Genome-wide analysis identifies 12 loci influencing human reproductive behavior.
Barban N., Jansen R., de Vlaming R., Vaez A., Mandemakers JJ., Tropf FC., Shen X., Wilson JF., Chasman DI., Nolte IM., Tragante V., van der Laan SW., Perry JRB., Kong A., BIOS Consortium None., Ahluwalia TS., Albrecht E., Yerges-Armstrong L., Atzmon G., Auro K., Ayers K., Bakshi A., Ben-Avraham D., Berger K., Bergman A., Bertram L., Bielak LF., Bjornsdottir G., Bonder MJ., Broer L., Bui M., Barbieri C., Cavadino A., Chavarro JE., Turman C., Concas MP., Cordell HJ., Davies G., Eibich P., Eriksson N., Esko T., Eriksson J., Falahi F., Felix JF., Fontana MA., Franke L., Gandin I., Gaskins AJ., Gieger C., Gunderson EP., Guo X., Hayward C., He C., Hofer E., Huang H., Joshi PK., Kanoni S., Karlsson R., Kiechl S., Kifley A., Kluttig A., Kraft P., Lagou V., Lecoeur C., Lahti J., Li-Gao R., Lind PA., Liu T., Makalic E., Mamasoula C., Matteson L., Mbarek H., McArdle PF., McMahon G., Meddens SFW., Mihailov E., Miller M., Missmer SA., Monnereau C., van der Most PJ., Myhre R., Nalls MA., Nutile T., Kalafati IP., Porcu E., Prokopenko I., Rajan KB., Rich-Edwards J., Rietveld CA., Robino A., Rose LM., Rueedi R., Ryan KA., Saba Y., Schmidt D., Smith JA., Stolk L., Streeten E., Tönjes A., Thorleifsson G., Ulivi S., Wedenoja J., Wellmann J., Willeit P., Yao J., Yengo L., Zhao JH., Zhao W., Zhernakova DV., Amin N., Andrews H., Balkau B., Barzilai N., Bergmann S., Biino G., Bisgaard H., Bønnelykke K., Boomsma DI., Buring JE., Campbell H., Cappellani S., Ciullo M., Cox SR., Cucca F., Toniolo D., Davey-Smith G., Deary IJ., Dedoussis G., Deloukas P., van Duijn CM., de Geus EJC., Eriksson JG., Evans DA., Faul JD., Sala CF., Froguel P., Gasparini P., Girotto G., Grabe H-J., Greiser KH., Groenen PJF., de Haan HG., Haerting J., Harris TB., Heath AC., Heikkilä K., Hofman A., Homuth G., Holliday EG., Hopper J., Hyppönen E., Jacobsson B., Jaddoe VWV., Johannesson M., Jugessur A., Kähönen M., Kajantie E., Kardia SLR., Keavney B., Kolcic I., Koponen P., Kovacs P., Kronenberg F., Kutalik Z., La Bianca M., Lachance G., Iacono WG., Lai S., Lehtimäki T., Liewald DC., LifeLines Cohort Study None., Lindgren CM., Liu Y., Luben R., Lucht M., Luoto R., Magnus P., Magnusson PKE., Martin NG., McGue M., McQuillan R., Medland SE., Meisinger C., Mellström D., Metspalu A., Traglia M., Milani L., Mitchell P., Montgomery GW., Mook-Kanamori D., de Mutsert R., Nohr EA., Ohlsson C., Olsen J., Ong KK., Paternoster L., Pattie A., Penninx BWJH., Perola M., Peyser PA., Pirastu M., Polasek O., Power C., Kaprio J., Raffel LJ., Räikkönen K., Raitakari O., Ridker PM., Ring SM., Roll K., Rudan I., Ruggiero D., Rujescu D., Salomaa V., Schlessinger D., Schmidt H., Schmidt R., Schupf N., Smit J., Sorice R., Spector TD., Starr JM., Stöckl D., Strauch K., Stumvoll M., Swertz MA., Thorsteinsdottir U., Thurik AR., Timpson NJ., Tung JY., Uitterlinden AG., Vaccargiu S., Viikari J., Vitart V., Völzke H., Vollenweider P., Vuckovic D., Waage J., Wagner GG., Wang JJ., Wareham NJ., Weir DR., Willemsen G., Willeit J., Wright AF., Zondervan KT., Stefansson K., Krueger RF., Lee JJ., Benjamin DJ., Cesarini D., Koellinger PD., den Hoed M., Snieder H., Mills MC.
The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior-age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB)-has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified, and the underlying mechanisms of AFB and NEB are poorly understood. We report a large genome-wide association study of both sexes including 251,151 individuals for AFB and 343,072 individuals for NEB. We identified 12 independent loci that are significantly associated with AFB and/or NEB in a SNP-based genome-wide association study and 4 additional loci associated in a gene-based effort. These loci harbor genes that are likely to have a role, either directly or by affecting non-local gene expression, in human reproduction and infertility, thereby increasing understanding of these complex traits.