Cohort-guided insights into gene-environment interactions in autism spectrum disorders.

Prospective birth cohorts offer unprecedented opportunities to investigate the pathogenesis of complex disorders such as autism, in which gene-environment interactions must be appreciated in a temporal context. This Perspective article considers the history of autism research, including missteps that reflected an incomplete understanding of the epidemiology of autistic spectrum disorders, the effects of advocacy and philanthropy on the trajectory of scientific inquiry, and the current and future roles of prospective birth cohort research in illuminating the pathology of these and other complex disorders wherein exposures during gestation might not manifest until later in life.

Using gradient Forest to predict climate response and adaptation in Cork oak.

Climate change is impacting locally adapted species such as the keystone tree species cork oak (Quercus suber L.). Quantifying the importance of environmental variables in explaining the species distribution can help build resilient populations in restoration projects and design forest management strategies. Using landscape genomics, we investigated the population structure and ecological adaptation of this tree species across the Mediterranean Basin. We applied genotyping by sequencing and derived 2,583 single nucleotide polymorphism markers genotyped from 81 individuals across 17 sites in the studied region. We implemented an approach based on the nearest neighbour haplotype 'coancestry' and uncovered a weak population structure along an east-west climatic gradient across the Mediterranean region. We identified genomic regions potentially involved in local adaptation and predicted differences in the genetic composition across the landscape under current and future climates. Variants associated with temperature and precipitation variables were detected, and we applied a nonlinear multivariate association method, gradient forest, to project these gene-environment relationships across space. The model allowed the identification of geographic areas within the western Mediterranean region most sensitive to climate change: south-western Iberia and northern Morocco. Our findings provide a preliminary assessment towards a potential management strategy for the conservation of cork oak in the Mediterranean Basin.

Gene-by-Crisis Interaction for Optimism and Meaning in Life: The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus has had a large impact on daily life. We investigated the individual differences in the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and first lockdown on optimism and meaning in life in a sample from the Netherlands Twin Register. Participants completed surveys before (N = 9964, Mean age: 48.2, SD = 14.4) and during the first months of the pandemic (i.e. April-May 2020, N = 17,464, Mean age: 44.6 SD = 14.8), with a subsample completing both surveys (N = 6461, Mean age T1: 48.8, SD = 14.5). We applied genetic covariance structure models to twin data to investigate changes in the genetic architecture of the outcome traits due to the pandemic and the interaction of genes with the environmental exposure. Although 56% and 35% of the sample was negatively affected by the pandemic in their optimism and meaning in life, many participants were stable (32% and 43%) or even showed increased optimism and meaning in life (11% and 22%). Subgroups, specifically women, higher educated people, and people with poorer health, experienced larger negative effects. During the first months of the pandemic, slightly lower heritability estimates for optimism and meaning in life (respectively 20% and 25%) were obtained compared to pre-pandemic (respectively 26% and 32%), although confidence intervals overlap. The lower than unity genetic correlations across time (.75 and .63) suggest gene-environment interactions, where the expression of genes that influence optimism and meaning in life differs before and during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is a strong exposure that leads to imbalanced effects on the well-being of individuals. Some people decrease in well-being, while others get more optimistic and consider their lives as more meaningful during the pandemic. These differences are partly explained by individual differences in genetic sensitivity to extreme environmental change. More knowledge on the person-specific response to specific environmental variables underlying these individual differences is urgently needed to prevent further inequality.

In Silico Identification of miRNA-lncRNA Interactions in Male Reproductive Disorder Associated with COVID-19 Infection.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a global pandemic, is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor for SARS-CoV-2 and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) facilitates ACE2-mediated virus entry. Moreover, the expression of ACE2 in the testes of infertile men is higher than normal, which indicates that infertile men may be susceptible to be infected and SARS-CoV-2 may cause reproductive disorder through the pathway induced by ACE2 and TMPRSS2. Little is known about the pathway regulation of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression in male reproductive disorder. Since the regulation of gene expression is mediated by microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) at the post-transcriptional level, the aim of this study was to analyze the dysregulated miRNA-lncRNA interactions of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in male reproductive disorder. Using bioinformatics analysis, we speculate that the predicted miRNAs including miR-125a-5p, miR-125b-5p, miR-574-5p, and miR-936 as regulators of ACE2 and miR-204-5p as a modulator of TMPRSS2 are associated with male infertility. The lncRNAs with a tissue-specific expression for testis including GRM7-AS3, ARHGAP26-AS1, BSN-AS1, KRBOX1-AS1, CACNA1C-IT3, AC012361.1, FGF14-IT1, AC012494.1, and GS1-24F4.2 were predicted. The identified miRNAs and lncRNAs are proposed as potential biomarkers to study the possible association between COVID-19 and male infertility. This study encourages further studies of miRNA-lncRNA interactions to explain the molecular mechanisms of male infertility in COVID-19 patients.

