An international group of researchers from Ghana and Israel has challenged the classical view that mutations are entirely random in the evolutionary process. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Professor Adi Livnat and his colleagues used a new method, MEMDS, to study the frequency of de novo mutations in the APOL1 gene. This gene provides protection against African sleeping sickness but increases the risk of kidney disease in individuals who carry two copies of the altered gene.
An analysis of sperm samples showed significant differences between populations: the mutation occurred much more frequently in donors from Ghana than in those from Northern Europe. A similar pattern was previously observed for the anti-malaria HbS mutation among sub-Saharan African populations.
The researchers proposed a new theory called “natural simplification.” According to this concept, in addition to external natural selection, there is an internal mechanism that uses genetic information accumulated over generations to influence the likelihood of certain mutations occurring in specific populations.
The study’s results suggest that the mutation process in human evolution may be directional rather than completely random, as previously thought. This discovery opens up new frontiers in our understanding of genetic evolution.
