Seeing the (UV) light: Previously undetected difference in human mutation rate unique to Europeans

(Phys.org)—Although humans are a single species, not all genetic variation is shared between populations – and the ability to sequence our entire genome has allowed scientists to catalogue mutations that occur in one ethnic group alone. These so-called population-private mutations give researchers a unique window into recent human history. Recently, graduate student Kelley Harris – a scientist at University of California, Berkeley – revealed a previously undetected difference between Europeans and other ethnic groups by comparing population-private mutation frequencies from Europe, Asia, and Africa, finding that Europeans experience higher rates of a specific mutation type that has known associations with UV light exposure. Harris concludes that while it is unclear whether the excess mutations are harmful or directly related to the UV sensitivity of light skin, her results demonstrate that the human mutation rate has evolved on a much faster timescale than previously believed, with implications for cancer genetics, anthropology and other fields of inquiry.