RT Journal Article
T1 A genomic tale of inbreeding in western Mediterranean human populations
A1 Hernández, Candela L.
A1 Sánchez Martínez, Luis Javier
A1 Ceballos, Francisco C.
A1 Dugoujon, Jean M.
A1 Pereira, Luisa
A1 Calderón Fernández, María Del Rosario
AB Consanguineous marriages are common in many worldwide human populations, and the biological consequences for offspring can be relevant at the biomedical level. The current genomic revolution displayed through genome-wide studies is challenging the paradigm in the analysis of consanguinity. Here, we analyzed genomic inbreeding patterns in human populations located at the western edge of the Mediterranean region (Iberia and Morocco). Runs of Homozygosity (ROH) (autozygosity fragments) were identified in 139 autochthonous individuals originating from southern Iberia and Morocco via microarray data. All individuals analyzed carried at least one ROH in their genomes. The genomic inbreeding coefficient (FROH) and the presence of ROH islands (ROHi) revealed interesting patterns in the target populations as well as in the rest of the Mediterranean basin. Moroccan Berbers presented signals of recent inbreeding, relying on high coverage of long ROH (> 5 Mb) and FROH. The location and structure of ROHi among people in the western Mediterranean could be interpreted as a signature of common genetic links across the Strait of Gibraltar. We found a significant enrichment of some relevant biological functions in the estimated ROHi hotspots associated with the immune system and chemosensation. Genomic inbreeding approaches allow us to understand past population histories and can be used as a proxy to scan the genome in search of selection signals.
PB Springer
SN 0340-6717
YR 2025
FD 2025-05-10
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/123045
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/123045
LA spa
NO Hernández, C. L., Sánchez-Martínez, L. J., Ceballos, F. C., Dugoujon, J. M., Pereira, L., & Calderón, R. (2025). A genomic tale of inbreeding in western Mediterranean human populations. Human Genetics, 144(6), 615–631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-025-02747-9
NO Funding: This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO), grant CGL2014-53985-R (PI: RC).Acknowledgements: We sincerely thank all the sample donors. Author contributions: see original article.Data availability: No new data was created in this study. Raw genomic data from Hernández et al. 2020 is available at the EGA repository (European Genome-Phenome Archive; Study Accession Number: EGAS00001003901).Ethical approval: Approval was granted by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee from San Carlos Clinical Hospital (ethics approval number 14/415-E_BS). Consent to participate: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 27 dic 2025