AUTHOR=Rolfe Sara , Lee Su-In , Shapiro Linda 

TITLE=Associations Between Genetic Data and Quantitative Assessment of Normal Facial Asymmetry

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2018.00659

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2018.00659

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>Human facial asymmetry is due to a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. To identify genetic influences on facial asymmetry, we developed a method for automated scoring that summarizes local morphology features and their spatial distribution. A genome-wide association study using asymmetry scores from two local symmetry features was conducted and significant genetic associations were identified for one asymmetry feature, including genes thought to play a role in craniofacial disorders and development: <italic>NFATC</italic>1, <italic>SOX</italic>5, <italic>NBAS</italic>, and <italic>TCF</italic>7<italic>L</italic>1. These results provide evidence that normal variation in facial asymmetry may be impacted by common genetic variants and further motivate the development of automated summaries of complex phenotypes.</p>