Beauty May Not Lie in the Eye of the Beholder – It May Lie in Genetics

Identifying parts of the genome associated with facial beauty Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) have conducted a genome wide association study (GWAS) to identify parts of the genome associated with facial beauty. "Facial beauty is a human trait that is of great interest worldwide. Previous studies provided evidence that attractiveness is genetically heritable, but no specific genetic variant has been identified for attractiveness", says Qiongshi Lu, Assistant Professor at UW and principal investigator of the study. "A map of genetic associations for attractiveness may allow us to quantitatively investigate the evolutionary reasons behind our preference for certain facial features." The study, published in PLOS Genetics, used genetic information from a sample of 4,383 European individuals including both men and women. Volunteers were asked to score the sample's yearbook photos based on attractiveness, and the scores given to each person's photograph were analyzed with regards to their genetic information; "By linking each individual’s genetic information with his/her attractiveness rating, we were able to demonstrate the statistical associations between certain genetic variants and facial attractiveness" adds Lu. GWAS studies are increasingly used in areas of science such as medicine, where researchers look for specific genetic variants that may increase disease susceptibility, for example. Nevertheless, their use in measuring attractiveness is a novel concept. The researchers have therefore created a study that spans two disciplines – genetics and sociology. Lu notes: Most sociological studies that focus on measuring attractiveness do not collect genetic data. The availability of matched genetic information and robustly measured attractiveness in our study cohort is the key to our success". Genes related to attractiveness differ by sex Several genes were identified across individuals that were measured as "attractive", and, interestingly, these genes differed across the sexes. In women, specific genetic variants associated with beauty were also related to genes impacting body mass. In contrast, variants associated to attractiveness in males were linked to genes affecting blood cholesterol levels. "Our results suggest that there is not a ‘master gene’ with strong effect on facial attractiveness. Instead, attractiveness is most likely controlled by a large number of weak genetic associations with complex regulatory effects. That said, several relatively stronger association signals did show up in our analyses," Lu comments. https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/beauty-may-not-lie-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-it-may-lie-in-genetics-317717?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=71483341&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_1V3-dptz3ZAwY765QDM7dZG3_xRms_8EtMwNb1RsjhtyMiIK_qhEhcuwXCzvrLOI2_ulhsBBmoXclIDO3ch4dCVR9TQ&_hsmi=71483341