Genome-wide analysis identifies genetic effects on reproductive success and ongoing natural selection at the FADS locus

• Published in: Nature human behaviour Vol. 7; no. 5; pp. 790 - 801
• Main Authors: Mathieson, Iain, Day, Felix R., Tropf, Felix C., Brazel, David M., Vaez, Ahmad, van Zuydam, Natalie, Bitarello, Bárbara D., Gardner, Eugene J., Akimova, Evelina T., Azad, Ajuna, Bergmann, Sven, Bielak, Lawrence F., Boomsma, Dorret I., Bosak, Kristina, Brumat, Marco, Buring, Julie E., Cesarini, David, Chasman, Daniel I., Chavarro, Jorge E., Concas, Maria Pina, Davey Smith, George, Davies, Gail, Deary, Ian J., Esko, Tõnu, Faul, Jessica D., Franco, Oscar, Gaskins, Audrey J., Gelemanovic, Andrea, de Geus, Eco J. C., Gieger, Christian, Gopinath, Bamini, Grabe, Hans Jörgen, Gunderson, Erica P., Hayward, Caroline, He, Chunyan, van Heemst, Diana, Hill, W. David, Homuth, Georg, Hottenga, Jouke Jan, Huang, Hongyang, Hyppӧnen, Elina, Ikram, M. Arfan, Jansen, Rick, Johannesson, Magnus, Kardia, Sharon L. R., Kavousi, Maryam, Kifley, Annette, Kraft, Peter, Kühnel, Brigitte, Langenberg, Claudia, Liew, Gerald, Lind, Penelope A., Luan, Jian’an, Mägi, Reedik, Magnusson, Patrik K. E., Mahajan, Anubha, Martin, Nicholas G., McCarthy, Mark I., McMahon, George, Medland, Sarah E., Meitinger, Thomas, Metspalu, Andres, Mihailov, Evelin, Missmer, Stacey A., Mitchell, Paul, Møllegaard, Stine, Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O., van der Most, Peter J., de Mutsert, Renée, Nolte, Ilja M., Noordam, Raymond, Penninx, Brenda W. J. H., Peters, Annette, Peyser, Patricia A., Polašek, Ozren, Power, Chris, Pribisalic, Ajka, Rich-Edwards, Janet W., Ridker, Paul M., Ring, Susan M., Rose, Lynda M., Rueedi, Rico, Shukla, Vallari, Smith, Jennifer A., Stefánsson, Kári, Stöckl, Doris, Strauch, Konstantin, Swertz, Morris A., Teumer, Alexander, Thorleifsson, Gudmar, Waldenberger, Melanie, Wareham, Nicholas J., Willemsen, Gonneke, Zhao, Jing Hau, Zhao, Wei, Zhao, Yajie, Snieder, Harold, Ong, Ken K., Mills, Melinda C., Perry, John R. B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 2023; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 45/43; 631/208/205/2138; 692/163/2743/2730; Aging - physiology; Alleles; Animal reproduction; Behavioral Sciences; Biology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Birth intervals; Child; Childlessness; Endometriosis; Experimental Psychology; Female; Fertility; Fertility - genetics; First born; Gene loci; Genes; Genomes; Genomics; Humans; Life Sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Menopause; Menopause - genetics; Microeconomics; Natural selection; Neurosciences; Personality and Social Psychology; Puberty; Reproduction - genetics; Selection, Genetic; Success; Timing; Variants
• ISSN: 2397-3374; 2397-3374
• DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01528-6

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.
Mathieson et al. carried out a genome-wide association study of reproductive success (number of children born) in humans, revealing the importance of diverse neuro-endocrine and behavioural factors.