The evolution of skin pigmentation and hair texture in people of African ancestry.

Our species, Homo sapiens, evolved in Africa, and humanity's highest levels of genetic diversity are maintained there today. Underlying genetic diversity combined with the great range of solar regimes and climatic conditions found in Africa has contributed to a wide range of human integumentary phenotypes within the continent. Millions of Africans have moved, voluntarily and involuntarily, to other continents in the past 2000 years, and the range of integumentary phenotypes among admixed African diaspora populations is enormous. In this contribution, we do not catalog this variation, but provide basic evolutionary background as to how it developed in the first place.

[1]  N. G. Martin,et al.  Genetic Association and Cellular Function of MC1R Variant Alleles in Human Pigmentation , 2003, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[2]  M. Holick.  Photosynthesis of vitamin D in the skin: effect of environmental and life-style variables. , 1987, Federation proceedings.

[3]  F. Murray.  PIGMENTATION, SUNLIGHT, AND NUTRITIONAL DISEASE , 1934 .

[4]  D. Selvig,et al.  The Genomic Challenge to the Social Construction of Race , 2012 .

[5]  M. Brilliant,et al.  Albinism and disease causing pathogens in Tanzania: are alleles that are associated with OCA2 being maintained by balancing selection? , 2012, Medical hypotheses.

[6]  A. Norman,et al.  From vitamin D to hormone D: fundamentals of the vitamin D endocrine system essential for good health. , 2008, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[7]  M. Kimlin,et al.  Folate degradation due to ultraviolet radiation: possible implications for human health and nutrition. , 2012, Nutrition reviews.

[8]  P. Baker.  The Biological Adaptation of Man to Hot Deserts , 1958, The American Naturalist.

[9]  Gerardo Gutiérrez,et al.  Admixture analysis of a rural population of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. , 2005, American journal of physical anthropology.

[10]  Wen-Hsiung Li,et al.  DNA Polymorphism and Selection at the Melanocortin‐1 Receptor Gene in Normally Pigmented Southern African Individuals , 2003, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[11]  N. Jablonski,et al.  Vitamin D and the evolution of human depigmentation. , 2009, American journal of physical anthropology.

[12]  Li Jin,et al.  Modeling Recent Human Evolution in Mice by Expression of a Selected EDAR Variant , 2013, Cell.

[13]  N. Jablonski.  Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color , 2012 .

[14]  S. Yao,et al.  Variants in the vitamin D pathway, serum levels of vitamin D, and estrogen receptor negative breast cancer among African-American women: a case-control study , 2012, Breast Cancer Research.

[15]  A. Uitterlinden,et al.  Genetics and biology of vitamin D receptor polymorphisms. , 2004, Gene.

[16]  Sarah A Tishkoff,et al.  Patterns of human genetic diversity: implications for human evolutionary history and disease. , 2003, Annual review of genomics and human genetics.

[17]  M. P. Muehlenbein.  Human Evolutionary Biology: Contents , 2010 .

[18]  Matthew Stephens,et al.  Dissecting the regulatory architecture of gene expression QTLs , 2012, Genome Biology.

[19]  T. Gambichler,et al.  Serum folate levels after UVA exposure: a two-group parallel randomised controlled trial , 2001, BMC dermatology.

[20]  D. Tobin,et al.  The biology of hair diversity , 2013, International journal of cosmetic science.

[21]  A. Pittas,et al.  A randomized, placebo‐controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation to improve glycaemia in overweight and obese African Americans , 2012, Diabetes, obesity & metabolism.

[22]  C. Soudien.  The modern seduction of race: whither social constructionism? , 2012 .

[23]  G. Chaplin.  Geographic distribution of environmental factors influencing human skin coloration. , 2004, American journal of physical anthropology.

[24]  D. Coelho,et al.  Head hair reduces sweat rate during exercise under the sun. , 2010, International journal of sports medicine.

[25]  André Langaney,et al.  Shape Variability and Classification of Human Hair: A Worldwide Approach , 2007, Human biology.

[26]  D. Duffy,et al.  Human pigmentation genes under environmental selection , 2012, Genome Biology.

[27]  Nigel Simpson,et al.  Photoperiod at conception predicts C677T‐MTHFR genotype: A novel gene‐environment interaction , 2010, American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council.

[28]  H. Zeeb,et al.  Albinism in Africa as a public health issue , 2006, BMC public health.

[29]  B. Ladizinski,et al.  Albinism in Africa: stigma, slaughter and awareness campaigns. , 2011, Dermatologic clinics.

[30]  N. Jablonski,et al.  Human skin pigmentation as an adaptation to UV radiation , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[31]  B. O. Wolf,et al.  The Role of the Plumage in Heat Transfer Processes of Birds1 , 2000 .

[32]  P. Lips.  Vitamin D physiology. , 2006, Progress in biophysics and molecular biology.

[33]  G. Walsberg,et al.  Consequences of skin color and fur properties for solar heat gain and ultraviolet irradiance in two mammals , 2004, Journal of Comparative Physiology B.

[34]  J. Pettifor.  Nutritional rickets: pathogenesis and prevention. , 2013, Pediatric endocrinology reviews : PER.

[35]  W. Loomis.  Skin-Pigment Regulation of Vitamin-D Biosynthesis in Man , 1967, Science.

