Recurrent structural variation and recent turnover at the 17q21.31 locus in humans and great apes.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 42151137.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-73174-1.
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Abstract
The 17q21.31 locus in humans harbors several complex structural haplotypes including a ~ 970 kb inversion. Different inversion haplotypes have been associated with susceptibility to microdeletions causing Koolen-de Vries syndrome and variation in fecundity and recombination rates. Here, using 210 haplotype-resolved human genome assemblies and pangenome graph-based approaches we characterize 11 distinct structural haplotypes, several of which have not been previously described. Extending our analyses to a set of haplotype-resolved great-ape genomes, we characterize the structure of an independent inversion in chimpanzees which extends an additional 650 kb, encompasses 5 additional genes, and is ~2 million years younger than the human inversion. Using short read sequencing data we characterize 17q21.31 haplotype diversity worldwide in ~5174 individuals from 107 populations finding increased frequencies of KANSL1 duplication-containing haplotypes in both European and South Asian populations as well as 8 double recombination events between inverted and non-inverted haplotypes ranging in size from 20-180 kb. Finally, using 626 ancient Eurasian human genomes we show the frequency of haplotypes containing KANSL1 duplications has increased ~6-fold over the past 12 thousand years in Europe. Together, our results highlight the dynamics, complexity, and recurrent, independent evolution of a medically relevant locus across humans and great apes.