Researchers link fingerprints to limb development

The patterns of fingerprints for each person are often genetically inherited and usually remain the same throughout life. Based on this fact, a global team has discovered the influence of genes related to limb development on fingerprint patterns in a recent study.

The study, titled Limb Development Genes Underlie Variation in Human Fingerprint Patterns, was published in Cell magazine on Friday. It was a collaborative effort led by Fudan University, with the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health and the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom contributing.

The team scanned the genomic data of 13,846 people from East Asia and 10,120 from Europe, according to Wang Sijia, co-corresponding author of the paper and a researcher from the SINH.

According to Wang, the team identified 43 gene loci－fixed positions on chromosomes－associated with fingerprint types across digits.

"These genes are in signaling pathways controlling limb development rather than pathways related to skin development, which shows there is a strong correlation between fingerprint patterns and limb development," Wang said, adding that they have found the mechanism behind such a correlation.

The study revealed that fingerprint patterns are genetically related to the characteristics of hands and fingers.

For example, the longer the little finger is and the shorter the palm length, the more patterns of whorls－spirals or concentric circles－there are on fingerprints. Additionally, the longer the distal knuckle of the index finger of a person is, the fewer whorls there are.

"The study laid the theoretical foundation for correlation research of dermatoglyphics (the study of fingerprints) and diseases," Wang said.

It has also found the relationship between dermatoglyphic phenotypes and congenital genetic diseases, according to Wang. For instance, patients with Down syndrome－a disease where someone is born with an extra copy of their 21st chromosome, which causes physical and mental disabilities－are more likely to have the simian line, a palm print crossing from one end of the palm to the other end in a straight line.

"We are dedicated to enhancing medical services for the early diagnosis of congenital diseases in newborns," he added.

Jin Li, another co-corresponding author of the paper and president of Fudan University, said the dermatoglyphic phenotype is just one of many human phenotypes－the collection of all biological characteristics of the human body, such as height and hair color.

"Fudan has been working with experts and researchers at home and abroad to promote research on the human phenotypes, collecting as much data as possible from a considerable number of volunteers and analyzing the associations between phenotypes that are closely related to human health," Jin said.