Genome-wide association study of facial morphology reveals novel associations with FREM1 and PARK2.

ABSTRACT: Several studies have now shown evidence of association between common genetic variants and quantitative facial traits in humans. The reported associations generally involve simple univariate measures and likely represent only a small fraction of the genetic loci influencing facial morphology. In this study, we applied factor analysis to a set of 276 facial linear distances derived from 3D facial surface images of 2187 unrelated individuals of European ancestry. We retained 23 facial factors, which we then tested for genetic associations using a genome-wide panel of 10,677,593 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In total, we identified genome-wide significant (p < 5 × 10-8) associations in three regions, including two that are novel: one involving measures of midface height at 6q26 with

SUBMITTER: Lee MK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5404842 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature