“Genome-Wide Variants of Eurasian Facial Shape Differentiation and DNA Based Face Prediction”, 2016-07-25 (; similar):
It is a long-standing question as to which genes define the characteristic facial features among different ethnic groups. In this study, we use Uighurs, an ancient admixed population to query the genetic bases why Europeans and Han Chinese look different.
Facial traits were analyzed based on high-dense 3D facial images; numerous biometric spaces were examined for divergent facial features between European and Han Chinese, ranging from inter-landmark distances to dense shape geometrics. Genome-wide association analyses were conducted on a discovery panel of Uighurs.
Six loci were identified 4 of which, rs1868752, rs118078182, rs60159418 at or near UBASH3B, COL23A1, PCDH7 and rs17868256 were replicated in independent cohorts of Uighurs or Southern Han Chinese. A quantitative model was developed to predict 3D faces based on 277 top GWAS SNPs. In hypothetic forensic scenarios, this model was found to enhance the verification rate, suggesting a practical potential of related research.