The nature of nurture: Effects of parental genotypes

Kong A., Thorleifsson G., Frigge ML., Vilhjalmsson BJ., Young AI., Thorgeirsson TE., Benonisdottir S., Oddsson A., Halldorsson BV., Masson G., Gudbjartsson DF., Helgason A., Bjornsdottir G., Thorsteinsdottir U., Stefansson K.

Genetic variants provide a nurturing environment Genetic variants in parents may affect the fitness of their offspring, even if the child does not carry the allele. This indirect effect is referred to as “genetic nurture.” Kong et al. used data from genome-wide association studies of educational attainment to construct polygenic scores for parents that only considered the nontransmitted alleles (see the Perspective by Koellinger and Harden). The findings suggest that genetic nurture is ultimately due to genetic variation in the population and is mediated by the environment that parents create for their children. Science , this issue p. 424 ; see also p. 386

DOI

10.1126/science.aan6877

Type

Journal article

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Publication Date

2018-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

Volume

359

Pages

424 - 428

Total pages

4

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