Ok, this isnt really about the genetics of Glee. What it is really about is the genetic similarities of a group of choral singers.

Why do people sing in groups? Why do some sing in choirs and others not? What makes some people more inclined to participate in group music? After all, singing in a choir is far more than singing by yourself. You have to be willing to work at the pace of the group, be willing to modulate your own music to the needs of the group, and of courseyou have to be able to sing.

Is it possible theres something genetic? Thats what this study set out to find out. And they took their results, and made MUSIC. Read on and see!

Morley et al. AVPR1A and SLC6A4 Polymorphisms in Choral Singers and Non-Musicians: A Gene Association Study PLoS ONE, 2012.

(Source)

So we know that participation in a choir, at least, a good choir that you have to audition for (and Scis been in a few of those), requires a certain amount of musical talent, including the ability to carry a tune, read music, sight read music (be able to sing it on sight without playing it out on a piano first), and modulate your own voice volume, pitch, and tone to blend in with a group or stand out as required. While many of these characteristics are associated with all musicians (violins may not use your voice, but they do need to match pitch and tone when necessary), there are other qualities here associated specifically with GROUP music. Working at the pace of the group, responding to the people around you and the conductor, choral music is a very group oriented activity.

So in this study, the authors wanted to take some of the genes that have been previously associated with musical ability, and see how many of them applied specifically to people who sing in groups. Two specific genes were involved. First is the AVPR1A gene, which codes for the vasopressin receptor. The vasopressin receptor is best known for its role in regulation of the water balance in your body, but it is also present in various areas of the brain, where it has roles in behavior (such as in the monogamous behavior of voles). Changes in the promoter region of this gene (which helps control how much of the gene is expressed) have been correlated with test scores for music ability.

The second is the SLC6A4 gene, which codes for the serotonin transporter. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which has various functions in the body, but which is best known for its role in psychiatric disorders such as depression. Some polymorphisms in the serotonin transporter gene have been associated with scores in music tests, as well as participation in things like creative dance.

What is a polymorphism? This is a case where two or more genotypes for the same region of a gene exist. One person might be A/A, while another is G/G, and another is halfway in between at A/G. There can also be bigger changes in things like repeating sequences of a gene, where the number of repeats varies as a function of genotype. All of these changes can affect how the gene is expressed, in turn affecting various aspects of function and behavior.

The authors wanted to see whether polymorphisms in either of these genes might associate with choral participation. They recruited a bunch of singers (They specified white, why only white?! Probably due to trying to reduce the complexity of the statistics, but I really wish they could have included more ethnicities in the study) from relatively good volunteer choirs, ones you have to really audition for. They recruited the rest of their volunteers from various people at the hospital where the study was being done, specifying only that they have NO participation in music of any kind other than listening to it. They got around 250 in each group with roughly equal gender representation (though a very wide age range), and genotyped them all for different polymorphisms in the vasopressin 1A receptor gene and the serotonin transporter gene.

Here is the original post:
The Genetics of Glee or, what makes us sing in groups?

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