Those who are born to parents from diverse genetic backgrounds tend to be faster-thinking and taller than others, a new study led by Dr Peter Joshi of the University of Edinburgh has found.
The Vitruvian Man, a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci around 1490.
Dr Joshi and co-authors analyzed health and genetic information from more than 100 studies carried out around the world. These included details on more than 350,000 people from urban and rural communities.
They found that greater genetic diversity is linked to increased height. It is also associated with better cognitive skills, as well as higher levels of education.
However, genetic diversity had no effect on factors such as high blood pressure or cholesterol levels, which affect a person’s chances of developing heart disease, diabetes and other complex conditions.
“Our research answers questions first posed by Darwin as to the benefits of genetic diversity,” Dr Joshi said.
“This study highlights the power of large-scale genetic analyses to uncover fundamental information about our evolutionary history,” added team member Dr Jim Wilson, also from the University of Edinburgh.
The scientists examined individuals’ entire genetic make-up. They pinpointed instances in which people had inherited identical copies of genes from both their mother and their father – an indicator that their ancestors were related.
Where few instances of this occur in a person’s genes, it indicates greater genetic diversity in their heritage and the two sides of their family are unlikely to be distantly related.
It had been thought that close family ties would raise a person’s risk of complex diseases but the team found this not to be the case.
The only traits they found to be affected by genetic diversity are height and the ability to think quickly.
The findings, published online July 1 in the journal Nature, suggest that over time, evolution is favoring people with increased stature and sharper thinking skills but does not impact on their propensity for developing a serious illness.
“Our next step will be to hone in on the specific parts of the genome that most benefit from diversity,” Dr Joshi said.
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Peter K. Joshi et al. Directional dominance on stature and cognition in diverse human populations. Nature, published online July 01, 2015; doi: 10.1038/nature14618
