David Comas

Group website

Research Outline

Our group is focused on the analysis of the human genome and that of our closest related species in order to understand the processes that have modelled the extant genetic diversity of humans. We are interested in unravelling the demographic and adaptive processes that have given rise to the genetic composition of human populations and their consequences on health and disease.

Research Lines

Demographic genetic history of European populations

The project aims to detect differential migrations and genetic composition of some European populations, with a focus on isolated groups and ethnic minorities, such as Basques and Roma (aka Gypsies). 

 

Migrations and genetic adaptations in North African populations

The complex human population landscape of North Africa is the result of an amalgam of migrations in the region. The genomewide analysis of North African groups allows us to date the sequential migrations in the area since Paleolithic times until historical movements, which explain the extant genomic pattern of North Africa

 

Genomic consequences of demographic events

Demographic events leave a footprint in the genetic pool of human groups. The analysis of the genetic diversity in specific groups that have suffered from known demographic events, such as admixture and bottlenecks, allows us to detect genomic variants related to those events, which can be related to health and disease traits. 

 

Team during 2019-20

PhD students: André Flores-Bello, Simone Biagini, Neus Font-Porterias, Marcel Lucas-Sánchez, Jose Serradell 

Postdocs: Erica Bianco, André Flores-Bello

Technicians: Mònica Vallés

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​​Selected Publications 

Lorente-Galdos B, Lao O, Serra-Vidal G, Santpere G, Kuderna LFK, Arauna LR, Fadhlaoui-Zid K, Pimenoff VN, Soodyall H, Zalloua P, Marques-Bonet T, Comas D (2019) Whole-genome sequence analysis of a Pan African set of samples reveals archaic gene flow from an extinct basal population of modern humans into sub-Saharan populations. Genome Biology 20:77. doi: 10.1186/s13059-019-1684-5. PMID: 31023378

 

Font-Porterias, Arauna LR, Poveda A, Bianco E, Rebato E, Prata MJ, Calafell F, Comas D (2019) European Roma groups show complex West Eurasian admixture footprints and a common South Asian genetic origin. PLoS Genetics 15(9): e1008417. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008417. PMID: 31545809

 

Serra-Vidal G, Lucas-Sanchez M, Fadhlaoui-Zid K, Bekada A, Zalloua P, Comas D (2019) Heterogeneity in Palaeolithic population continuity and Neolithic expansion in North Africa. Current Biology 29:3953-3959. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.09.050. PMID: 31679935

 

Castro e Silva MA, Nunes K, Lemes RB, Mas-Sandoval A, Amorim CEG, Krieger JE, Mill JG, Salzano MS, Bortolini MC, da Costa Pereira A, Comas D, Hünemeier T (2020) Genomic insight into the origins and dispersal of the Brazilian coastal natives. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 117 (5) 2372-2377. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1909075117. PMID: 31932419

 

Bianco E, Laval G, Font-Porterias N, García-Fernández C, Dobon B, Sabido-Vera R, Sukarova Stefanovska E, Kučinskas V, Makukh H, Pamjav H, Quintana-Murci L, Netea MG, Bertranpetit J, Calafell F, Comas D (2020) Recent Common Origin, Reduced Population Size, and Marked Admixture Have Shaped European Roma Genomes. Mol Biol Evol;37(11):3175-87. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msaa156. PMID: 32589725

 

Other relevant information 

Invitations as a keynote speaker

∙ Comas D

Insights into the genetic structure of the Iberian populations, including Roma

Meeting : Genetics of the XXI century

Moscow, Russia, May 2019

∙ Comas D

Dissecting the genomic landscape of North African human populations

Meeting : Centenary of human population genetics

Moscow, Russia, May 2019

∙ Comas D

Genetic landscape of North Africa

Meeting : Peopling history of Africa: a multidisciplinary perspective

Geneve, Switzerland, June 2019

Invited lecture