Genetic Diversity in European Populations: Evolutionary Evidence and Medical Implications

Although it is the continent with the lowest genomic diversity, Europe embraces a significant degree of variation, shaped by complex demographic events and locus-specific selective factors linked to environmental conditions. The European genetic diversity observed today has also important clinical and epidemiological implications. Different questions related to these topics are addressed in this special topic issue of eight excellent papers written by specialized European teams. The papers document the remarkable progress achieved in the last years in exploring human genomic diversity, both in past and present populations, in reconstructing complex scenarios of European peopling history using sophisticated data analyses and computer simulations, in identifying signatures of adaptive selection in milk digestion- and immune-related genes, and in applying this knowledge to crucial health issues, from tissue transplantation to disease associations. Genetic Diversity in European Populations: Evolutionary Evidence and Medical Implications is of special interest to researchers and students in biological and medical sciences and clinicians, who wish to update their knowledge in the field of European genetic diversity for basic research and medical applications.