Understanding the worldwide distribution of human genetic diversity is of interest for applied sciences such as forensics i.e. to develop DNA markers for inferring bio-geographic ancestry, but can also provide exciting insights into the origin and history of human populations. We are interested in using genetic diversity to investigate human population origin and migratory history in different parts of the world and to study the relationship between genes and culture with a focus on Oceania. Furthermore, we are using genome-wide genetic data for detecting signatures of positive selection, aiming to understand how environmental factors impact on human genetic diversity. Most of this work is performed in close collaboration with international academic partners such as Professor Mark Stoneking (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig, Germany), Professor Mila Tommaseo-Ponzetta (University of Bari, Italy), Professor Ron Trent (University of Sydney, Australia) and others, including collaborators from the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research.

Selected recent publications:

• Kayser M, Brauer S, Cordaux R, Casto A, Lao O, Zhivotovsky LA, Moyse-Faurie C, Rutledge RB, Schiefenhoevel W, Gil D, Lin AA, Underhill PA, Oefner PJ, Trent RJ, and Stoneking M (2006) Melanesian and Asian origins of Polynesians: mtDNA and Y-chromosome gradients across the Pacific. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 23(11):2234-2244
• Lao O, de Gruijter H, van Duijn K, Navarro A, and Kayser M (2007) Signatures of positive selection in genes associated with human skin pigmentation as revealed from analyses of single nucleotide polymorphisms. Annals of Human Genetics, 71(3):354-369
• Kayser M, Lao L, Saar K, Brauer S, Wang X, Nuernberg P, Trent RJ, Stoneking M. (2008) Genome-wide analysis indicates more Asian than Melanesian ancestry of Polynesians. American Journal of Human Genetics, 82:194-198
• Kayser M, Choi Y, van Oven M, Mona S, Brauer S, Trent RJ, Suarkia D, Schiefenhövel W, and Stoneking M (2008) The impact of the Austronesian expansion: evidence from mtDNA and Y-chromosome diversity in the Admiralty Islands of Melanesia. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 25(7):1362–1374
• Mona S, Grunz KE, Brauer S, Pakendorf B, Castrì L, Sudoyo H, Marzuki S, Barnes RH, Schmidtke J, Stoneking M, and Kayser M (2009) Genetic admixture history of eastern Indonesia as revealed by Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA analysis. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 26(8):1865-1877
• van Oven M, Hämmerle JM, van Schoor M, Kushnick G, Pennekamp P, Zega I, Lao O, Brown L, Kennerknecht I, and Kayser M (2010) Unexpected island effects at an extreme: reduced Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA diversity in Nias. Molecular Biology and Evolution, Epub Nov 8 2010, doi: 10.1093/molbev/msq300
• Wollstein A, Lao O, Becker C, Brauer S, Trent RJ, Nürnberg P, Stoneking M, and Kayser M (2010) Demographic history of Oceania inferred from genome-wide data. Current Biology, 20(22):1983–1992