The researchers have discovered a gene that influences drinking habits of the people. They found that people with rarer edition of gene known as AUTS2 drink five percent less alcohol than those with common variety. In earlier studies AUTS2 gene was associated with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity.
This gene is active in the area of the brain linked to reward mechanisms which react to agreeable stimuli. Up till now only one gene managing the breakdown of alcohol in the liver was identified to have considerable impact on the habit of drinking. However, researchers believe that other gene must play dynamic role in influencing craving for alcohol.
The researchers from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London investigated DNA samples of more than twenty-six thousand participants to find genes that seem to affect consumption of alcohol. The findings of the study were compared with findings of another twenty thousand people. They found the edition of gene linked to lower levels of drinking was more active.
Addition study on lab mice showed disparities in activity of gene AUTS2 in dissimilar animals which drank more or less alcohol. It was also revealed that by blocking the affects of associated gene in fruit flies made the insect less sensitive to alcohol, reported the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
According to lead researchers Paul Elliott, obviously, there are many aspects that affect how much alcohol a person drinks. But these twin studies show that genes play a significant role. The variation that this particular gene makes is only small, but by finding it they have opened up a new area of study into the biological mechanisms that manage drinking.
In this study they have combined genetic studies with investigation on animal behavior. As people drink alcohol for diverse causes, understanding particular behavior influenced by the gene discovered helps them better understand the organic basis of these reason. This is a significant step towards the development of separately targeted prevention and treatments for alcohol abuse and addiction, explained co-author Prof Gunter Schumann.