Genome-wide association study reveals sex-specific genetic architecture of facial attractiveness

Abstract

Facial attractiveness is a complex human trait of great interest in both academia and industry. Literature on sociological and phenotypic factors associated with facial attractiveness is rich, but its genetic basis is poorly understood. In this paper, we conducted a genome-wide association study to discover genetic variants associated with facial attractiveness using 4,383 samples in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. We identified two genome-wide significant loci, highlighted a handful of candidate genes, and demonstrated enrichment for heritability in human tissues involved in reproduction and hormone synthesis. Additionally, facial attractiveness showed strong and negative genetic correlations with BMI in females and with blood lipids in males. Our analysis also suggested sex-specific selection pressure on variants associated with lower male attractiveness. These results revealed sex-specific genetic architecture of facial attractiveness and provided fundamental new insights into its genetic basis.

Does mate preference represent mate choice? A cross-cultural investigation.

“…For physical attractiveness, our hypothesis was supported because the attractiveness of men’s real partners was predicted by ideal short- and long-term partner preferences. Physical characteristics provide immediate information about individuals’ genetic quality, health, fecundity, and developmental history (Hu et al, 2019; Thornhill & Gangestad, 1999; White & Puts, 2019) and are easier to access than other characteristics that may take longer to determine (e.g., those related to social skills and social status; Castro & Lopes, 2011; Li et al, 2013; but see Pound et al, 2014). Within a short-term relationship, one can still conceive a child, and hence, the importance of good looks and good physiological condition is key.…”

The impact of parenting a child with serious mental illness: Accounting for the parent’s genetic vulnerability to mental illness.

“…A total of 7,251,583 autosomal SNPs were retained. Greater detail on the genetic data in the WLS has been described previously (see Hu et al, 2019).…”

Genes influence facial attractiveness through intricate biological relationships

“…Given the importance of attractiveness across interpersonal contexts, studies that investigate the underlying genetics of facial attractiveness, such as the one reported by Hu and colleagues [9] in this issue, are invaluable but should be interpreted carefully, commensurate with the complexity of attractiveness as a phenotype. Although Hu and colleagues report considerably lower heritability estimates for facial attractiveness than a previous estimate [10], perhaps due to modest interrater reliability (S13 Fig in [9]), evidence of heritability suggests that searches for underlying loci associated with attractiveness may bear fruit. Datasets with genome-wide genetic data and rated facial attractiveness are rare and time-consuming to gather, and Hu and colleagues smartly leverage a large, pre-existing dataset.…”

“…Through a series of enrichment tests, Hu and colleagues identify several correlations between attractiveness ratings and genes influencing other traits—namely, body mass index in females and lipid traits in males (Fig 4 in [9]). Indeed, this study manifests as an illustration of the ability of a large GWAS on a complex phenotype to identify genes related to its simpler component traits and correlates.…”

“…Note: Candidate genes with significant results in [9] are bolded. P-value refers to the P-value in the GWAS catalog study, represented by the GWAS catalog study accession number.…”