245W Poster - Population Genetics
Wednesday June 08, 9:15 PM - 10:00 PM

Authors:
Jan Sokol ¹; Javier Blanco Portillo ²; Obed Garcia ²; Mark Penjueli ³; Alexander Ioannidis ²

Affiliations:
1) Boston University School of Medicine; 2) Stanford University; 3) New York University Abu Dhabi

Keywords:
Natural selection

Using genome-wide array data from over five thousand Hawaiian and Polynesian individuals, we identified several ancestry-specific selection patterns in Pacific Islanders. We analyzed these hits, particularly those within the HLA region, to characterize the putative variants driving this selection. Our findings corroborate recent research that had identified Native American gene flow into Polynesia around AD 1200, and expands upon its functional significance. We suggest that ancestry-specific selection was driven by immunologic challenges to Native Hawaiians and discuss implications for precision-medicine for present-day Hawaiians. Our analysis provides a crucial new piece of information in the genetic study of Polynesian individuals, helping to shift the focus towards populations for whom fewer medical genetic resources exist.