Height associated variants demonstrate assortative mating in human populations

Sci Rep. 2017 Nov 16;7(1):15689. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-15864-x.

Abstract

Understanding human mating patterns, which can affect population genetic structure, is important for correctly modeling populations and performing genetic association studies. Prior studies of assortative mating in humans focused on trait similarity among spouses and relatives via phenotypic correlations. Limited research has quantified the genetic consequences of assortative mating. The degree to which the non-random mating influences genetic architecture remains unclear. Here, we studied genetic variants associated with human height to assess the degree of height-related assortative mating in European-American and African-American populations. We compared the inbreeding coefficient estimated using known height associated variants with that calculated from frequency matched sets of random variants. We observed significantly higher inbreeding coefficients for the height associated variants than from frequency matched random variants (P < 0.05), demonstrating height-related assortative mating in both populations.

MeSH terms

  • Black or African American / genetics
  • Body Height / genetics*
  • Cohort Studies
  • Consanguinity
  • Genetic Loci
  • Genetic Variation*
  • Genetics, Population*
  • Humans
  • Linkage Disequilibrium / genetics
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / genetics
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Regression Analysis
  • Reproduction / genetics*
  • Spouses
  • White People / genetics