OBJECTIVES: Gullah African Americans are descendants of formerly enslaved Africans living in the Sea Islands along the coast of the southeastern U.S., from North Carolina to Florida. Their relatively high numbers and geographic isolation were conducive to the development and preservation of a unique culture that retains deep African features. Although historical evidence supports a West‐Central African ancestry for the Gullah, linguistic and cultural evidence of a connection to Sierra Leone has led to the suggestion of this country/region as their ancestral home. This study sought to elucidate the genetic structure and ancestry of the Gullah. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We leveraged whole‐genome genotype data from Gullah, African Americans from Jackson, Mississippi, African populations from Sierra Leone, and population reference panels from Africa and Europe to infer population structure, ancestry proportions, and global estimates of admixture. RESULTS: Relative to non‐Gullah African Americans from the Southeast US, the Gullah exhibited higher mean African ancestry, lower European admixture, a similarly small Native American contribution, and increased male‐biased European admixture. A slightly tighter bottleneck in the Gullah 13 generations ago suggests a largely shared demographic history with non‐Gullah African Americans. Despite a slightly higher relatedness to populations from Sierra Leone, our data demonstrate that the Gullah are genetically related to many West African populations. DISCUSSION: This study confirms that subtle differences in African American population structure exist at finer regional levels. Such observations can help to inform medical genetics research in African Americans, and guide the interpretation of genetic data used by African Americans seeking to explore ancestral identities.
Objectives Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a heterogeneous group of conditions unified by the presence of chronic childhood arthritis without an identifiable cause. Systemic JIA (sJIA) is a rare form of JIA characterised by systemic inflammation. sJIA is distinguished from other forms of JIA by unique clinical features and treatment responses that are similar to autoinflammatory diseases. However, approximately half of children with sJIA develop destructive, long-standing arthritis that appears similar to other forms of JIA. Using genomic approaches, we sought to gain novel insights into the pathophysiology of sJIA and its relationship with other forms of JIA. Methods We performed a genome-wide association study of 770 children with sJIA collected in nine countries by the International Childhood Arthritis Genetics Consortium. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were tested for association with sJIA. Weighted genetic risk scores were used to compare the genetic architecture of sJIA with other JIA subtypes. Results The major histocompatibility complex locus and a locus on chromosome 1 each showed association with sJIA exceeding the threshold for genome-wide significance, while 23 other novel loci were suggestive of association with sJIA. Using a combination of genetic and statistical approaches, we found no evidence of shared genetic architecture between sJIA and other common JIA subtypes. Conclusions The lack of shared genetic risk factors between sJIA and other JIA subtypes supports the hypothesis that sJIA is a unique disease process and argues for a different classification framework. Research to improve sJIA therapy should target its unique genetics and specific pathophysiological pathways. ; Intramural Research Programs of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases ; National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ; NIH ; Arthritis Research UK ; German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) ; Val A. Browning Charitable Foundation ; Marcus Foundation ; Proyecto de Excelencia of the Andalousian Government (MA-R) ; Swedish Association Against Rheumatism (MA-R) ; Wellcome Trust ; National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Unit Funding Scheme ; Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre (MAHSC) ; SPARKS UK ; Medical Research Council ; UK National Institute for Health Research GOSH Biomedical Research Centre ; Canadian Institutes of Health Research ; Arthritis Society (CIHR) ; Canadian Arthritis Network ; Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation and its Cincinnati