ArticleNature communications2018
Genome-wide study of hair colour in UK Biobank explains most of the SNP heritability.
Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
81 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 144 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genome-wide association study of actinic keratosis identifies new susceptibility loci implicated in pigmentation and immune regulation pathways.Communications biology · 2022Pooled it
- Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies eight new susceptibility loci for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.Nature communications · 2020Pooled it
- Unique Features of Melanoma Risk and Diagnosis in Red-Haired Populations.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Pigmentary Changes Reported with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: A Narrative Review of Mechanisms and Clinical Implications.Clinical drug investigation · 2026Review
- Recalibrating Mendelian randomization under winner's curse, sample structure and polygenicity.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- The anti-inflammatory efficacy of melanocortin drugs is influenced by genetic variation at MC1R.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Genetic Markers of Tumor Multiplicity in Non-melanoma Skin Cancer: Associations of 19 SNPs in an Italian Cohort.Dermatology and therapy · 2026Article
- Do Alopecia Areata and Hair Colour Have a Shared Genetic Component?Experimental dermatology · 2026Article
- Evaluation of epistasis detection methods for quantitative phenotypes.Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Haplotype-Based Analysis of OCA2 Variants in Oculocutaneous Albinism.Pigment cell & melanoma research · 2026Article
- Unraveling the Molecular Mechanism of Bider Marking Formation in Dun Mongolian Horses Through Transcriptome Sequencing.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Robust imputation-based method for eye, hair, and skin colour prediction from low-coverage ancient DNA.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- A Categorical ANCOVA Approach to Severity Endophenotype-Specific Genome-Wide Association Studies in Childhood Asthma.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Article
- Skin phenotype diversity across populations: from skin morphology to molecular phenotype.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Semiparametric efficient estimation of small genetic effects in large-scale population cohorts.Biostatistics (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- A Comprehensive Review of GWASs of Human Hair Traits.The Journal of investigative dermatology · 2025Review
- Mendelian randomization study implicates inflammaging biomarkers in retinal vasculature, cardiovascular diseases, and longevity.Science advances · 2025Article
- A comprehensive genome-wide analysis for signatures of selection in goat (genus Capra) revealed new candidate genes for environmental adaptation and productive traits.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- A Chromosome Inversion Creates a Supergene for Sex and Colour in Lake Malawi Cichlids.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Genetics of Skin, Hair, and Eye Color in Human Pigmentation Disorders.Annals of human genetics · 2025Review
21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Natural hair colour within European populations is a complex genetic trait. Previous work has established that MC1R variants are the principal genetic cause of red hair colour, but with variable penetrance. Here, we have extensively mapped the genes responsible for hair colour in the white, British ancestry, participants in UK Biobank. MC1R only explains 73% of the SNP heritability for red hair in UK Biobank, and in fact most individuals with two MC1R variants have blonde or light brown hair. We identify other genes contributing to red hair, the combined effect of which accounts for ~90% of the SNP heritability. Blonde hair is associated with over 200 genetic variants and we find a continuum from black through dark and light brown to blonde and account for 73% of the SNP heritability of blonde hair. Many of the associated genes are involved in hair growth or texture, emphasising the cellular connections between keratinocytes and melanocytes in the determination of hair colour.
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Registered trials
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.