Studies of human twins reveal genetic variation that affects dietary fat perception

AbstractTo learn more about the mechanisms of human dietary fat perception, 398 human twins rated fattiness and liking for six types of potato chips that differed in triglyceride content (2.5, 5, 10, and 15% corn oil); reliability estimates were obtained from a subset (n = 50) who did the task twice. Some chips also had a saturated long-chain fatty acid (hexadecanoic acid, 16:0) added (0.2%) to evaluate its effect on fattiness and liking. We computed the heritability of these measures and conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify regions of the genome that co-segregate with fattiness and liking. Perceived fattiness and liking for the potato chips were reliable (r = 0.31-0.62, p < 0.05) and heritable (up to h2 = 0.29, p < 0.001, for liking). Adding hexadecanoic acid to the potato chips significantly increased ratings of fattiness but decreased liking. Twins with the G allele of rs263429 near GATA3-AS1 or the G allele of rs8103990 within ZNF729 reported more liking for potato chips than did twins with the other allele (multivariate GWAS, p < 1×10-5), with results reaching genome-wide suggestive but not significance criteria. Person-to-person variation in the perception and liking of dietary fat was (a) negatively affected by the addition of a saturated fatty acid and (b) related to inborn genetic variants. These data suggest liking for dietary fat is not due solely to fatty acid content and highlight new candidate genes and proteins within this sensory pathway.

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Studies of Human Twins Reveal Genetic Variation That Affects Dietary Fat Perception

Chemical Senses ◽

10.1093/chemse/bjaa036 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 45 (6) ◽

pp. 467-481

Author(s):

Cailu Lin ◽

Lauren Colquitt ◽

Paul Wise ◽

Paul A S Breslin ◽

Nancy E Rawson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dietary Fat ◽

Genome Wide Association Study ◽

Corn Oil ◽

Potato Chips ◽

Hexadecanoic Acid ◽

Reliability Estimates ◽

Genome Wide ◽

A Genome ◽

Multivariate Gwas ◽

Triglyceride Content

Abstract To learn more about the mechanisms of human dietary fat perception, we asked 398 human twins to rate the fattiness and how much they liked 6 types of potato chips that differed in triglyceride content (2.5%, 5%, 10%, and 15% corn oil); reliability estimates were obtained from a subset (n = 50) who did the task twice. Some chips also had a saturated long-chain fatty acid (FA; hexadecanoic acid, 16:0) added (0.2%) to evaluate its effect on fattiness and liking. We computed the heritability of these measures and conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify regions of the genome that co-segregate with fattiness and liking. Perceived fattiness of and liking for the potato chips were reliable (r = 0.31–0.62, P < 0.05) and heritable (up to h2 = 0.29, P < 0.001, for liking). Adding hexadecanoic acid to the potato chips significantly increased ratings of fattiness but decreased liking. Twins with the G allele of rs263429 near GATA3-AS1 or the G allele of rs8103990 within ZNF729 reported more liking for potato chips than did twins with the other allele (multivariate GWAS, P < 1 × 10–5), with results reaching genome-wide suggestive but not significance criteria. Person-to-person variation in the perception and liking of dietary fat was 1) negatively affected by the addition of a saturated FA and 2) related to inborn genetic variants. These data suggest that liking for dietary fat is not due solely to FA content and highlight new candidate genes and proteins within this sensory pathway.

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Genetic dissection of 2-heptenal content in soybean (Glycine max) seed through genome-wide association study

Crop and Pasture Science ◽

10.1071/cp20237 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 71 (10) ◽

pp. 884

Author(s):

Zhikun Wang ◽

Mingming Yang ◽

Yuanzhuo Wang ◽

Chao Yang ◽

Xue Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Glycine Max ◽

Association Study ◽

Quantitative Trait ◽

Genome Wide Association Study ◽

Fatty Acid Content ◽

Soybean Seed ◽

Genome Wide Association ◽

Quality Characteristic ◽

Genome Wide ◽

A Genome

Association analysis is an alternative to conventional, family-based methods for detecting the location of gene(s) or quantitative trait loci (QTLs), and provides relatively high resolution in terms of defining the genome position of a gene or QTL. Flavour is an essential quality characteristic of soymilk; however, soymilk contains volatile compounds unacceptable to consumers. One of main constituents in the volatiles of normal soymilk is 2-heptenal, which is thought to be a degradative oxidation product of polyunsaturated acids. In this study, a genome-wide association study using 24651 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was performed to identify quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) controlling 2-heptenal content in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) seed from a natural population of 110 soybean germplasm accessions. We detected 62 significant QTNs located on 18 different chromosomes that are significantly associated with 2-heptenal content in soybean seed. Among these, 17 QTNs co-localised with QTLs previously found to be related to protein, oil and/or fatty acid content in soybean seed. We also identified some candidate genes involved in lipid metabolism. These findings further our understanding of the genetic basis of 2-heptenal content in soybean seed and the improvement of marker-assisted breeding efficiency, which will be important for breeding soybean cultivars with low 2-heptenal content.

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Integrative pathway analysis of a genome-wide association study of V̇o2max response to exercise training

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/japplphysiol.01487.2012 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 115 (9) ◽

pp. 1343-1359 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Sujoy Ghosh ◽

Juan C. Vivar ◽

Mark A. Sarzynski ◽

Yun Ju Sung ◽

James A. Timmons ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acid ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Association Study ◽

Pathway Analysis ◽

Genome Wide Association Study ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Genome Wide Association ◽

Fatty Acid Transport ◽

Genome Wide ◽

A Genome

We previously reported the findings from a genome-wide association study of the response of maximal oxygen uptake (V̇o2max) to an exercise program. Here we follow up on these results to generate hypotheses on genes, pathways, and systems involved in the ability to respond to exercise training. A systems biology approach can help us better establish a comprehensive physiological description of what underlies V̇o2maxtrainability. The primary material for this exploration was the individual single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), SNP-gene mapping, and statistical significance levels. We aimed to generate novel hypotheses through analyses that go beyond statistical association of single-locus markers. This was accomplished through three complementary approaches: 1) building de novo evidence of gene candidacy through informatics-driven literature mining; 2) aggregating evidence from statistical associations to link variant enrichment in biological pathways to V̇o2max trainability; and 3) predicting possible consequences of variants residing in the pathways of interest. We started with candidate gene prioritization followed by pathway analysis focused on overrepresentation analysis and gene set enrichment analysis. Subsequently, leads were followed using in silico analysis of predicted SNP functions. Pathways related to cellular energetics (pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis; PPAR signaling) and immune functions (complement and coagulation cascades) had the highest levels of SNP burden. In particular, long-chain fatty acid transport and fatty acid oxidation genes and sequence variants were found to influence differences in V̇o2max trainability. Together, these methods allow for the hypothesis-driven ranking and prioritization of genes and pathways for future experimental testing and validation.

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