The gene most strongly associated with T2D in Qataris and replicated in other populations was DVL1. This gene encodes a member of a family of intracellular scaffolding proteins that act downstream of transmembrane Wnt receptors playing an important role in the signalling pathway including interacting with and stabilizing CTNNB1. It was previously linked to autosomal dominant Robinow syndrome 2, [48] and exhibited an accelerated rate of evolution in primates as compared to rodents, most prominent in the lineage from primates to humans [49]. Here, CTNNB1 is linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus.