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Genome-wide scan demonstrates significant linkage for male sexual orientation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 November 2014

A. R. Sanders ,
E. R. Martin ,
G. W. Beecham ,
S. Guo ,
K. Dawood ,
G. Rieger ,
J. A. Badner ,
E. S. Gershon ,
R. S. Krishnappa  and
A. B. Kolundzija
...Show all authors
A. R. Sanders*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, NorthShore University HealthSystem Research Institute, Evanston, IL, USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
E. R. Martin
Affiliation:
Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
G. W. Beecham
Affiliation:
Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
S. Guo
Affiliation:
Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
K. Dawood
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
G. Rieger
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, England, UK
J. A. Badner
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
E. S. Gershon
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
R. S. Krishnappa
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Elmhurst, NY, USA
A. B. Kolundzija
Affiliation:
Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
J. Duan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, NorthShore University HealthSystem Research Institute, Evanston, IL, USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
P. V. Gejman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, NorthShore University HealthSystem Research Institute, Evanston, IL, USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
J. M. Bailey
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: A. R. Sanders, M.D., Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, NorthShore University HealthSystem Research Institute, 1001 University Place, Evanston, IL 60201, USA. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Findings from family and twin studies support a genetic contribution to the development of sexual orientation in men. However, previous studies have yielded conflicting evidence for linkage to chromosome Xq28.

Method

We conducted a genome-wide linkage scan on 409 independent pairs of homosexual brothers (908 analyzed individuals in 384 families), by far the largest study of its kind to date.

Results

We identified two regions of linkage: the pericentromeric region on chromosome 8 (maximum two-point LOD = 4.08, maximum multipoint LOD = 2.59), which overlaps with the second strongest region from a previous separate linkage scan of 155 brother pairs; and Xq28 (maximum two-point LOD = 2.99, maximum multipoint LOD = 2.76), which was also implicated in prior research.

Conclusions

Results, especially in the context of past studies, support the existence of genes on pericentromeric chromosome 8 and chromosome Xq28 influencing development of male sexual orientation.

Keywords

Chromosome 8chromosome Xq28complex traitgenome-wide linkage scanhumanmale sexual orientation.
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 45 , Issue 7 , May 2015 , pp. 1379 - 1388
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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