[36]  N F Box,et al.  Human pigmentation genes: identification, structure and consequences of polymorphic variation. , 2001, Gene.

[37]  Robert J Wilkinson,et al.  Reciprocal seasonal variation in vitamin D status and tuberculosis notifications in Cape Town, South Africa , 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[38]  M. Lucock,et al.  Solar cycle predicts folate-sensitive neonatal genotypes at discrete phases of the first trimester of pregnancy: a novel folate-related human embryo loss hypothesis. , 2012, Medical hypotheses.

[39]  R. Harding,et al.  Understanding the evolution of human pigmentation: recent contributions from population genetics. , 2012, The Journal of investigative dermatology.

[40]  J. Rees.  Genetics of hair and skin color. , 2003, Annual review of genetics.

[41]  M. Holick,et al.  Vitamin D for health: a global perspective. , 2013, Mayo Clinic proceedings.

[42]  N. Jablonski,et al.  Human skin pigmentation, migration and disease susceptibility , 2012, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[43]  G. Miller,et al.  Genetic admixture, self-reported ethnicity, self-estimated admixture, and skin pigmentation among Hispanics and Native Americans. , 2009, American journal of physical anthropology.

[44]  R. Wilkinson,et al.  Ethnic Variation in Inflammatory Profile in Tuberculosis , 2013, PLoS pathogens.

[45]  J. Eaton,et al.  Skin color and nutrient photolysis: an evolutionary hypothesis. , 1978, Science.

[46]  R. Sturm,et al.  Human pigmentation genetics: the difference is only skin deep , 1998, BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology.

[47]  A. Renzaho,et al.  Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease among African migrant and refugee adults in Melbourne: a pilot study. , 2011, Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition.

[48]  S. Nicholson,et al.  African environmental and climatic changes and the general atmospheric circulation in late pleistocene and holocene , 1980 .

[49]  J. Moan,et al.  5-Methyltetrahydrofolate is photosensitive in the presence of riboflavin , 2008, Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology.

[50]  S. Alaluf,et al.  Ethnic variation in melanin content and composition in photoexposed and photoprotected human skin. , 2002, Pigment cell research.

[51]  J. Reichrath,et al.  The relevance of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms for cancer: a review of the literature. , 2009, Anticancer research.

[52]  I. Jackson,et al.  Evidence for variable selective pressures at MC1R. , 2000, American journal of human genetics.

[53]  A. Fattah,et al.  Analysis of Serum Folate Levels after Narrow Band UVB Exposure , 2006 .

[54]  Nina G. Jablonski,et al.  The Evolution of Human Skin and Skin Color , 2004 .

[55]  D Hrdy,et al.  Quantitative hair form variation in seven populations. , 1973, American journal of physical anthropology.

[56]  S. Yao,et al.  Associations between vitamin D deficiency and risk of aggressive breast cancer in African-American women , 2013, The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

[57]  R. Kundu,et al.  Widespread use of toxic skin lightening compounds: medical and psychosocial aspects. , 2011, Dermatologic clinics.

[58]  J. Long,et al.  Human Genetic Diversity and the Nonexistence of Biological Races , 2003, Human biology.

[59]  P. Baker.  Racial differences in heat tolerance. , 1958, American journal of physical anthropology.

[60]  M. Holick,et al.  Factors that influence the cutaneous synthesis and dietary sources of vitamin D. , 2007, Archives of biochemistry and biophysics.

[61]  R. Anderson,et al.  Photosynthesis of previtamin D3 in human skin and the physiologic consequences. , 1980, Science.

[62]  B. Ames,et al.  5‐Methyltetrahydrofolate inhibits photosensitization reactions and strand breaks in DNA , 2007, FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

[63]  F. Hu,et al.  A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Novel Alleles Associated with Hair Color and Skin Pigmentation , 2008, PLoS genetics.

[64]  M. Stoneking,et al.  OPRM1 and EGFR contribute to skin pigmentation differences between Indigenous Americans and Europeans , 2012, Human Genetics.

[65]  Nina G. Jablonski,et al.  Skin: A Natural History , 2006 .

[66]  J. Moan,et al.  Photodegradation of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate in the presence of Uroporphyrin. , 2009, Journal of photochemistry and photobiology. B, Biology.

[67]  R. Sturm,et al.  Molecular genetics of human pigmentation diversity. , 2009, Human molecular genetics.

[68]  Mark D. Shriver,et al.  The 8818G allele of the agouti signaling protein (ASIP) gene is ancestral and is associated with darker skin color in African Americans , 2005, Human Genetics.

[69]  R. Hall,et al.  The Bleaching Syndrome , 1995 .

[70]  Scott M. Williams,et al.  The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans , 2009, Science.

[71]  N. Jablonski,et al.  The evolution of human skin coloration. , 2000, Journal of human evolution.

[72]  A. Goldstein,et al.  Comprehensive evaluation of allele frequency differences of MC1R variants across populations , 2007 .

[73]  G. Barsh,et al.  What Controls Variation in Human Skin Color? , 2003, PLoS biology.

[74]  P. Frost.  European hair and eye color: A case of frequency-dependent sexual selection? , 2006 .

[75]  R. Kittles,et al.  Genetic evidence for the convergent evolution of light skin in Europeans and East Asians. , 2006, Molecular biology and evolution.