Cited by 31Genetic Associations and EpidemiologyTrace Elements in HealthIron Metabolism and Disorders

Signatures of evolutionary adaptation in quantitative trait loci influencing trace element homeostasis in liver

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Engelken, Johannes, Espadas, Guadalupe, Mancuso, Francesco M., Bonet, Nuria, Scherr, Anna-Lena, Jímenez-Álvarez, Victoria, Codina-Solà, Marta, Medina-Stacey, Daniel +5 more·2016·Molecular Biology and Evolution

Abstract

Essential trace elements possess vital functions at molecular, cellular, and physiological levels in health and disease, and they are tightly regulated in the human body. In order to assess variability and potential adaptive evolution of trace element homeostasis, we quantified 18 trace elements in 150 liver samples, together with the expression levels of 90 genes and abundances of 40 proteins involved in their homeostasis. Additionally, we genotyped 169 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in the same sample set. We detected significant associations for 8 protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL), 10 expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), and 15 micronutrient quantitative trait loci (nutriQTL). Six of these exceeded the false discovery rate cutoff and were related to essential trace elements: 1) one pQTL for GPX2 (rs10133290); 2) two previously described eQTLs for HFE (rs12346) and SELO (rs4838862) expression; and 3) three nutriQTLs: The pathogenic C282Y mutation at HFE affecting iron (rs1800562), and two SNPs within several clustered metallothionein genes determining selenium concentration (rs1811322 and rs904773). Within the complete set of significant QTLs (which involved 30 SNPs and 20 gene regions), we identified 12 SNPs with extreme patterns of population differentiation (FST values in the top 5% percentile in at least one HapMap population pair) and significant evidence for selective sweeps involving QTLs at GPX1, SELENBP1, GPX3, SLC30A9, and SLC39A8. Overall, this detailed study of various molecular phenotypes illustrates the role of regulatory variants in explaining differences in trace element homeostasis among populations and in the human adaptive response to environmental pressures related to micronutrients.

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Crossref · 10.1093/molbev/msv267

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  • Three SNPs in the 3' flanking region of SLC30A9 (rs2880666, rs6447133, rs7659700) have been previously identified as QTLs influencing zinc content in the liver and are in moderate linkage disequilibrium (0.66 < r2 < 0.76) with rs1047626.

    “three SNPs in the 3’ flanking region of the SLC30A9 gene (rs2880666, rs6447133, rs7659700) have been previously identified as QTLs influencing zinc content in the liver [23] and they are found in moderate linkage disequilibrium (0.66 < r2 < 0.76) with rs1047626”

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Authors
Engelken, J., Espadas, G., Mancuso, F. M., Bonet, N., Scherr, A.-L., Jímenez-Álvarez, V., Codina-Solà, M., Medina-Stacey, D., Spataro, N., Stoneking, M., Calafell, F., Sabidó, E., & Bosch, E.
Affiliations
  • Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ES)
  • Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (DE)
Corresponding author
  • Sabidó, Eduard
  • Bosch, Elena
Venue
Molecular Biology and Evolution
Published
2015-11-17
Volume
33
Issue
3
Pages
738-754
ISSN
  • 0737-4038 (ISSN-L)
  • 1537-1719
OpenAlex
W2248694846
Cited by
31
References
92
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3
FWCI
1.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • Molecular Biology and Evolution (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RECERCAT (Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
  • Repositori digital de la UPF (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
  • Volkswagen Foundation
  • Generalitat de Catalunya (2009SGR, 2014SGR)
  • Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PT13/0001)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Trace Elements in Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Iron Metabolism and Disorders
Keywords
trace element homeostasis, liver, quantitative trait loci, expression QTL, single nucleotide polymorphisms, HFE gene, C282Y mutation, iron metabolism, selenium, metallothionein, GPX2, glutathione peroxidase 1, SELENBP1, SLC39A8, selective sweeps, genetic differentiation, human adaptation, regulatory variants
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Biological, Adult, Alleles, Biological Evolution, Female, Gene Frequency, Genotype, Homeostasis, Humans, Liver, Male, Metals, Middle Aged, Phenotype, Selection, Genetic, Trace Elements, Genetic Variation, Cluster Analysis, Evolution, Molecular, Proteome, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Gene Expression Profiling, Quantitative Trait Loci, Proteomics, Genetic Association Studies, Transcriptome

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