GWAS on the Island of Kosrae Figure 5. Quantile-quantile plots showing genome-wide association results for five selected quantitative traits. The extended Kosrae pedigree was broken into sibships. Association for each quantitative trait was evaluated using PLINK/QFAM-Total. Scores were adjusted for inflation due to excess relatedness using genomic control. Panel A highlights SNPs with known association to HDL-C, LDL-C and triglycerides. Panel B shows an excess of association for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), while association scores for fasting plasma glucose (FPG) follow the distribution. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000365.g005 Together, these data suggest that Kosraens segregate many of the common variants that have been identified in Caucasian populations, and that effect sizes for a majority of those variants on Kosrae is not detectably different from that observed in Caucasians despite a dramatically different population history and environment. The empirical similarity of these genetic architectures lends support to the concept of combining associa- tion studies across populations to take advantage of neutrally PLoS Genetics | www.plosgenetics.org 11 February 2009 | Volume 5 | Issue 2 | e1000365