| 1. |
- Smith, Jennifer A, et al.
(author)
-
Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment
- 2016
-
In: Nature (London). - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 533:7604, s. 539-542
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Educational attainment is strongly influenced by social and other environmental factors, but genetic factors are estimated to account for at least 20% of the variation across individuals. Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for educational attainment that extends our earlier discovery sample of 101,069 individuals to 293,723 individuals, and a replication study in an independent sample of 111,349 individuals from the UK Biobank. We identify 74 genome-wide significant loci associated with the number of years of schooling completed. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with educational attainment are disproportionately found in genomic regions regulating gene expression in the fetal brain. Candidate genes are preferentially expressed in neural tissue, especially during the prenatal period, and enriched for biological pathways involved in neural development. Our findings demonstrate that, even for a behavioural phenotype that is mostly environmentally determined, a well-powered GWAS identifies replicable associated genetic variants that suggest biologically relevant pathways. Because educational attainment is measured in large numbers of individuals, it will continue to be useful as a proxy phenotype in efforts to characterize the genetic influences of related phenotypes, including cognition and neuropsychiatric diseases.
|
|
| 2. |
- Kilpeläinen, Tuomas O, et al.
(author)
-
Genetic variation near IRS1 associates with reduced adiposity and an impaired metabolic profile.
- 2011
-
In: Nature genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 43:8, s. 753-60
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genome-wide association studies have identified 32 loci influencing body mass index, but this measure does not distinguish lean from fat mass. To identify adiposity loci, we meta-analyzed associations between ∼2.5 million SNPs and body fat percentage from 36,626 individuals and followed up the 14 most significant (P < 10(-6)) independent loci in 39,576 individuals. We confirmed a previously established adiposity locus in FTO (P = 3 × 10(-26)) and identified two new loci associated with body fat percentage, one near IRS1 (P = 4 × 10(-11)) and one near SPRY2 (P = 3 × 10(-8)). Both loci contain genes with potential links to adipocyte physiology. Notably, the body-fat-decreasing allele near IRS1 is associated with decreased IRS1 expression and with an impaired metabolic profile, including an increased visceral to subcutaneous fat ratio, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, risk of diabetes and coronary artery disease and decreased adiponectin levels. Our findings provide new insights into adiposity and insulin resistance.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Solé Navais, Pol, et al.
(author)
-
Genetic effects on the timing of parturition and links to fetal birth weight.
- 2023
-
In: Nature genetics. - 1546-1718. ; 55:4, s. 559-567
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The timing of parturition is crucial for neonatal survival and infant health. Yet, its genetic basis remains largely unresolved. We present a maternal genome-wide meta-analysis of gestational duration (n = 195,555), identifying 22 associated loci (24 independent variants) and an enrichment in genes differentially expressed during labor. A meta-analysis of preterm delivery (18,797 cases, 260,246 controls) revealed six associated loci and large genetic similarities with gestational duration. Analysis of the parental transmitted and nontransmitted alleles (n = 136,833) shows that 15 of the gestational duration genetic variants act through the maternal genome, whereas 7 act both through the maternal and fetal genomes and 2 act only via the fetal genome. Finally, the maternal effects on gestational duration show signs of antagonistic pleiotropy with the fetal effects on birth weight: maternal alleles that increase gestational duration have negative fetal effects on birth weight. The present study provides insights into the genetic effects on the timing of parturition and the complex maternal-fetal relationship between gestational duration and birth weight.
|
|
| 5. |
- Estrada, Karol, et al.
(author)
-
Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 56 bone mineral density loci and reveals 14 loci associated with risk of fracture.
- 2012
-
In: Nature genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 44:5, s. 491-501
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bone mineral density (BMD) is the most widely used predictor of fracture risk. We performed the largest meta-analysis to date on lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD, including 17 genome-wide association studies and 32,961 individuals of European and east Asian ancestry. We tested the top BMD-associated markers for replication in 50,933 independent subjects and for association with risk of low-trauma fracture in 31,016 individuals with a history of fracture (cases) and 102,444 controls. We identified 56 loci (32 new) associated with BMD at genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10(-8)). Several of these factors cluster within the RANK-RANKL-OPG, mesenchymal stem cell differentiation, endochondral ossification and Wnt signaling pathways. However, we also discovered loci that were localized to genes not known to have a role in bone biology. Fourteen BMD-associated loci were also associated with fracture risk (P < 5 × 10(-4), Bonferroni corrected), of which six reached P < 5 × 10(-8), including at 18p11.21 (FAM210A), 7q21.3 (SLC25A13), 11q13.2 (LRP5), 4q22.1 (MEPE), 2p16.2 (SPTBN1) and 10q21.1 (DKK1). These findings shed light on the genetic architecture and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying BMD variation and fracture susceptibility.
|
|
| 6. |
- Gisladottir, Rosa S, et al.
(author)
-
Sequence Variants in TAAR5 and Other Loci Affect Human Odor Perception and Naming.
- 2020
-
In: Current biology : CB. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-0445 .- 0960-9822. ; 30:23, s. 4643-4653.e3
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Olfactory receptor (OR) genes in humans form a special class characterized by unusually high DNA sequence diversity, which should give rise to differences in perception and behavior. In the largest genome-wide association study to date based on olfactory testing, we investigated odor perception and naming with smell tasks performed by 9,122 Icelanders, with replication in a separate sample of 2,204 individuals. We discovered an association between a low-frequency missense variant in TAAR5 and reduced intensity rating of fish odor containing trimethylamine (p.Ser95Pro, pcombined = 5.6 × 10-15). We demonstrate that TAAR5 genotype affects aversion to fish odor, reflected by linguistic descriptions of the odor and pleasantness ratings. We also discovered common sequence variants in two canonical olfactory receptor loci that associate with increased intensity and naming of licorice odor (trans-anethole: lead variant p.Lys233Asn in OR6C70, pcombined = 8.8 × 10-16 and pcombined = 1.4 × 10-9) and enhanced naming of cinnamon (trans-cinnamaldehyde; intergenic variant rs317787-T, pcombined = 5.0 × 10-17). Together, our results show that TAAR5 genotype variation influences human odor responses and highlight that sequence diversity in canonical OR genes can lead to enhanced olfactory ability, in contrast to the view that greater tolerance for mutations in the human OR repertoire leads to diminished function.
|
|
