The evolution of human skin pigmentation: A changing medley of vitamins, genetic variability, and UV radiation during human expansion

Lucock, Mark D.

Title: The evolution of human skin pigmentation: A changing medley of vitamins, genetic variability, and UV radiation during human expansion
Creator: Lucock, Mark D.
Relation: American Journal of Biological Anthropology Vol. 180, Issue 2, p. 252-271
Publisher Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24564
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Resource Type: journal article
Date: 2023
Description: This review examines putative, yet likely critical evolutionary pressures contributing to human skin pigmentation and subsequently, depigmentation phenotypes. To achieve this, it provides a synthesis of ideas that frame contemporary thinking, without limiting the narrative to pigmentation genes alone. It examines how geography and hence the quality and quantity of UV exposure, pigmentation genes, diet‐related genes, vitamins, anti‐oxidant nutrients, and cultural practices intersect and interact to facilitate the evolution of human skin color. The article has a strong focus on the vitamin D‐folate evolutionary model, with updates on the latest biophysical research findings to support this paradigm. This model is examined within a broad canvas that takes human expansion out of Africa and genetic architecture into account. A thorough discourse on the biology of melanization is provided (includes relationship to BH4 and DNA damage repair), with the relevance of this to the UV sensitivity of folate and UV photosynthesis of vitamin D explained in detail, including the relevance of these vitamins to reproductive success. It explores whether we might be able to predict vitamin‐related gene polymorphisms that pivot metabolism to the prevailing UVR exposome within the vitamin D‐folate evolutionary hypothesis context. This is discussed in terms of a primary adaptive phenotype (pigmentation/depigmentation), a secondary adaptive phenotype (flexible metabolic phenotype based on vitamin‐related gene polymorphism profile), and a tertiary adaptive strategy (dietary anti‐oxidants to support the secondary adaptive phenotype). Finally, alternative evolutionary models for pigmentation are discussed, as are challenges to future research in this area.
Subject: evolution; folate; gene polymorphisms; skin pigmentation; vitamin D
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1495090
Identifier: uon:53966
Identifier: ISSN:2692-7691
Rights: © 2022 The Author. American Journal of Biological Anthropology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
Language: eng
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