Novel genetic loci affecting facial shape variation in humans

The human face represents a combined set of highly heritable phenotypes, but knowledge on its genetic architecture remains limited, despite the relevance for various fields. A series of genome wide association studies on 78 facial shape phenotypes quantified from 3-dimensional facial images of 10,115 Europeans identified 24 genetic loci reaching study-wide suggestive association (p<5x10^-8), among which 17 were previously unreported. A follow-up multi-ethnic study in additional 7,917 individuals confirmed 10 loci including 6 unreported ones (padjusted<2.1x10^-3). A global map of derived polygenic face scores assembled facial features in major continental groups consistent with anthropological knowledge. Analyses of epigenomic datasets from cranial neural crest cells revealed abundant cis-regulatory activities at the face-associated genetic loci. Luciferase reporter assays in neural crest progenitor cells highlighted enhancer activities of several face-associated DNA variants. These results substantially advance our understanding of the genetic basis underlying human facial variation and provide candidates for future in-vivo functional studies.