The social genome: Current findings and implications for the study of human genetics

• Published in: PLoS genetics Vol. 13; no. 3; p. e1006615
• Main Authors: Domingue, Benjamin W., Belsky, Daniel W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 16.03.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Biology and Life Sciences; Data processing; Epidemiology; Epistasis; Gene expression; Genetics; Genetics, Medical; Genome; Genome, Human; Genomes; Human Genetics; Human Genome Project; Humans; Medical research; Obesity; Pedigree; Physiology; Social environment; Social networks; Social Sciences; Studies; North Carolina; United States > US
• ISSN: 1553-7404; 1553-7390; 1553-7404
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006615

About the Authors: Benjamin W. Domingue * E-mail: bdomingue@stanford.edu (BWD); dbelsky@duke.edu (DWB) Affiliation: Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford California, United States of America ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3894-9049 Daniel W. Belsky * E-mail: bdomingue@stanford.edu (BWD); dbelsky@duke.edu (DWB) Affiliations Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America, Duke University Population Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5463-2212Citation: Domingue BW, Belsky DW (2017) The social genome: The arrows depict social genetic processes. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1006615.g001 The present study Baud et al. conducted experiments with cage-dwelling mice to examine the effects of genetic composition of animals’ social environments on psychosocial and physiological phenotypes. Pathway analysis of blood gene expression corroborated phenotypic evidence; SGEs on phenotype were reflected in SGEs on patterns of gene expression. Using a combination of directly measured genetic data and pedigree information, analysis decomposed variance into direct genetic effects (the effects of a mouse’s own genes) and SGEs. In sum, the study by Baud et al. suggests SGEs (i) are pervasive, affecting many phenotypes; (ii) can be pronounced, contributing as much to phenotypic variance in some cases as direct genetic effects; and (iii) are nonignorable, as they may lead to bias in other estimates if not taken into account. Implications for research in humans These experiments with mice highlight opportunities and challenges for social genetic research in humans. Using genetic measures of the social environment to conduct a social version of Mendelian randomization analysis [13] may provide stronger grounds for...