Like Father, Like Child? Paternal Age at Birth and Offspring’s Facial Asymmetry and Distinctiveness
Paternal age at birth, a potential proxy of mutation load transmitted to the offspring, has previously been related to the offspring’s health, biological condition and reproductive potential. As higher facial asymmetry and distinctiveness serve as putative markers of the lower genetic quality of an...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Symmetry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/14/2/344 |
| _version_ | 1797476387908485120 |
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| author | Magdalena Klimek Urszula M. Marcinkowska Pawel Fedurek Karel Kleisner Dariusz P. Danel |
| author_facet | Magdalena Klimek Urszula M. Marcinkowska Pawel Fedurek Karel Kleisner Dariusz P. Danel |
| author_sort | Magdalena Klimek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Paternal age at birth, a potential proxy of mutation load transmitted to the offspring, has previously been related to the offspring’s health, biological condition and reproductive potential. As higher facial asymmetry and distinctiveness serve as putative markers of the lower genetic quality of an individual, we hypothesize that more advanced paternal age at birth will be related to children’s higher levels of facial asymmetry and distinctiveness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the link between paternal age at birth and facial asymmetry in offspring. Based on archived photographs of 159 children born within 47 Polish families, we have conducted facial geometric morphometric measurements and calculated the levels of facial asymmetry and distinctiveness. The relationship between paternal age at birth and the offspring’s facial features was explored with the use of Bayesian Linear Mixed-effects Models, controlling for sex, age and birth order of the offspring, and maternal age at child’s birth. No associations between paternal age at birth and facial asymmetry or distinctiveness in children were found. The lack of such a relationship might be a result of the potentially insufficient influence of newly accumulated paternal mutations affecting the offspring’s phenotype or higher importance of maternal (prenatal) and postnatal environments in shaping facial features. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:57:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-226013cafbf44890aa202bcb596923a0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-8994 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:57:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Symmetry |
| spelling | doaj.art-226013cafbf44890aa202bcb596923a02023-11-23T22:17:03ZengMDPI AGSymmetry2073-89942022-02-0114234410.3390/sym14020344Like Father, Like Child? Paternal Age at Birth and Offspring’s Facial Asymmetry and DistinctivenessMagdalena Klimek0Urszula M. Marcinkowska1Pawel Fedurek2Karel Kleisner3Dariusz P. Danel4Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 31-066 Krakow, PolandDepartment of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 31-066 Krakow, PolandDivision of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UKDepartment of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 128 00 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Anthropology, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, PolandPaternal age at birth, a potential proxy of mutation load transmitted to the offspring, has previously been related to the offspring’s health, biological condition and reproductive potential. As higher facial asymmetry and distinctiveness serve as putative markers of the lower genetic quality of an individual, we hypothesize that more advanced paternal age at birth will be related to children’s higher levels of facial asymmetry and distinctiveness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the link between paternal age at birth and facial asymmetry in offspring. Based on archived photographs of 159 children born within 47 Polish families, we have conducted facial geometric morphometric measurements and calculated the levels of facial asymmetry and distinctiveness. The relationship between paternal age at birth and the offspring’s facial features was explored with the use of Bayesian Linear Mixed-effects Models, controlling for sex, age and birth order of the offspring, and maternal age at child’s birth. No associations between paternal age at birth and facial asymmetry or distinctiveness in children were found. The lack of such a relationship might be a result of the potentially insufficient influence of newly accumulated paternal mutations affecting the offspring’s phenotype or higher importance of maternal (prenatal) and postnatal environments in shaping facial features.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/14/2/344Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)developmental stabilityfacial featuresPaternal Origins of Health and Disease (POHaD) |
| spellingShingle | Magdalena Klimek Urszula M. Marcinkowska Pawel Fedurek Karel Kleisner Dariusz P. Danel Like Father, Like Child? Paternal Age at Birth and Offspring’s Facial Asymmetry and Distinctiveness Symmetry Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) developmental stability facial features Paternal Origins of Health and Disease (POHaD) |
| title | Like Father, Like Child? Paternal Age at Birth and Offspring’s Facial Asymmetry and Distinctiveness |
| title_full | Like Father, Like Child? Paternal Age at Birth and Offspring’s Facial Asymmetry and Distinctiveness |
| title_fullStr | Like Father, Like Child? Paternal Age at Birth and Offspring’s Facial Asymmetry and Distinctiveness |
| title_full_unstemmed | Like Father, Like Child? Paternal Age at Birth and Offspring’s Facial Asymmetry and Distinctiveness |
| title_short | Like Father, Like Child? Paternal Age at Birth and Offspring’s Facial Asymmetry and Distinctiveness |
| title_sort | like father like child paternal age at birth and offspring s facial asymmetry and distinctiveness |
| topic | Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) developmental stability facial features Paternal Origins of Health and Disease (POHaD) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/14/2/344 |
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