In a new study Breton et al. (2014) show how lactase persistence variants tell the story about the ancestry of the Khoe people in southern Africa.
Highlights
- •East African LP variant occurs at high frequency in southern African pastoralist Khoe
- •A small but distinct (13%) fraction East African ancestry in the Nama (a Khoe group)
- •We find genetic evidence of adaptation for consuming lactose in Khoe-speaking groups
- •Pastoralist practices were brought to southern Africa by migration from East Africa