Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2019
Description
Objectives: This article presents estimates of narrow-sense heritability and bivariate genetic correlation for 14 tooth crown morphological variants scored on permanent premolars, first molars, and second molars. The objective is to inform data collection and analytical practices in dental biodistance and to provide insights on the development of molar crowns as integrated structures. Materials and Methods: African American dental casts from the Menegaz-Bock collection were recorded for the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System. Estimates of narrow-sense heritability and genetic correlation were generated using SOLAR v.8.1.1, which included assessment of age, sex, and birth year as covariates. Both continuous scale and dichotomized estimates are provided. Results: Heritability estimates were nonsignificant for the majority of variables; however, for variables yielding significant estimates, values were moderate to high in magnitude and comparable to previous studies. Comparing left and right-side heritability estimates suggests directional asymmetry in the expression of environmental variance, something not seen in anterior tooth traits. Genetic correlations were moderate among antimeres and metameres and low for different traits scored on the same tooth crown. Although several negative correlations were noted, few reached statistical significance. Results affirm some of the current data cleaning and analytical practices in dental biodistance, but others are called into question. These include the pooling of males and females and combining left and right-side data into a single dataset. Conclusions: In comparison to anterior tooth crown traits, postcanine heritabilities were more often non-significant; however, those traits with significant heritability also tended to produce higher estimates. Genetic correlations were unremarkable, in part, because they were underpowered. However, M1 results may provide insight into the complex relationship between genes, environment, and development in determining ultimate crown form.
Comments
Authors of articles published in Wiley journals are permitted to self-archive the submitted (preprint) version of the article at any time, and may self-archive the accepted (peer-reviewed) version after an embargo period. The submitted version may be placed on: the author's personal website, the author's company/institutional repository or archive, not for profit subject-based preprint servers or repositories
Originally published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology.
Citation Information
Stojanowski, Christopher M.; Paul, Kathleen S.; Seidel, Andrew C.; Duncan, William N.; and Guatelli-Steinberg, Debbie. 2019. Quantitative Genetic Analyses of Postcanine Morphological Crown Variation. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Vol.168(3). 606-631. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23778 https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23778 PMID: 30747449 ISSN: 0002-9483