Adaptations to water stress and pastoralism in the Turkana of northwest Kenya
The Turkana pastoralists of Kenya inhabit arid, water-limited environments and rely largely on livestock for subsistence. Working with Turkana communities, we sequenced 367 whole genomes and identified eight regions with evidence for recent positive selection. One of these regions includes a putative regulatory element for <i>STC1</i>-a kidney-expressed gene involved in metabolism and the response to dehydration. We show that <i>STC1</i> is induced by antidiuretic hormone in human cells, is associated with urea levels in the Turkana themselves, and is under strong and recent selection in this population as well as a second East African population, the Daasanach. This work highlights how integrating anthropological and genomic approaches can lead to a new understanding of human physiology with biomedical relevance.
Authors
- Kristina M. Garske (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7228-8125)
- Angela M. Taravella Oill (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4408-7211)
- Ricardo Mallarino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8971-4864)
- J. Echwa
- Melissa A. Wilson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2614-0285)
- Anjelina Lopurudoi
- Juan Pablo Arroyo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5992-5011)
- Michael Gurven (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5661-527X)
- Thuy L. Phung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8636-4902)
- Francis Lotukoi
- Asael Roichman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9538-0103)
- C Mwai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7513-9954)
- S. Lowasa
- Benjamin Muhoya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2228-3649)
- Joshua D. Rabinowitz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1247-4727)
- Dino J. Martins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1581-1642)
- R. Siford (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9786-1338)
- Joseph Kamau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0460-0516)
- Jinghui PENG
- Carla Handley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4322-304X)
- Anne C. Stone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8021-8314)
- Julien F. Ayroles (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-0511)
- Sarah Mathew (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3614-3276)
- Sospeter Ngoci Njeru (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1154-0777)
- Ian V. Caldas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4915-4057)
- Amanda J. Lea (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8827-2750)
- John C. Kahumbu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0281-6399)
- Philipp W. Messer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8453-9377)
- Patrick Kinyua (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8643-9800)
- E. R. Gerlinger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0483-6369)
Institutions
- University of Nairobi (KE)
- University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
- University of Turku (FI)
- Vanderbilt University (US)
- Princeton University (US)
- Cornell University (US)
- Kenya Medical Research Institute (KE)
- Institute of Primate Research (KE)
- Ludwig Cancer Research (US)
- National Museums of Kenya (KE)
- Arizona State University (US)
- Stony Brook University (US)
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2025-09-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv2467
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Digestive system and related health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 7.27