The age of sexual maturity is influenced by the "print" genes in girls

The age of sexual maturity is influenced by the "print" genes in girls -

The age at which girls reach sexual maturity is influenced by genes " print "a small subset of genes whose activity differs parent passes the gene, according to a new study published today in the journal Nature .

results obtained from an international study involving more than 180,000 women scientists from 166 institutions worldwide, including medical school of the University of Boston. The researchers identified 123 genetic variations that have been associated with the time when the girls had their first menstrual cycle by analyzing the DNA of 182.416 women of European ancestry from 57 studies. Six of these variants were found to be clustered in the printed regions of the genome

The activity of imprinted genes differs parent the gene is inherited -. Some genes are active when maternally inherited, others are active only if inherited from the father. Both types of imprinted genes have been identified as determining the time of puberty in girls, which indicates a possible conflict between biological parents on their child's development rate. Further evidence of the imbalance in parental inheritance patterns was obtained by analyzing the association between these imprinted genes and puberty in a study of over 35,000 women in Iceland, where detailed information on their family trees were available.

This is the first time it has been shown that imprinted genes may control the rate of development after birth.

senior author Joanne Murabito, MD, MSc, associate professor of medicine at the School of Medicine Heart Study / Framingham Boston University said: "Our results demonstrate a complex network of underlying genetic factors when menarche menarche is associated with the development of health conditions later in life women such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and breast cancer by studying the genetic factors that we hope .. better understand how the timing puberty in girls is linked to serious health conditions in women. "