Natural selection
Why is CCR5-Δ32 common only in Europe?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
CCR5-Δ32 likely rose under strong selection and spread fast by long-range dispersal; its range is limited more by time than by southern selection barriers.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Computational / modelling — Spatially explicit wave-of-advance model of CCR5-Δ32 frequency clines and allele age
- N
- Population-genetic modeling of allele frequencies — no single sample N
- Population
- Geographic CCR5-Δ32 allele-frequency data
- Outcome
- Selection and dispersal parameters explaining Δ32 geographic spread
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
Key findings
Strong selection (s≥0.1) and rapid long-range dispersal are needed; geographic restriction fits limited dispersal time better than purely local selection; origin may be outside northern Europe.
Methodology
Fit a spatially explicit wave-of-advance model to Δ32 frequency clines and allele-age estimates.
Limitations
Does not definitively identify the historical selective agent (plague vs smallpox debated).
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
Multiple empirical papers in this library examine natural selection with mechanistic biological findings.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Strong selection (s≥0.1) and rapid long-range dispersal are needed; geographic restriction fits limited dispersal time better than purely local selection; origin may be outside northern Europe.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Systems and scales differ across natural selection studies (species, tissues, methods), so mechanisms should not be over-generalised.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Open questions
Tensions this paper is part of
From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.
Systems and scales differ across natural selection studies (species, tissues, methods), so mechanisms should not be over-generalised.
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Same topic cluster — not a recommendation engine.