Greenlandic Inuit show genetic signatures of diet and climate adaptation

Matteo Fumagalli; Ida Moltke; Niels Grarup; Fernando Racimo; Peter Bjerregaard; Marit E. Jørgensen; Thorfinn Sand Korneliussen; Pascale Gerbault; Line Skotte; Allan René Linneberg; Cramer Christensen; Ivan Brandslund; Torben Jørgensen; Emilia Huerta-Sánchez; Erik Berg Schmidt; Oluf Borbye Pedersen; Torben Hansen; Anders Albrechtsen; Rasmus Nielsen

doi:10.1126/science.aab2319

Greenlandic Inuit show genetic signatures of diet and climate adaptation

Matteo Fumagalli, Ida Moltke, Niels Grarup, Fernando Racimo, Peter Bjerregaard, Marit E. Jørgensen, Thorfinn Sand Korneliussen, Pascale Gerbault, Line Skotte, Allan René Linneberg, Cramer Christensen, Ivan Brandslund, Torben Jørgensen, Emilia Huerta-Sánchez, Erik Berg Schmidt, Oluf Borbye Pedersen, Torben Hansen, Anders Albrechtsen, Rasmus Nielsen

236 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The indigenous people of Greenland, the Inuit, have lived for a long time in the extreme conditions of the Arctic, including low annual temperatures, and with a specialized diet rich in protein and fatty acids, particularly omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). A scan of Inuit genomes for signatures of adaptation revealed signals at several loci, with the strongest signal located in a cluster of fatty acid desaturases that determine PUFA levels. The selected alleles are associated with multiple metabolic and anthropometric phenotypes and have large effect sizes for weight and height, with the effect on height replicated in Europeans. By analyzing membrane lipids, we found that the selected alleles modulate fatty acid composition, which may affect the regulation of growth hormones. Thus, the Inuit have genetic and physiological adaptations to a diet rich in PUFAs.

Original language	English
Journal	Science (New York, N.Y.)
Volume	349
Issue number	6254
Pages (from-to)	1343-1347
Number of pages	5
ISSN	0036-8075
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab2319
Publication status	Published - 18 Sept 2015

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Fumagalli, M., Moltke, I., Grarup, N., Racimo, F., Bjerregaard, P., Jørgensen, M. E., Korneliussen, T. S., Gerbault, P., Skotte, L., Linneberg, A. R., Christensen, C., Brandslund, I., Jørgensen, T., Huerta-Sánchez, E., Schmidt, E. B., Pedersen, O. B., Hansen, T., Albrechtsen, A., & Nielsen, R. (2015). Greenlandic Inuit show genetic signatures of diet and climate adaptation. Science (New York, N.Y.), 349(6254), 1343-1347. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab2319

Fumagalli, M, Moltke, I , Grarup, N, Racimo, F, Bjerregaard, P, Jørgensen, ME, Korneliussen, TS, Gerbault, P, Skotte, L, Linneberg, AR, Christensen, C, Brandslund, I, Jørgensen, T, Huerta-Sánchez, E, Schmidt, EB, Pedersen, OB, Hansen, T, Albrechtsen, A & Nielsen, R 2015, 'Greenlandic Inuit show genetic signatures of diet and climate adaptation', Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 349, no. 6254, pp. 1343-1347. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab2319

@article{35ea1d6d57e643418df777a233b130b0,

title = "Greenlandic Inuit show genetic signatures of diet and climate adaptation",

abstract = "The indigenous people of Greenland, the Inuit, have lived for a long time in the extreme conditions of the Arctic, including low annual temperatures, and with a specialized diet rich in protein and fatty acids, particularly omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). A scan of Inuit genomes for signatures of adaptation revealed signals at several loci, with the strongest signal located in a cluster of fatty acid desaturases that determine PUFA levels. The selected alleles are associated with multiple metabolic and anthropometric phenotypes and have large effect sizes for weight and height, with the effect on height replicated in Europeans. By analyzing membrane lipids, we found that the selected alleles modulate fatty acid composition, which may affect the regulation of growth hormones. Thus, the Inuit have genetic and physiological adaptations to a diet rich in PUFAs.",

author = "Matteo Fumagalli and Ida Moltke and Niels Grarup and Fernando Racimo and Peter Bjerregaard and J{\o}rgensen, {Marit E.} and Korneliussen, {Thorfinn Sand} and Pascale Gerbault and Line Skotte and Linneberg, {Allan Ren{\'e}} and Cramer Christensen and Ivan Brandslund and Torben J{\o}rgensen and Emilia Huerta-S{\'a}nchez and Schmidt, {Erik Berg} and Pedersen, {Oluf Borbye} and Torben Hansen and Anders Albrechtsen and Rasmus Nielsen",

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T1 - Greenlandic Inuit show genetic signatures of diet and climate adaptation

AU - Fumagalli, Matteo

AU - Moltke, Ida

AU - Grarup, Niels

AU - Racimo, Fernando

AU - Bjerregaard, Peter

AU - Jørgensen, Marit E.

AU - Korneliussen, Thorfinn Sand

AU - Gerbault, Pascale

AU - Skotte, Line

AU - Linneberg, Allan René

AU - Christensen, Cramer

AU - Brandslund, Ivan

AU - Jørgensen, Torben

AU - Huerta-Sánchez, Emilia

AU - Schmidt, Erik Berg

AU - Pedersen, Oluf Borbye

AU - Hansen, Torben

AU - Albrechtsen, Anders

AU - Nielsen, Rasmus

PY - 2015/9/18

Y1 - 2015/9/18

N2 - The indigenous people of Greenland, the Inuit, have lived for a long time in the extreme conditions of the Arctic, including low annual temperatures, and with a specialized diet rich in protein and fatty acids, particularly omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). A scan of Inuit genomes for signatures of adaptation revealed signals at several loci, with the strongest signal located in a cluster of fatty acid desaturases that determine PUFA levels. The selected alleles are associated with multiple metabolic and anthropometric phenotypes and have large effect sizes for weight and height, with the effect on height replicated in Europeans. By analyzing membrane lipids, we found that the selected alleles modulate fatty acid composition, which may affect the regulation of growth hormones. Thus, the Inuit have genetic and physiological adaptations to a diet rich in PUFAs.

AB - The indigenous people of Greenland, the Inuit, have lived for a long time in the extreme conditions of the Arctic, including low annual temperatures, and with a specialized diet rich in protein and fatty acids, particularly omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). A scan of Inuit genomes for signatures of adaptation revealed signals at several loci, with the strongest signal located in a cluster of fatty acid desaturases that determine PUFA levels. The selected alleles are associated with multiple metabolic and anthropometric phenotypes and have large effect sizes for weight and height, with the effect on height replicated in Europeans. By analyzing membrane lipids, we found that the selected alleles modulate fatty acid composition, which may affect the regulation of growth hormones. Thus, the Inuit have genetic and physiological adaptations to a diet rich in PUFAs.

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DO - 10.1126/science.aab2319

M3 - Journal article

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SN - 0036-8075

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SP - 1343

EP - 1347

JO - Science (New York, N.Y.)

JF - Science (New York, N.Y.)

IS - 6254

ER -

Greenlandic Inuit show genetic signatures of diet and climate adaptation

Abstract

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