The impact of late-career job loss and genetic risk on body mass index: Evidence from variance polygenic scores.

Unemployment shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic have reignited concerns over the long-term effects of job loss on population health. Past research has highlighted the corrosive effects of unemployment on health and health behaviors. This study examines whether the effects of job loss on changes in body mass index (BMI) are moderated by genetic predisposition using data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS). To improve detection of gene-by-environment (G × E) interplay, we interacted layoffs from business closures-a plausibly exogenous environmental exposure-with whole-genome polygenic scores (PGSs) that capture genetic contributions to both the population mean (mPGS) and variance (vPGS) of BMI. Results show evidence of genetic moderation using a vPGS (as opposed to an mPGS) and indicate genome-wide summary measures of phenotypic plasticity may further our understanding of how environmental stimuli modify the distribution of complex traits in a population.

Genetic Correlates of Psychological Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis in Young Adult Twins in Great Britain.

We investigated how the COVID-19 crisis and the extraordinary experience of lockdown affected young adults in England and Wales psychologically. One month after lockdown commenced (T2), we assessed 30 psychological and behavioural traits in more than 4000 twins in their mid-twenties and compared their responses to the same traits assessed in 2018 (T1). Mean changes from T1 to T2 were modest and inconsistent. Contrary to the hypothesis that major environmental changes related to COVID-19 would result in increased variance in psychological and behavioural traits, we found that the magnitude of individual differences did not change from T1 to T2. Twin analyses revealed that while genetic factors accounted for about half of the reliable variance at T1 and T2, they only accounted for ~ 15% of individual differences in change from T1 to T2, and that nonshared environmental factors played a major role in psychological and behavioural changes. Shared environmental influences had negligible impact on T1, T2 or T2 change. Genetic factors correlated on average .86 between T1 and T2 and accounted for over half of the phenotypic stability, as would be expected for a 2-year interval even without the major disruption of lockdown. We conclude that the first month of lockdown has not resulted in major psychological or attitudinal shifts in young adults, nor in major changes in the genetic and environmental origins of these traits. Genetic influences on the modest psychological and behavioural changes are likely to be the result of gene-environment correlation not interaction.

A butterfly flaps its wings: Extinction of biological experience and the origins of allergy.

OBJECTIVE: To explore links between biodiversity on all scales and allergic disease as a measure of immune dysregulation. DATA SOURCES: PubMed and Web of Science were searched using the keywords biodiversity, nature relatedness, allergic disease, microbiome, noncommunicable diseases, coronavirus disease 2019, and associated terms. STUDY SELECTIONS: Studies were selected based on relevance to human health and biodiversity. RESULTS: Contact with natural environments enriches the human microbiome, promotes regulated immune responses, and protects against allergy and both acute and chronic inflammatory disorders. These important links to ecopsychological constructs of the extinction of experience, which indicates that loss of direct, personal contact with biodiversity (wildlife and the more visible elements of the natural world), might lead to emotional apathy and irresponsible behaviors toward the environment. CONCLUSION: The immune system is a useful early barometer of environmental effects and, by means of the microbiome, is a measure of the way in which our current experiences differ from our ancestral past. Although we would benefit from further research, efforts to increase direct, personal contact with biodiversity have clear benefits for multiple aspects of physical and mental health, the skin and gut microbiome, immune function, food choices, sleep, and physical activity and promote environmental responsibility.

Genomic Epidemiology and its importance in the study of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not available.