Genes Play a Role in the Onset of Puberty

If you have a teenager, you may wonder when he/she will start puberty since it’s one of the biggest transitions a person will go through in his/her lifetime.  While scientists previously thought the onset of menses had a lot to do with body fat, research has recently found that genes play a bigger part than originally thought.

In a recent article, Genes Control Onset of Puberty, the author reports that molecular geneticist Scott Wilson from the University of Western Australia has found that genes contribute to when puberty begins. The study these findings came from looked at women from different cultures.  The researchers grouped the women according to when they started their periods.  Each woman had a personal DNA test using ‘gene chips’ to look at gene coding to find similarities.  Women in the same age group for the onset of menses had similar gene coding, indicating that genes may play a role.

At this point, there isn’t any genetic testing to find out when a teen will actually start puberty.  Therefore, you may wonder what is the point of researching the onset of puberty because there’s no benefit to knowing exactly when it will occur since everyone will go through it at some point in his or her teenage years.  However, understanding the genes that play a role in puberty may also help scientists understand reproductively issues since this is when much of reproductive development occurs.

Pinpointing where there may be a gene mutation can help scientists create medications or procedures that can help people who want to conceive and have a baby.  Genetic advancements sometimes have to start with smaller discoveries before it becomes a major health benefit breakthrough.  With future research in this area, we all may start to see many more ways people can recover from reproductive disease and/or make their dreams come true in having children.

(Photo Credit: Lanuiop from Flickr)

June 5th, 2009 by Marcelina Hardy | Posted in Genetics and Society | (0)