assessment of Juniper Ash Elemental Composition for Potential Use in a Traditional Indigenous Dietary Pattern.Nutrients · 2026Article
- The molecular basis of lactase persistence: Linking genetics and epigenetics.Annals of human genetics · 2025Review
- The History of the Panmictic Population Concept and Its Legacy in Contemporary Population Genetics.Annals of human genetics · 2025Article
- [Genetic ancestry and the SNP RS4988235 of lactose tolerance in the population of Lima].Revista peruana de medicina experimental y salud publica · 2025Article
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- AncestryGrapher toolkit: Python command-line pipelines to visualize global- and local- ancestry inferences from the RFMIX version 2 software.Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Cow's Milk Bioactive Molecules in the Regulation of Glucose Homeostasis in Human and Animal Studies.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Fast and Accurate Estimation of Selection Coefficients and Allele Histories from Ancient and Modern DNA.Molecular biology and evolution · 2024Article
- Article
- Lactase persistence in the Jordanian population: Potential effects of the Arabian Peninsula and Sahara's aridification.Heliyon · 2024Article
91 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Lactase persistence (LP) is common among people of European ancestry, but with the exception of some African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian groups, is rare or absent elsewhere in the world. Lactase gene haplotype conservation around a polymorphism strongly associated with LP in Europeans (-13,910 C/T) indicates that the derived allele is recent in origin and has been subject to strong positive selection. Furthermore, ancient DNA work has shown that the--13,910*T (derived) allele was very rare or absent in early Neolithic central Europeans. It is unlikely that LP would provide a selective advantage without a supply of fresh milk, and this has lead to a gene-culture coevolutionary model where lactase persistence is only favoured in cultures practicing dairying, and dairying is more favoured in lactase persistent populations. We have developed a flexible demic computer simulation model to explore the spread of lactase persistence, dairying, other subsistence practices and unlinked genetic markers in Europe and western Asia's geographic space. Using data on--13,910*T allele frequency and farming arrival dates across Europe, and approximate Bayesian computation to estimate parameters of interest, we infer that the--13,910*T allele first underwent selection among dairying farmers around 7,500 years ago in a region between the central Balkans and central Europe, possibly in association with the dissemination of the Neolithic Linearbandkeramik culture over Central Europe. Furthermore, our results suggest that natural selection favouring a lactase persistence allele was not higher in northern latitudes through an increased requirement for dietary vitamin D. Our results provide a coherent and spatially explicit picture of the coevolution of lactase persistence and dairying in Europe.
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