About this Research Topic
Our DNA determines not only who we are but also holds the key to uncovering our true ancestral past. A plethora of information stored inside the genome reflects our uniqueness and proximity to different ancestral and modern-day populations. Given the high correspondence between our genetic make-up and the geographical origin of our forefathers, it is possible to glean into precise ancestral origin using the genetic information. Understanding one’s ancestry is not only a ‘homing’ tool bringing someone closer to human evolutionary past but also holds the key in determining population-specific variability in disease susceptibility, drug responsiveness, and other health and fitness related traits.
Understanding one’s ancestry can play a monumental role in understanding variation in disease susceptibility across various populations and glean into the complex gene and environment interplay in ancestry-specific disorders. For instance, cardiovascular diseases tend to manifest in distinct ways unique to the ancestry of the patient such that people with high African ancestry proportion tend to have strokes as a result of cardiovascular disease, while people of South Asian ancestry tend to have heart attacks. Traditional high fat and protein diets in cold regions of Siberia and North Asia have consequences on obesity and diabetes-related diseases. In the realms of human population genetics, we strive to address similar questions in a global context, in an attempt to expand our existing knowledge to better understand the association between individuals’ genetic ancestry and disease susceptibility. This understanding can facilitate the development of novel therapeutics or repurposing of existing treatment strategies, particularly aiding in identifying population-specific therapies. Subsequently, our knowledge of ancestry-specific variation in complex disorders can be used towards developing personalized and ancestry-specific precision medicine approaches to ameliorate several complex disorders.
The contributors should consider the following themes for this special issue:
• Unravel predisposition of various modern-day populations towards common disorders and conditions, including but not limited to cancers, heart diseases, and infectious diseases.
• The association of alleles with complex disorders, evaluated at a population level; discovery of novel disease marker panels.
• Identification of novel medically relevant genetic variants that can be used as diagnostic markers in genetic diagnostics and healthcare.
• Selection dynamics of various genes. Investigation of the spatial and temporal distributions of positively selected alleles in response to population specific disease susceptibility.
We welcome the following article types: Original Research, Brief Research Report, Methods, Perspective, Review, Mini Review, and Systematic Review.
Topic Editor Ranajit Das is the Founder Director of Genome Mapster and Infygene Genomic Healthcare. Topic Editor Tatiana Tatarinova holds patents related to the Research Topic subject. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
Understanding one’s ancestry can play a monumental role in understanding variation in disease susceptibility across various populations and glean into the complex gene and environment interplay in ancestry-specific disorders. For instance, cardiovascular diseases tend to manifest in distinct ways unique to the ancestry of the patient such that people with high African ancestry proportion tend to have strokes as a result of cardiovascular disease, while people of South Asian ancestry tend to have heart attacks. Traditional high fat and protein diets in cold regions of Siberia and North Asia have consequences on obesity and diabetes-related diseases. In the realms of human population genetics, we strive to address similar questions in a global context, in an attempt to expand our existing knowledge to better understand the association between individuals’ genetic ancestry and disease susceptibility. This understanding can facilitate the development of novel therapeutics or repurposing of existing treatment strategies, particularly aiding in identifying population-specific therapies. Subsequently, our knowledge of ancestry-specific variation in complex disorders can be used towards developing personalized and ancestry-specific precision medicine approaches to ameliorate several complex disorders.
The contributors should consider the following themes for this special issue:
• Unravel predisposition of various modern-day populations towards common disorders and conditions, including but not limited to cancers, heart diseases, and infectious diseases.
• The association of alleles with complex disorders, evaluated at a population level; discovery of novel disease marker panels.
• Identification of novel medically relevant genetic variants that can be used as diagnostic markers in genetic diagnostics and healthcare.
• Selection dynamics of various genes. Investigation of the spatial and temporal distributions of positively selected alleles in response to population specific disease susceptibility.
We welcome the following article types: Original Research, Brief Research Report, Methods, Perspective, Review, Mini Review, and Systematic Review.
Topic Editor Ranajit Das is the Founder Director of Genome Mapster and Infygene Genomic Healthcare. Topic Editor Tatiana Tatarinova holds patents related to the Research Topic subject. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
Keywords: Genetic ancestry and disease susceptibility, Ancestry and genetic tapestry, Ancestry-specific medicine, Genomic profiling, Genomic healthcare, Personalized therapeutics, Genome Wide Association study (GWAS)
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
