The amount of alcohol you consume might be biologically dictated and influenced by the expression of the gene named AUTS2.
Scientists from London’s Imperial College and Kings College zeroed in on this gene by DNA analyses of 26,000 people, quizzing additional 21,000 about their drinking habits and comparing the results.
They found that in the population studied, two versions of this gene exist; one more common than the other. Their results indicate that people possessing the less common version drink five per cent less alcohol than the rest. They also carried out experiments on animal models: mice and fruitflies, to validate the role of genetic variation on alcohol intake, across different species. Experiments with mice show that difference in AUTS2 gene activity is related to the difference in the amount of alcohol consumed voluntarily. In fruitflies, they found that blocking the effect of a different but related gene made the flies less sensitive to alcohol.
Professor Gunter Schumann, from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, said: “In this study we combine genetic studies with investigations of animal behaviour.
Since people drink alcohol for very different reasons, understanding the particular behaviour influenced by the gene identified helps us better understand the biological basis of these reasons.”
The researchers believe that their work is an important step towards understanding how genes can play a role in determining alcohol related behaviour and has “opened up a new area of research into the biological mechanisms that control drinking” added, Professor Paul Elliott from Imperial College.