Genome-wide association meta-analysis of individuals of European ancestry identifies new loci explaining a substantial fraction of hair color variation and heritability

Hysi, PG; Valdes, AM; Liu, F; Furlotte, NA; Evans, DM; Bataille, V; Visconti, A; Hemani, G; McMahon, G; Ring, SM; Smith, GD; Duffy, DL; Zhu, G; Gordon, SD; Medland, SE; Lin, BD; Willemsen, G; Jan Hottenga, J; Vuckovic, D; Girotto, G; Gandin, I; Sala, C; Concas, MP; Brumat, M; Gasparini, P; Toniolo, D; Cocca, M; Robino, A; Yazar, S; Hewitt, AW; Chen, Y; Zeng, C; Uitterlinden, AG; Ikram, MA; Hamer, MA; van Duijn, CM; Nijsten, T; Mackey, DA; Falchi, M; Boomsma, DI; Martin, NG; Hinds, DA; Kayser, M; Spector, TD; The International Visible Trait Genetics Consortium

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Genome-wide association meta-analysis of individuals of European ancestry identifies new loci explaining a substantial fraction of hair color variation and heritability

Citation

Hysi, PG and Valdes, AM and Liu, F and Furlotte, NA and Evans, DM and Bataille, V and Visconti, A and Hemani, G and McMahon, G and Ring, SM and Smith, GD and Duffy, DL and Zhu, G and Gordon, SD and Medland, SE and Lin, BD and Willemsen, G and Jan Hottenga, J and Vuckovic, D and Girotto, G and Gandin, I and Sala, C and Concas, MP and Brumat, M and Gasparini, P and Toniolo, D and Cocca, M and Robino, A and Yazar, S and Hewitt, AW and Chen, Y and Zeng, C and Uitterlinden, AG and Ikram, MA and Hamer, MA and van Duijn, CM and Nijsten, T and Mackey, DA and Falchi, M and Boomsma, DI and Martin, NG and Hinds, DA and Kayser, M and Spector, TD and The International Visible Trait Genetics Consortium, Genome-wide association meta-analysis of individuals of European ancestry identifies new loci explaining a substantial fraction of hair color variation and heritability, Nature Genetics, 50, (5) pp. 652-656. ISSN 1061-4036 (2018) [Refereed Article]

Copyright Statement

DOI: doi:10.1038/s41588-018-0100-5

Abstract

Hair color is one of the most recognizable visual traits in European populations and is under strong genetic control. Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of almost 300,000 participants of European descent. We identified 123 autosomal and one X-chromosome loci significantly associated with hair color; all but 13 are novel. Collectively, single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with hair color within these loci explain 34.6% of red hair, 24.8% of blond hair, and 26.1% of black hair heritability in the study populations. These results confirm the polygenic nature of complex phenotypes and improve our understanding of melanin pigment metabolism in humans.

Item Details

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	autosome, European, gene locus, genetic variation, genome-wide association study, hair color, heritability
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Genetics
Research Field:	Genome structure and regulation
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Specific population health (excl. Indigenous health)
Objective Field:	Specific population health (excl. Indigenous health) not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Hewitt, AW (Professor Alex Hewitt)
UTAS Author:	Mackey, DA (Professor David Mackey)
ID Code:	126981
Year Published:	2018
Web of Science^® Times Cited:	34
Deposited By:	Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Deposited On:	2018-07-05
Last Modified:	2019-09-18
Downloads:	0

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