There are 2 times more "growth genes"

The genetic origins of the heritability of growth have become twice as clear

Copper newsThe growth of an adult is almost one hundred percent due to heredity, but until now only about ten percent of this genetic background was known to science.

An international consortium of scientists, thanks to the complete decoding of the genomes of more than 250 thousand people, managed to almost double this figure, clarifying about one fifth of the biological picture of the heritability of growth. The work was published in the journal Nature Genetics (Defining the role of common variation in the genomic and biological architecture of adult human height).

Hundreds of employees of the project dedicated to the study of the genetic foundations of anthropometric characteristics analyzed the data obtained after decoding the genomes of 253,288 people. They tested about two million cases of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) – differences in a DNA sequence the size of one nucleotide – common to at least five percent of the participants. From this volume, 697 growth-related point mutations located in 424 regions of the genome were eventually selected. This pool of mutually influencing genetic variations is the largest of all identified so far for any anthropometric trait or disease.

Most SNPs turned out to be located in the region of genes, and previously known for their involvement in the process of skeletal growth. However, localization of some of them revealed previously unknown molecular pathways. In particular, this concerns the mTOR gene regulating cell reproduction, whose involvement in the growth of the skeleton was not previously known. In addition, we are talking about genes related to the metabolism of collagen (a key component of bone tissue) and chondroitin sulfate (a component of cartilage tissue), as well as a network of genes active in growth zones – areas of growing tissue at the end of long tubular bones.

"Our results allow us to clarify the genetic architecture of human growth, which is determined by the totality of a huge but finite number of common point mutations," the authors summarize. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying skeletal growth will make it possible to change the approach to the treatment of its disorders in the future, they add (in a press release, Boston Children's Hospital GIANT study reveals giant number of genes linked to height - VM).

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru06.10.2014