Analysis across Taiwan Biobank, Biobank Japan, and UK Biobank identifies hundreds of novel loci for 36 quantitative traits
Journal
Cell Genomics
Journal Volume
3
Journal Issue
12
Date Issued
2023-12-13
Author(s)
Chen, Chia-Yen
Chen, Tzu-Ting
Yu, Mingrui
Lin, Shu-Chin
Longchamps, Ryan J
Wang, Shi-Heng
Hsu, Yi-Hsiang
Yang, Hwai-I
Daly, Mark J
Chen, Wei J
Huang, Hailiang
Ge, Tian
Lin, Yen-Feng
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified tens of thousands of genetic loci associated with human complex traits. However, the majority of GWASs were conducted in individuals of European ancestries. Failure to capture global genetic diversity has limited genomic discovery and has impeded equitable delivery of genomic knowledge to diverse populations. Here we report findings from 102,900 individuals across 36 human quantitative traits in the Taiwan Biobank (TWB), a major biobank effort that broadens the population diversity of genetic studies in East Asia. We identified 968 novel genetic loci, pinpointed novel causal variants through statistical fine-mapping, compared the genetic architecture across TWB, Biobank Japan, and UK Biobank, and evaluated the utility of cross-phenotype, cross-population polygenic risk scores in disease risk prediction. These results demonstrated the potential to advance discovery through diversifying GWAS populations and provided insights into the common genetic basis of human complex traits in East Asia.
Subjects
Taiwan Biobank; cross-ancestry GWAS; multi-polygenic score prediction; quantitative traits
SDGs
Publisher
Cell Press
Type
journal article