Shedding light on the genetics of fetal growth

Abstract

Genome-wide association studies have identified genetic variants in maternal and fetal genomes associated with early-life growth traits but have been limited by the paucity of large-scale family-based cohorts that would enable the resolution of informative transmissions between parents and their offspring. A new study uses extensive pedigree data from the Icelandic population to identify genetic effects on birth weight that differ according to parental origin and to demarcate distinct contributions from the maternal intrauterine environment and offspring genetics on fetal growth.