Study of genetic variance in the fluctuating asymmetry of anthropometrical traits.

We have studied the fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of 8 bilateral morphometric traits in two-parent families, comprising 216 families with one newborn baby, and 60 families with two children (age range 5-18 years). Heritability was assessed by: (1) multiple regression analyses of the children's measurements on the mother's and father's measurements; (2) midparent-child regressions; and (3) sibling correlations. The extent of genetic determination of individual FA measurements was generally low, albeit statistically significant in some cases. However, even these correlations were inconsistent between samples and relatives. However, the mean FA values for all 8 studied traits showed positive and significant correlation between parents and children in two samples and in total. Additive genetic variance, calculated from multiple regression analyses and midparent-child correlations, was estimated to be between 0.25-0.30. Three multiple regressions (two for the separate group and one for the total sample) yielded a statistically significant value (between 0.21-0.33) also for the non-additive genetic component.