The largest genetic study to date has discovered 50 new genes related to eye color
Which genes do the color of the eyes depend on?This question was answered by an international team led by King’s College London and Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam. The question has been published in a scientific journal. Scientific progress.
This is the so-called genome-wide association study (GWAS). More than 192,000 people from all over Europe and Asia participated in the study and determined 50 Site Previously unknown genetics of eye color.
In order to locate oneself, “loci” is the plural of the Latin “locus”. In genetics, it refers to finding a specific position of a gene or other DNA sequence on a chromosome. It’s like the investigation team found another 50 streets in a city that they didn’t know before.
The study used two main sources: 157,485 participants of European descent were recruited from the customer base of a personal genomics company 23andMe, And a meta-analysis of 35,501 European individuals from 9 populations collected by members of the International Visible Trait Genetics Consortium (VisiGen).
Suspicious eye color
In the past, people thought that the color of the eyes was determined by a single gene and followed a simple genetic pattern (Mendelian Tradition), the main eye color is brown, and blue is invisible. Therefore, it is impossible for two blue-eyed parents to have brown-eyed children. As a result, this belief may cause discomfort in some families.
Latest research They have found that mutations in the pair of genes HERC2 and OCA2 that are adjacent to each other on chromosome 15 play an important role in determining eye color, but mutations in at least ten other genes also play a role.
Although this is not the most common situation, two blue-eyed parents can have brown-eyed children.
This study shows that the inheritance of eye color is much more complicated than previously thought, and that two blue-eyed parents can give birth to brown-eyed children (some people can relieve it), although this is not the most common situation.
50 genes
So far, 12 genes related to eye color have been identified. This new study has discovered more than 50 genes, which proves the huge genetic complexity that causes eye color, far exceeding the results of previous studies.
Research has identified genes involved in melanin pigmentation, but has also found associations with genes related to iris morphology and structure.
Investigation results will help forensic scientists identify criminals
Another analysis of the same study conducted among 1,636 Asian participants showed that the eye color of this population was genetically similar to Europeans, ranging from dark brown to light blue, including many different browns.
One of the authors of the study, Dr. Pirro Hysi from King’s College emphasized that these findings will improve people’s understanding of diseases related to iris pigmentation, such as Pigmented glaucoma with Albino eye.
Weapons of forensic medicine: reconstructing faces from DNA
Dr. Manfred Kayser, another co-author of Erasmus University in Rotterdam, explained that the team’s findings will help forensic scientists identify criminals: “We can already DNA fragments to predict the eye color of criminals.”, adding the results of the study Improved prediction of eye color through DNASo far, the accuracy for non-brown and non-blue eyes is limited.
reference
The interaction of genes with genes leads to changes in the color of human eyes