title: Maintenance of genetic variation in human personality: testing evolutionary models by estimating heritability due to common causal variants and investigating the effect of distant inbreeding.
abstract: Personality traits are basic dimensions of behavioral variation, and twin, family, and adoption studies show that around 30% of the between-individual variation is due to genetic variation. There is rapidly growing interest in understanding the evolutionary basis of this genetic variation. Several evolutionary mechanisms could explain how genetic variation is maintained in traits, and each of these makes predictions in terms of the relative contribution of rare and common genetic variants to personality variation, the magnitude of nonadditive genetic influences, and whether personality is affected by inbreeding. Using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from > 8000 individuals, we estimated that little variation in the Cloninger personality dimensions (7.2% on average) is due to the combined effect of common, additive genetic variants across the genome, suggesting that most heritable variation in personality is due to rare variant effects and/or a combination of dominance and epistasis. Furthermore, higher levels of inbreeding were associated with less socially desirable personality trait levels in three of the four personality dimensions. These findings are consistent with genetic variation in personality traits having been maintained by mutation-selection balance.
authors.affiliation: Genetic Epidemiology, Molecular Epidemiology, and Queensland Statistical Genetics Laboratories, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Herston 4006, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Karin J H
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Verweij
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jari
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lahti
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Veijola
authors.forename: Mirka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hintsanen
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pulkki-Råback
authors.forename: Kati
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heinonen
authors.forename: Anneli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pouta
authors.forename: Anu-Katriina
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Pesonen
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Widen
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taanila
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isohanni
authors.forename: Jouko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miettunen
authors.forename: Aarno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palotie
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Penke
authors.forename: Susan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Service
authors.forename: Andrew C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Heath
authors.forename: Grant W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.forename: Olli
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Raitakari
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kähönen
authors.forename: Jorma
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Viikari
authors.forename: Katri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Räikkönen
authors.forename: Johan G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.forename: Liisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Keltikangas-Järvinen
authors.forename: Terho
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lehtimäki
authors.forename: Nicholas G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Marjo-Riitta
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Järvelin
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Visscher
authors.forename: Matthew C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Brendan P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Zietsch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003241:Consanguinity; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010551:Personality / Q000235:genetics*; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D055815:Young Adult