ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2010
Colloquium paper: human skin pigmentation as an adaptation to UV radiation.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 262 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
262 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 714 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-analysis of GWA studies provides new insights on the genetic architecture of skin pigmentation in recently admixed populations.BMC genetics · 2019Pooled it
- Hypovitaminosis D in pregnancy in the Mediterranean region: a systematic review.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2016Pooled it
- Four weeks of vitamin D supplementation improves nitric oxide-mediated microvascular function in college-aged African Americans.American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology · 2020Trial
- MTHFR c.677C>T Inhibits Cell Proliferation and Decreases Prostate Cancer Susceptibility in the Han Chinese Population in Shanghai.Scientific reports · 2016Trial
- Genomic insights into natural selection in recent human history.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
- Sleep Duration and Sun Exposure in Portuguese Children: Associations With Obesity Indicators.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2026Article
- Features of Skin of Color.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2026Review
- Strategic selection of multi-parametric laser settings and clinical endpoints in dermatology: an engineering-to-clinical review.Lasers in medical science · 2026Review
- Seasonal evolution of Drosophila melanogaster abdominal pigmentation is associated with a multifarious selective landscape.Evolution; international journal of organic evolution · 2026Article
- Association of serum vitamin D and serum vitamin C with the risk of melanoma among adults in the United States: a cross-sectional analysis of 2003-2006 and 2017-2018 NHANES data.Journal of clinical biochemistry and nutrition · 2026Article
- Using drift coefficients as a basis for inferring times, effective population sizes, and genetic adaptations.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Combined inference of known and novel mutational signatures with ReDeNovo.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Unlocking Ethiopia's genomic landscape and its global significance: a call for inclusive genomics research.Human genomics · 2026Review
- From Sunlight to Signaling: Evolutionary Integration of Vitamin D and Sterol Metabolism.Metabolites · 2026Review
- Global patterns of natural selection inferred using ancient DNA.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Dietary folic acid prevents peripheral neuropathy in mouse models of neural tube defects and type 2 diabetes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Dark Skin Evolution in Early Humans: Revisiting the Skin Cancer Hypothesis Through Migration-Related Mismatch.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Review
- Genome-wide association study reveals genetic architecture and evolution of human retinal pigmentation.Science advances · 2026Article
- Discovery of Furan-tethered Triazolothiadiazoles and Triazolothiadiazines as Potent Tyrosinase Inhibitors for the Treatment of Skin Diseases: Insights from Kinetics Data and Computational Modeling.Current medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- The genetic architecture of human skin pigmentation: evolution and adaptation across global populations.Frontiers in genetics · 2026Review
202 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Human skin pigmentation is the product of two clines produced by natural selection to adjust levels of constitutive pigmentation to levels of UV radiation (UVR). One cline was generated by high UVR near the equator and led to the evolution of dark, photoprotective, eumelanin-rich pigmentation. The other was produced by the requirement for UVB photons to sustain cutaneous photosynthesis of vitamin D(3) in low-UVB environments, and resulted in the evolution of depigmented skin. As hominins dispersed outside of the tropics, they experienced different intensities and seasonal mixtures of UVA and UVB. Extreme UVA throughout the year and two equinoctial peaks of UVB prevail within the tropics. Under these conditions, the primary selective pressure was to protect folate by maintaining dark pigmentation. Photolysis of folate and its main serum form of 5-methylhydrofolate is caused by UVR and by reactive oxygen species generated by UVA. Competition for folate between the needs for cell division, DNA repair, and melanogenesis is severe under stressful, high-UVR conditions and is exacerbated by dietary insufficiency. Outside of tropical latitudes, UVB levels are generally low and peak only once during the year. The populations exhibiting maximally depigmented skin are those inhabiting environments with the lowest annual and summer peak levels of UVB. Development of facultative pigmentation (tanning) was important to populations settling between roughly 23 degrees and 46 degrees , where levels of UVB varied strongly according to season. Depigmented and tannable skin evolved numerous times in hominin evolution via independent genetic pathways under positive selection.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.