{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]],"date-time":"2026-10-20T16:07:20Z","timestamp":1792512440867,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":129,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784851200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Genet."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Human skin pigmentation is a dynamic and highly adaptive trait influenced by genetic, environmental, and cultural factors. It is driven by variation in ultraviolet radiation, governed by a complex polygenic structure, and further modulated through gene-culture interactions. This review synthesizes advances from evolutionary biology, anthropology, molecular genetics, and gene-culture coevolution to provide an integrated framework for understanding global diversity of pigmentation. We take a distinct approach by focusing on the major evolutionary hypotheses and the polygenic architecture underlying pigmentation. We emphasize both large-effect loci, including\n                    <jats:italic>SLC24A5<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>SLC45A2<\/jats:italic>\n                    , and\n                    <jats:italic>MC1R<\/jats:italic>\n                    , as well as population-specific adaptive variants identified through recent genomic and functional studies. Using evidence from diverse global populations, we examine how natural selection, demographic processes, and convergent evolution have jointly structured present-day variation in human skin pigmentation. We further emphasize how cultural practices, including clothing, diet, and mobility, have generated gene-culture feedback that modulates selective pressures over evolutionary timescales, underscoring the need for integrative, multi-ethnic research approaches that trace the temporal variation of skin pigmentation and advance its broader biomedical and anthropological implications.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fgene.2026.1870791","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T22:10:25Z","timestamp":1784844625000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The genetic architecture of human skin pigmentation: evolution and adaptation across global populations"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Arkopala","family":"Bose","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Science, University of Calcutta","place":["Kolkata, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mainak","family":"Sengupta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, University of Calcutta","place":["Kolkata, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sumit","family":"Maitra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Science, University of Calcutta","place":["Kolkata, India"]},{"name":"Sociological Research Unit (SRU), Indian Statistical Institute","place":["Kolkata, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arup Ratan","family":"Bandyopadhyay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Science, University of Calcutta","place":["Kolkata, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Helmut","family":"Schaschl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna","place":["Vienna, Austria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/S41467-018-08147-0","article-title":"A GWAS in Latin Americans highlights the convergent evolution of lighter skin pigmentation in eurasia","volume":"10","author":"Adhikari","year":"2019","journal-title":"Nat. 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