A genome-wide association study identifies five loci influencing facial morphology in Europeans.

ABSTRACT: Inter-individual variation in facial shape is one of the most noticeable phenotypes in humans, and it is clearly under genetic regulation; however, almost nothing is known about the genetic basis of normal human facial morphology. We therefore conducted a genome-wide association study for facial shape phenotypes in multiple discovery and replication cohorts, considering almost ten thousand individuals of European descent from several countries. Phenotyping of facial shape features was based on landmark data obtained from three-dimensional head magnetic resonance images (MRIs) and two-dimensional portrait images. We identified five independent genetic loci associated with different facial phenotypes, suggesting the involvement of five candidate genes--PRDM16, PAX3, TP63, C5orf50, and COL17A

SUBMITTER: Liu F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3441666 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature