Ancient Adaptative Evolution of ACE2 in East Asians.
Genome Biol Evol
; 13(8)2021 08 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1390355
ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been posing an unprecedented challenge to global public health. SARS-CoV-2 and several other coronaviruses utilize angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as their entry receptors. The ACE2 gene has been found to experience episodic positive selection across mammals. However, much remains unknown about how the ACE2 gene evolved in human populations. Here, we use population genetics approaches to investigate the evolution of the ACE2 gene in 26 human populations sampled globally. We find the ACE2 gene exhibits an extremely low nucleotide diversity in the East Asian populations. Strong signals of selective sweep are detected in the East Asian populations, but not in the other human populations. The selective sweep in ACE2 is estimated to begin in East Asian populations â¼23,600 years ago. Our study provides novel insights into the evolution of the ACE2 gene within human populations.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Evolution, Molecular
/
Asian People
/
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal subject:
Biology
/
Molecular Biology
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Gbe
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