ArticlePLoS biology2020
Why and when was lactase persistence selected for? Insights from Central Asian herders and ancient DNA.
Article in PLoS biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed.
- Distinct trajectories of urbanization shape the human gut microbiome across South Asia.Gut microbes · 2026Article
- Ancient DNA and Human Physiology.Physiology (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Review
- Ancient DNA as a temporal lens: reconstructing evolution, migration, and disease dynamics.Journal, genetic engineering & biotechnology · 2026Review
- Insights into human adaptation from ancient DNA.Nature genetics · 2026Review
- The persistence and loss of hard selective sweeps amid admixture in ancient Eurasians.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Detecting Positive Selection by Modeling Structure Within Images of Genetic Variation.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Urea transporter evolution: deep conservation, recent adaptation in mammals, and maintenance of the Jka/Jkb polymorphism in the past ~ 110,000 years.Biology direct · 2026Article
- Distinct trajectories of urbanization shape the human gut microbiome across South Asia.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The origin of the double-muscle mutation in theFrontiers in veterinary science · 2026Article
- Revisiting the Evolution of Lactase Persistence: Insights from South Asian Genomes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- The persistence and loss of hard selective sweeps amid ancient human admixture.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Genetic history of Scythia.Science advances · 2025Article
- Precision nutrition across climates: decoding diet, tradition, and genomic adaptations from South Asia to the Arctic.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Genes, culture, and scientific racism.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Leveraging ancient DNA to uncover signals of natural selection in Europe lost due to admixture or drift.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Article
- Low Genetic Impact of the Roman Occupation of Britain in Rural Communities.Molecular biology and evolution · 2024Article
- Global diversity, recurrent evolution, and recent selection on amylase structural haplotypes in humans.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Article
- Genetic and cultural adaptations underlie the establishment of dairy pastoralism in the Tibetan Plateau.BMC biology · 2023Article
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9 authors.
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Abstract
The genetic adaptation of humans to the consumption of milk from dairying animals is one of the most emblematic cases of recent human evolution. While the phenotypic change under selection, lactase persistence (LP), is known, the evolutionary advantage conferred to persistent individuals remains obscure. One informative but underappreciated observation is that not all populations whose ancestors had access to milk genetically adapted to become lactase persistent. Indeed, Central Asian herders are mostly lactase nonpersistent, despite their significant dietary reliance on dairy products. Investigating the temporal dynamic of the -13.910:C>T Eurasian mutation associated with LP, we found that, after its emergence in Ukraine 5,960 before present (BP), the T allele spread between 4,000 BP and 3,500 BP throughout Eurasia, from Spain to Kazakhstan. The timing and geographical progression of the mutation coincides well with the migration of steppe populations across and outside of Europe. After 3,000 BP, the mutation strongly increased in frequency in Europe, but not in Asia. We propose that Central Asian herders have adapted to milk consumption culturally, by fermentation, and/or by colonic adaptation, rather than genetically. Given the possibility of a nongenetic adaptation to avoid intestinal symptoms when consuming dairy products, the puzzle then becomes this: why has LP been selected for at all?
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