Solomon Island: Dark-Skinned Indigenous People with Blond Hair

5 to 10 percent of the Solomon Island population are blond.

It was until now assumed that the dark-skinned blond-haired indigenous people of Solomon Islands may have been inherited from interbreeding with  Europeans (Europeans traders and explorers that came to the Islands).

However a team led by researchers at Stanford University have found out that the gene variant responsible for blond hair in the Islanders is different from the gene that causes blond hair in Europeans.

Dr. Bustamanta, a geneticist at Stanford University remarked “for me it breaks down any kind of simple notions you might have about race, Humans are beautifully diverse, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

5 to 10 percent of the Solomon Island population are blond.

According to May issue of the US Journal of Science, a gene called TYRP1 is the reason why 5 to 10 percent of the Islanders are blond. The fact is that the solomon Islands natives have these genes but Europeans don’t have this genomes.

Dr. Bustamanta, the co-author said the study shows there is need for further research on the genomes of unstudied population around the world.

“ Here you got an unstudied population with a small sample size and you can really find some cool things. So what about other places, like what about light pigmentation in parts of Africa? How do we not know the genetic basis of skin and hair pigmentation across the globe?” said Dr. Bustamanta.