A genomewide association study of skin pigmentation in a South Asian population.

Stokowski, Renee P; Pant, P V Krishna; Dadd, Tony; Fereday, Amelia; Hinds, David A; Jarman, Carl; Filsell, Wendy; Ginger, Rebecca S et al. · Am J Hum Genet · 2007

other · Level V

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Abstract

We have conducted a multistage genomewide association study, using 1,620,742 single-nucleotide polymorphisms to systematically investigate the genetic factors influencing intrinsic skin pigmentation in a population of South Asian descent. Polymorphisms in three genes--SLC24A5, TYR, and SLC45A2--yielded highly significant replicated associations with skin-reflectance measurements, an indirect measure of melanin content in the skin. The associations detected in these three genes, in an additive manner, collectively account for a large fraction of the natural variation of skin pigmentation in a South Asian population. Our study is the first to interrogate polymorphisms across the genome, to find genetic determinants of the natural variation of skin pigmentation within a human population.

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