In their recent past, human populations have adapted to a diverse range of environments. The out of Africa expansion involved the colonization of a variety of habitats, from tropical to artic, and from high altitude to lowlands, among others. Moreover, cultural changes such as the transition from hunter-gathered to practicing agriculture and pastoralism created new selective pressures such as those related to pathogen exposure.
We are exploring the role of transposable elements in several stress response pathways directly related to human environmental adaptation.
