Scientists Identify the Genes for Human Nose Shape

Posted on May 24, 2016

Scientists from University College London (UCL) have identified four genes that give human noses their shape. The four genes mainly affect the width and pointiness of noses.

The researchers identified five genes which play a role in controlling the shape of specific facial features. DCHS2, RUNX2, GLI3 and PAX1 affect the width and pointiness of the nose. Another gene - EDAR - affects chin protrusion.

Dr Kaustubh Adhikari, UCL Cell & Developmental Biology and first author of the study, says in a statement, "Few studies have looked at how normal facial features develop and those that have only looked at European populations, which show less diversity than the group we studied. What we've found are specific genes which influence the shape and size of individual features, which hasn’t been seen before. Finding out the role each gene plays helps us to piece together the evolutionary path from Neanderthal to modern humans. It brings us closer to understanding how genes influence the way we look, which is important for forensics application."

The team collected and analyzed DNA samples from 6,630 volunteers. From this group a smaller sample size of 5,958 was used. This group included individuals of mixed European (50%), Native American (45%) and African (5%) ancestry, resulting in a large variation in facial features. Both men and women were assessed for 14 different facial features and whole genome analysis identified the genes driving differences in appearance. A subgroup of 3,000 individuals had their features assessed using a 3D reconstruction of the face. This was done in order to obtain exact measurements of facial features.

A research paper on the study was published here in the journal Nature Communications.

GENES