Melbourne scientists find the gene for height

Scientists at the University of Melbourne have uncovered two of the genes responsible for making men either short or tall.

Men and women generally have the same sized bodies. Where they differ in height is in the length of their legs. Most commonly, men have longer legs than women do, and two scientists within the Department of Physiology at the University of Melbourne investigated the genetic basis for this difference. Dr Justine Ellis and Professor Stephen Harrap focused on genes they thought might explain differences in height in men and women. These were specific genes on the male Y chromosome, and the gene coding for aromatase, an enzyme that converts testosterone into oestrogen.

Aromatase has long been linked to height because people lacking the enzyme simply continue to grow until they are given doses of oestrogen to halt their growth. The scientists recruited almost 3000 volunteers from the Victorian Family Heart Study between 1991 and 1996. By testing and comparing the genetic markers on the Y chromosome and the gene coding for the aromatase enzyme, the researchers uncovered evidence that these genes significantly influence how tall a man will grow. Studies showed that these genes could contribute up to 4.2 centimetres in height. The scientists are now investigating, in a much larger sample population, whether tall men differ in their bone density as some research indicates that tall men are more prone to the bone-thinning disease, osteoporosis.