The Bushmen genome is a treasure trove for pharmacogenomics

Scientists have deciphered the genome of the most resilient people in the worldABC Journal based on Nature: Complete Khoisan and Bantu genomes from southern Africa
An international team of scientists has deciphered the genomes of four heads of Bushmen tribes and one representative of the Bantu tribe.

All participants in the study are elderly: bushmen are at least 80 years old, and the Bantu man is already approaching this age – and it was he who was named by scientists as the ideal representative of the population of South Africa.

In the course of the study, scientists identified 1.3 million genetic combinations previously unknown. This demonstrates that the inhabitants of South Africa are genetically quite different not only from Europeans and Asians, but also from Africans living in the west of the continent. In addition, the study showed the genetic uniqueness of Bushmen. What is especially noteworthy, according to scientists, at the genetic level, Bushmen differ from each other more than Europeans and Asians.

Bushmen became the first participants in an international project to decode the genome, who still live, foraging by hunting and gathering. Their physiology is unique, for example, bushmen are immune to such "side effects" of an agricultural lifestyle as a high-fat diet and the incidence of malaria.

Scientists hope that the data they have obtained can be used in pharmacogenomics – the science of creating drugs whose effectiveness depends on the genetics of the body. Naturally, HIV is the first in line – perhaps knowledge about the genome of the most resilient and resilient people in the world will allow us to find a cure for AIDS, the epidemic of which is raging on the African continent.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru19.02.2010