Researchers say the gene emerged when early humans left Africa

Sep 20, 2013 21:01 GMT  ·  By

The ginger gene, whose more official name is the V60L allele, has been around for about 50,000 years, scientists now argue.

Specifically, researchers say that this genetic mutation first emerged when early humans decided to leave Africa and headed towards Europe.

In their paper, the scientists who looked into this issue explain that, when compared to sunlight in Africa, the one in Europe is significantly weaker. Therefore, if early humans were to keep their dark skin tone, their bodies would not have been able to get enough vitamin D.

The ginger gene developed as a solution to this problem. Specifically, its purpose was to lighten the skin via depigmentation and therefore ensure that early humans got all the vitamin D they needed, despite the fact that they were now exposed to weaker sunlight.

Metro tells us that, probably because it proved fairly effective at serving its purpose, the V60L allele continues to be a common gene among people living in Southern Europe.

However, in order for two people to have a ginger child, both must carry the V60L allele. Even then, they have merely 25% chances of producing such an offspring.

Specialists say that, as effective as this gene might be in boosting vitamin D production, it does have its downsides. More precisely, it makes people more vulnerable to melanoma, i.e. the deadliest form of skin cancer.

“As a consequence of depigmentation there has been collateral damage to health. This can be reconciled if we assume that melanoma is typically a post-reproductive disease, and consequently should have little effect on the individual’s genetic contribution to the next generation,” study author Dr. Saioa Lopez explains.

The researchers concluded that the ginger gene emerged when people first settled in Europe after looking into the genetic makeup of 1,000 people in Spain and piecing together the evolutionary processes of particular genes.

A detailed account of their investigation and its findings is made available to the public in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.