International Consortium to Identify Genes and Interactions Controlling Oral Clefts. Homo sapiens

Oral clefts represent the most common group of craniofacial birth defects in humans, and include cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) and cleft palate (CP). Oral clefts have a complex and heterogeneous etiology, with strong evidence for both genetic and environmental causal factors. Candidate gene studies and genome wide linkage studies have yielded compelling but inconsistent evidence that multiple genes control risk, and several studies have shown evidence for interaction between genes and environmental exposures, especially maternal smoking and nutrient intake. This consortium pulls together a very large collection of cases and their parents from multiple populations, and offers a unique opportunity to expand the search for genes controlling risk to the genome wide level. The specific aims are: 1. To conduct a genome wide analysis on 2000+ case-parent trios ascertained through a case with isolated, non-syndromic CL/P or CP to test for... (for more see dbGaP study page.)