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Mathieson I, Day FR, Barban N, Tropf FC, Brazel DM, Vaez A, van Zuydam N, Bitarello BD, Gardner EJ, Akimova ET, Azad A, Bergmann S, Bielak LF, Boomsma DI, Bosak K, Brumat M, Buring JE, Cesarini D, Chasman DI, Chavarro JE, Cocca M, Concas MP, Davey Smith G, Davies G, Deary IJ, Esko T, Faul JD, Franco O, Ganna A, Gaskins AJ, Gelemanovic A, de Geus EJC, Gieger C, Girotto G, Gopinath B, Grabe HJ, Gunderson EP, Hayward C, He C, van Heemst D, Hill WD, Hoffmann ER, Homuth G, Hottenga JJ, Huang H, Hyppӧnen E, Ikram MA, Jansen R, Johannesson M, Kamali Z, Kardia SLR, Kavousi M, Kifley A, Kiiskinen T, Kraft P, Kühnel B, Langenberg C, Liew G, Lind PA, Luan J, Mägi R, Magnusson PKE, Mahajan A, Martin NG, Mbarek H, McCarthy MI, McMahon G, Medland SE, Meitinger T, Metspalu A, Mihailov E, Milani L, Missmer SA, Mitchell P, Møllegaard S, Mook-Kanamori DO, Morgan A, van der Most PJ, de Mutsert R, Nauck M, Nolte IM, Noordam R, Penninx BWJH, Peters A, Peyser PA, Polašek O, Power C, Pribisalic A, Redmond P, Rich-Edwards JW, Ridker PM, Rietveld CA, Ring SM, Rose LM, Rueedi R, Shukla V, Smith JA, Stankovic S, Stefánsson K, Stöckl D, Strauch K, Swertz MA, Teumer A, Thorleifsson G, Thorsteinsdottir U, Thurik AR, Timpson NJ, Turman C, Uitterlinden AG, Waldenberger M, Wareham NJ, Weir DR, Willemsen G, Zhao JH, Zhao W, Zhao Y, Snieder H, den Hoed M, Ong KK, Mills MC, Perry JRB. Genome-wide analysis identifies genetic effects on reproductive success and ongoing natural selection at the FADS locus. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:790-801. [PMID: 36864135 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01528-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
Identifying genetic determinants of reproductive success may highlight mechanisms underlying fertility and identify alleles under present-day selection. Using data in 785,604 individuals of European ancestry, we identified 43 genomic loci associated with either number of children ever born (NEB) or childlessness. These loci span diverse aspects of reproductive biology, including puberty timing, age at first birth, sex hormone regulation, endometriosis and age at menopause. Missense variants in ARHGAP27 were associated with higher NEB but shorter reproductive lifespan, suggesting a trade-off at this locus between reproductive ageing and intensity. Other genes implicated by coding variants include PIK3IP1, ZFP82 and LRP4, and our results suggest a new role for the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) in reproductive biology. As NEB is one component of evolutionary fitness, our identified associations indicate loci under present-day natural selection. Integration with data from historical selection scans highlighted an allele in the FADS1/2 gene locus that has been under selection for thousands of years and remains so today. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that a broad range of biological mechanisms contribute to reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iain Mathieson
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Felix R Day
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Nicola Barban
- Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Felix C Tropf
- Nuffield College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- École Nationale de la Statistique et de L'administration Économique (ENSAE), Paris, France
- Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST), Paris, France
| | - David M Brazel
- Nuffield College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ahmad Vaez
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
- Department of Bioinformatics, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Natalie van Zuydam
- Beijer Laboratory and Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University and SciLifeLab, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Bárbara D Bitarello
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Eugene J Gardner
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Evelina T Akimova
- Nuffield College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ajuna Azad
- DNRF Center for Chromosome Stability, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sven Bergmann
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Lawrence F Bielak
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Dorret I Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Reproduction and Development (AR&D) Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Marco Brumat
- Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Julie E Buring
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David Cesarini
- Department of Economics, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Research Institute for Industrial Economics, Stockholm, Sweden
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Daniel I Chasman
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jorge E Chavarro
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Massimiliano Cocca
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health, IRCCS 'Burlo Garofolo', Trieste, Italy
| | - Maria Pina Concas
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health, IRCCS 'Burlo Garofolo', Trieste, Italy
| | | | - Gail Davies
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Ian J Deary
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Tõnu Esko
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jessica D Faul
- Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Oscar Franco
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Andrea Ganna
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Audrey J Gaskins
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Eco J C de Geus
- Department of Biological Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Christian Gieger
- Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Giorgia Girotto
- Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health, IRCCS 'Burlo Garofolo', Trieste, Italy
| | - Bamini Gopinath
- Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Hans Jörgen Grabe
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Erica P Gunderson
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, USA
| | - Caroline Hayward
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Chunyan He
- Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Diana van Heemst
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - W David Hill
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Eva R Hoffmann
- DNRF Center for Chromosome Stability, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Georg Homuth
- Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Jouke Jan Hottenga
- Department of Biological Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Hongyang Huang
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elina Hyppӧnen
- Australian Centre for Precision Health, University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - M Arfan Ikram
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Rick Jansen
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Public Health and Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Magnus Johannesson
- Department of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Zoha Kamali
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
- Department of Bioinformatics, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Sharon L R Kardia
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Maryam Kavousi
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Annette Kifley
- Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Tuomo Kiiskinen
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Peter Kraft
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brigitte Kühnel
- Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Claudia Langenberg
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Gerald Liew
- Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Penelope A Lind
- Psychiatric Genetics, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jian'an Luan
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Reedik Mägi
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Patrik K E Magnusson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anubha Mahajan
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Nicholas G Martin
- Genetic Epidemiology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Hamdi Mbarek
- Department of Biological Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Qatar Genome Programme, Qatar Foundation Research, Development and Innovation, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Mark I McCarthy
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - George McMahon
- School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Sarah E Medland
- Psychiatric Genetics, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Thomas Meitinger
- Institute of Human Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Andres Metspalu
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | | | - Lili Milani
- Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Stacey A Missmer
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, MI, USA
| | - Paul Mitchell
- Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Stine Møllegaard
- Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Dennis O Mook-Kanamori
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Anna Morgan
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health, IRCCS 'Burlo Garofolo', Trieste, Italy
| | - Peter J van der Most
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Renée de Mutsert
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Matthias Nauck
- Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Ilja M Nolte
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Raymond Noordam
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Brenda W J H Penninx
- Department of Psychiatry, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center/GGZ inGeest, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Annette Peters
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Patricia A Peyser
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Ozren Polašek
- University of Split School of Medicine, Split, Croatia
- Algebra University College, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Chris Power
- Population, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
| | | | - Paul Redmond
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Janet W Rich-Edwards
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Women's Health, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Paul M Ridker
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Cornelius A Rietveld
- Erasmus University Rotterdam Institute for Behavior and Biology, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Applied Economics, Erasmus School of Economics, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Susan M Ring
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | | | - Rico Rueedi
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vallari Shukla
- DNRF Center for Chromosome Stability, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jennifer A Smith
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Stasa Stankovic
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Doris Stöckl
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Konstantin Strauch
- Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Chair of Genetic Epidemiology, IBE, Faculty of Medicine, LMU, Munich, Germany
| | - Morris A Swertz
- Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Alexander Teumer
- Institute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | | | | | - A Roy Thurik
- Erasmus University Rotterdam Institute for Behavior and Biology, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Applied Economics, Erasmus School of Economics, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Montpellier Business School, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Constance Turman
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - André G Uitterlinden
- Erasmus University Rotterdam Institute for Behavior and Biology, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Melanie Waldenberger
- Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Nicholas J Wareham
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - David R Weir
- Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Gonneke Willemsen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jing Hau Zhao
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Wei Zhao
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Yajie Zhao
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Harold Snieder
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Marcel den Hoed
- Beijer Laboratory and Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University and SciLifeLab, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ken K Ong
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Melinda C Mills
- Nuffield College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
- Department of Economics, Econometrics and Finance, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - John R B Perry
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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