GENEALOGY-DNA-L Archives

Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2006-05 > 1146961601


From:
Subject: skin color [was Re: [DNA] Re: DNAprints Can someone help me..]
Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 20:26:41 EDT


In a message dated 05/06/06 10:07:33 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
writes:

> I have a question about the man that left Africa.. Was he black? I am
> white.
> Any information would be helpful to me. Thank you very much, Frances

Most likely everyone's skin color was black at that time, about 60,000 years
ago. Black seems to be the original color, and it is strongly selected for in
areas near the equator. There are many genes involved in skin color, and
mutations (changes) in any one of them can result in paler skin, which can be an
advantage in northern latitudes where there is less sun.

Just last December, a report came out about a change in one particular gene
(called SLC24A5), which is found in almost all Europeans but not in Africans or
Asians. The estimated age of that mutation is between 20,000 and 50,000 years
ago. The paler skin color in Asians is probably due to an entirely diffferent
gene, but the mutation has not be discovered yet. This is a link to a
newspaper item about SLC24A5:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/15/AR2005121501728_pf.html

Ann Turner

This thread: