Besides examining the genes responsible for previously identified diseases, Bray and colleagues went on to look for other regions of the Ashkenazi Jewish genome that display signs of selection, in comparison to European genomes. The two strongest differences between the Ashkenazi and European populations were on chromosome 2 and 12. A region including the lactase gene, which confers lactose tolerance, on chromosome 2 showed signs of strong selection in Europeans but not the Ashkenazi.

“A variant of the lactase gene swept through Europe at around the same time as the domestication of cattle several thousand years ago,” Bray says. “This result suggests the selection preceded the European establishment of the Ashkenazi Jewish population, which is consistent with the historical record.”