Bookedited by Muntaser Ibrahim, Charles Rotimi.
Summary: "The birthplace of modern humans, Africa, has the highest genetic diversity in the world, yet it remains vastly understudied. With biomedical research increasingly focused on human variation, studying the large population size and number of mutations in African genomes could unravel the complexity of phenotypic traits underlying the biology of our species and hold huge potential for scientific and medical advances. An initial chapter 'conceptualizes Africa', providing relevant terminology. The first section covers genetic history and population structure. The next section looks at the genetic basis of common infectious diseases, such as leishmaniasis, malaria and tuberculosis, with a final part considering common non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart disease and cancer. Gene environment interaction under globalization and the burden of diseases of lifestyle are included. For researchers and graduate students in biological anthropology, genetic anthropology, human and population genetics, and public health"--Provided by publisher.
Contents:
1 Reflections on Conceptualizing Africa for Biological Studies with a Historical Component: A Small Essay
1.1 Prolegomenon
1.2 ''Blackness'' and Notions of Africa
1.3 Raciotypological Thinking
1.4 Africa: Evolution and Peopling
1.5 Human Variation in Africa
1.6 Defining versus Describing Africa/Africans
1.7 Biological Variation and Social Organization
1.8 Summary
Acknowledgments
References --2 History and Genetics in Africa: Multidisciplinary Efforts
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Genetics and Bantu Speakers
2.3 Genes, Food Production, and Afrasan
2.4 Genes, Ethno-Population Origins, and Identity
2.5 Genetics and the Northern Nile Valley: Egypt
2.6 The Case of the Nilotes/Nilotics: Considerations for Population History
2.7 Brief Discussion and Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References 3 Disease, Selection, and Evolution in the African Landscape
3.1 The Peculiarity of Genetic Structure In and Out of Africa
3.2 Population Structure Drift and Culture3.3 Food Culture and Genetic Variation
3.4 Inbreeding
3.5 Natural Selection and Disease
3.6 Biological Network and Genetic Borrowing
3.7 Epigenetics, an Added Layer of Complexity in the Selection Plateau
References
4 Genetic Susceptibility to Visceral Leishmaniasis
4.1 Leishmaniasis
4.2 Genetic Susceptibility to Visceral Leishmaniasis
4.3 Candidate Gene Studies
4.3.1 SLC11A1 (Formerly NRAMP1)
HLA as a Candidate Gene Region
Chromosome 17q11.1-q12
Chromosome 5q31-q33
4.3.2 IFNG and IFNGR1
4.3.3 IL2RB and IL1B
4.3.4 CXCR1 and CXCR2
4.4 Genome-Wide Linkage Studies
4.5 Genome Wide Association Studies
4.6 Conclusion and Future Perspectives
References 5 Genetics of Infection in Sub-Saharan Africa: What Can the Study of Mendelian Immunodeficiency Disorders Contribute?
5.1 Introduction: The Burden of Infectious Diseases in African Populations
5.2 Genetic Susceptibility to Infectious Diseases: Historical Perspectives
5.3 More Recent Approaches to Mapping TB Susceptibility Genes: What Have We Learned from Monogenic Disorders?
5.4 Molecular Basis of Mendelian Susceptibility to Mycobacterial Disease in Humans
5.4.1 Resistance to infection conferred by single-gene defects at the population level and the role of natural selection
5.5 Future Directions
References
6 Pharmacogenomics and Infectious Diseases in Africa: An Evolutionary Perspective
6.1 Introduction
6.2 The Burden of Infectious Diseases in Africa
6.2.1 Malaria
6.2.2 Human African Trypanosomiasis
6.2.3 Human Immunodeficiency Virus
6.2.4 Lassa Fever
6.2.5 Tuberculosis
6.3 Traditional Herbal Medicine
6.4 Progressing Toward Genomic Medicine in Africa
6.5 Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References