Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25647475›Full record

ArticlePloS one2015

Signatures of natural selection at the FTO (fat mass and obesity associated) locus in human populations.

Xuanshi Liu, Kerstin Weidle, Kristin Schröck, Anke Tönjes, Dorit Schleinitz, Jana Breitfeld, Michael Stumvoll, Yvonne Böttcher, Torsten Schöneberg, Peter Kovacs

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Genetics of Obesity in East Asians.Frontiers in genetics · 2020
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Medical genomics research at BGRS-2018.BMC medical genomics · 2019
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Xuanshi LiuIFB AdiposityDiseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Kerstin WeidleDepartment of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Kristin SchröckInstitute of Biochemistry, Department of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Anke TönjesDepartment of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Dorit SchleinitzIFB AdiposityDiseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Jana BreitfeldIFB AdiposityDiseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Michael StumvollIFB AdiposityDiseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Yvonne BöttcherIFB AdiposityDiseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Torsten SchönebergInstitute of Biochemistry, Department of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Peter KovacsIFB AdiposityDiseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
IFB Adiposity Diseases · DELeipzig University · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsPolymorphisms in the first intron of FTO have been robustly replicated for associations with obesity. In the Sorbs, a Slavic population resident in Germany, the strongest effect on body mass index (BMI) was found for a variant in the third intron of FTO (rs17818902). Since this may indicate population specific effects of FTO variants, we initiated studies testing FTO for signatures of selection in vertebrate species and human populations.

methodsFirst, we analyzed the coding region of 35 vertebrate FTO orthologs with Phylogenetic Analysis by Maximum Likelihood (PAML, ω = dN/dS) to screen for signatures of selection among species. Second, we investigated human population (Europeans/CEU, Yoruba/YRI, Chinese/CHB, Japanese/JPT, Sorbs) SNP data for footprints of selection using DnaSP version 4.5 and the Haplotter/PhaseII. Finally, using ConSite we compared transcription factor (TF) binding sites at sequences harbouring FTO SNPs in intron three.

resultsPAML analyses revealed strong conservation in coding region of FTO (ω<1). Sliding-window results from population genetic analyses provided highly significant (p<0.001) signatures for balancing selection specifically in the third intron (e.g. Tajima's D in Sorbs = 2.77). We observed several alterations in TF binding sites, e.g. TCF3 binding site introduced by the rs17818902 minor allele.

conclusionPopulation genetic analysis revealed signatures of balancing selection at the FTO locus with a prominent signal in intron three, a genomic region with strong association with BMI in the Sorbs. Our data support the hypothesis that genes associated with obesity may have been under evolutionary selective pressure.

Indexed as

Selection, GeneticAlpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTOAnimalsBinding SitesBody Mass IndexGenetics, PopulationHumansObesityPhylogenyPolymorphism, Single NucleotideProteinsTranscription FactorsAlpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTOFTO protein, humanProteinsTranscription Factors

Identifiers

PMID25647475
PMCPMC4315420
OpenAlexW2068717766

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.