Genetic Regulation of the Variation in Pubertal Timing

Hodges, Craig A.; Palmert, Mark R.

doi:10.1007/978-1-59745-499-5_4

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 141 publications

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“…The high correlation of the onset of puberty seen within racial/ethnic groups, within families, and between monozygotic compared to dizygotic twins all provide evidence for genetic regulation of pubertal timing. Taken together, these data suggest that 50–80% of the variation in pubertal timing is determined by genetic factors [1,3–10]. Environmental and physiologic effects also influence the timing of puberty, and there is evidence supporting secular trends in the timing of puberty [1,11–13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Genetic determinants of pubertal timing in the general population

Gajdos

Henderson

Hirschhorn

et al. 2010

Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology

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Puberty is an important developmental stage during which reproductive capacity is attained. The timing of puberty varies greatly among healthy individuals in the general population and is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Although genetic variation is known to influence the normal spectrum of pubertal timing, the specific genes involved remain largely unknown. Genetic analyses have identified a number of genes responsible for rare disorders of pubertal timing such as hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and Kallmann syndrome. Recently, the first loci with common variation reproducibly associated with population variation in the timing of puberty were identified at 6q21 in or near LIN28B and at 9q31.2. However, these two loci explain only a small fraction of the genetic contribution to population variation in pubertal timing, suggesting the need to continue to consider other loci and other types of variants. Here we provide an update of the genes implicated in disorders of puberty, discuss genes and pathways that may be involved in the timing of normal puberty, and suggest additional avenues of investigation to identify genetic regulators of puberty in the general population.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Genetic determinants of pubertal timing in the general population

Gajdos

Henderson

Hirschhorn

et al. 2010

Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology

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“…Finally, gonadal steroids may exert more widespread effects in human beings than they do in macaques. We think this final possibility is somewhat unlikely given the phylogenetic closeness between humans and macaques as well as similarities in pubertal physiology and brain development (Hodges and Palmert, 2007;Knickmeyer et al, 2010;Scott et al, 2016). As regards pubertal physiology, like humans, juvenile rhesus macaques experience a protracted period of gonadal quiescence followed by a steep increase in gonadal steroid production that continues over many years.…”

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It peaks in the peripubertal period (late the prenatal and early postnatal period (Ahmed et al, 2008;Breedlove et al, 2002;Morishita et al, 2017). However, the relevance of these findings to humans is currently unclear due to significant species differences in pubertal physiology, brain development, and brain structure (Borrell and Calegari, 2014;Hodges and Palmert, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compared to rodents, the rhesus macaque possesses a greater similarity to humans in terms of the extended time course of puberty and brain maturation, and in possessing a more convoluted cortical brain structure (Hodges and Palmert, 2007;Knickmeyer et al, 2010;Scott et al, 2016). Consequently, this species is especially informative as a translational model.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of gonadectomy on maturational changes in brain volume in adolescent macaques

Knickmeyer

Nguyen

Young

et al. 2021

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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“…Rate of sexual maturation in humans has remarkable genetic component with heritability estimates for different measures ranging from 0.44 to 0.95 (Ge, Natsuaki, Neiderhiser, & Reiss, 2007;Hodges & Palmert, 2007;Towne et al, 2005). A common evolutionary explanation to preservation of heritable variation in such life-history traits is pleiotropic linkage with other components of fitness (Stearns, 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parents of early‐maturing girls die younger

Hõrak

Valge

Fischer

et al. 2019

Evolutionary Applications

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According to the life‐history theory, rates of sexual maturation have coevolved with mortality rates so that individuals who mature faster tend to die younger. We used two data sets, providing different markers for the speed of pubertal development to test whether rates of sexual maturation of women predict the age at death of their parents. In the data set of Estonian schoolgirls born between 1936 and 1961, the rate of breast development predicted lifespan of both mothers and fathers (irrespectively of their socio‐economic position), so that parents of rapidly maturing girls died at younger age. This finding supports the view that fast maturation rates in humans have coevolved with short lifespans and that such trade‐offs can be detected as intergenerational phenotypic correlations in modern populations. Menarcheal age of participants of Estonian Biobank (born between 1925 and 1996) did not predict the age of death of their mothers; however, it did predict survival of their fathers, but only in environment where the genetic variation is exposed (families where at least one parent had tertiary education). In such families (where girls also matured 0.2–0.4 years earlier than in poorly educated families), 1‐year delay in daughter's menarche corresponded to 9% lower hazard of father's death. Heritability of menarcheal age was also highest in well‐educated families. The latter findings are consistent with the idea that genetic differences in the rate of pubertal maturation may be expressed most clearly in well‐off families because in such families, the contribution of environmental variance to total phenotypic variance in menarcheal age is smallest. Our findings suggest that with global improvement and equalization of growth conditions, reductions of environmental variation in the rate of maturation increasingly expose the genetic differences in menarcheal age to selection. Under such conditions, selection on menarcheal age has a potential to affect the evolution of lifespan.

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Genetic Regulation of the Variation in Pubertal Timing

Cited by 5 publications

References 141 publications

Genetic determinants of pubertal timing in the general population

Genetic determinants of pubertal timing in the general population

Impact of gonadectomy on maturational changes in brain volume in adolescent macaques

Parents of early‐maturing girls die younger

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