Genomic Control Cohort ; USA NIH research programme ; UK Medical Research Council ; Natl Inst Arthrit & Musculoskeletal & Skin Dis, Natl Inst Hlth, US Dept Hlth & Human Serv, Translat Genet & Genom Unit, Bethesda, MD USA ; NHGRI, Natl Inst Hlth, Inflammatory Dis Sect, US Dept Hlth & Human Serv, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA ; Manchester Acad Hlth Sci Ctr, Arthrit Res UK Ctr Genet & Genom, Ctr Musculoskeletal Res, Manchester, Lancs, England ; Wellcome Trust Sanger Inst, Human Genet, Hinxton, England ; Univ Cincinnati, Coll Med, Dept Pediat, Cincinnati, OH USA ; Cincinnati Childrens Hosp Med Ctr, Cincinnati, OH 45229 USA ; Univ Hosp Munster, Dept Pediat Rheumatol & Immunol, Munster, Germany ; Univ Genoa, Dept Pediat, Genoa, Italy ; Giannina Gaslini Inst, Pediat Unit 2, Genoa, Italy ; Hacettepe Univ, Dept Pediat Rheumatol, Ankara, Turkey ; Emory Univ, Sch Med, Dept Pediat & Human Genet, Atlanta, GA 30322 USA ; Childrens Healthcare Atlanta, Atlanta, GA USA ; Cleveland Clin, Dept Pediat, Cleveland, OH 44106 USA ; Univ Utah, Dept Pediat, Salt Lake City, UT USA ; Albert Einstein Coll Med, Dept Pediat, Bronx, NY 10467 USA ; Childrens Hosp Montefiore, Bronx, NY USA ; Stanford Univ, Dept Pediat, Stanford, CA 94305 USA ; Hosp Pediat Garrahan, Serv Immunol & Rheumatol, Buenos Aires, DF, Argentina ; Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Pediat, Sao Paulo, Brazil ; Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil ; Univ Toronto, Dept Pediat, Toronto, ON, Canada ; Univ Toronto, Dept Pediat, Toronto, ON, Canada ; Univ Toronto, Inst Med Sci, Toronto, ON, Canada ; Univ Saskatchewan, Dept Pediat, Saskatoon, SK, Canada ; UCL, Inst Child Hlth, London, England ; UCL, Ctr Paediat & Adolescent Rheumatol, London, England ; Univ Barcelona, Hosp Sant Joan Deu, Pediat Rheumatol Unit, Barcelona, Spain ; German Ctr Pediat & Adolescent Rheumatol, Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany ; Univ Hosp Cal Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany ; Charite, Dept Rheumatol & Clin Immunol, Berlin, Germany ; German Rheumatism Res Ctr, Epidemiol Unit, Berlin, Germany ; Rhein Westfal TH Aachen, Dept Pediat, Aachen, Germany ; Univ Manchester, Manchester Acad Hlth Sci Ctr, Cent Manchester Univ Hosp NHS Fdn Trust, Natl Inst Hlth Res Manchester Musculoskeletal Bio, Manchester, Lancs, England ; Univ Pittsburgh, Dept Med, Pittsburgh, PA USA ; Univ Pittsburgh, Dept Human Genet, Pittsburgh, PA USA ; Cleveland Clin, Dept Gastroenterol & Hepatol, Cleveland, OH 44106 USA ; Cleveland Clin, Dept Pathobiol, Cleveland, OH 44106 USA ; Icahn Sch Med Mt Sinai, Dept Genet & Genom Sci, New York, NY 10029 USA ; Hosp Sick Children, Ctr Appl Gen, Toronto, ON, Canada ; Pfizer Univ Granada Andalusian Govt, Ctr Genom & Oncol Res, Granada, Spain ; Karolinska Inst, Inst Environm Med, Unit Chron Inflammatory Dis, Solna, Sweden ; Interdisciplinary Cluster Appl Genoprote Univ Lie, Liege, Belgium ; Barcelona Inst Sci & Technol, Ctr Gene Regulat, Barcelona, Spain ; Univ Pompeu Fabra UPF, Barcelona, Spain ; Sidra Med & Res Ctr, Doha, Qatar ; Istanbul Univ, Istanbul Fac Med, Istanbul, Turkey ; Wake Forest Univ Hlth Sci, Dept Biostat Sci, Winston Salem, NC USA ; Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Pediat, Sao Paulo, Brazil ; Intramural Research Programs of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: Z01-AR041198 ; National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH): Z01-HG200370 ; NIH: R01-AR059049 ; NIH: R01AR061297 ; NIH: R01-AR060893 ; NIH: P30-AR47363 ; NIH: P01-AR48929 ; NIH: AG030653 ; NIH: AG041718 ; NIH: AG005133 ; NIH: U01-DK062420 ; NIH: R01-DK076025 ; Arthritis Research UK: 20385 ; Arthritis Research UK: 20542 ; German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF): 01ER0813 ; Proyecto de Excelencia of the Andalousian Government (MA-R): CTS-2548 ; Wellcome Trust: 098051 ; Wellcome Trust: 076113/C/04/Z ; Wellcome Trust: 068545/Z/02 ; SPARKS UK: 08ICH09 ; SPARKS UK: 12ICH08 ; Medical Research Council: MR/M004600/1 ; Arthritis Society (CIHR): 82517 ; Canadian Arthritis Network: SRI-IJD-01 ; USA NIH research programme: RP-PG-0310-1002 ; UK Medical Research Council: G0000934 ; Web of Science
OBJECTIVES: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a heterogeneous group of conditions unified by the presence of chronic childhood arthritis without an identifiable cause. Systemic JIA (sJIA) is a rare form of JIA characterised by systemic inflammation. sJIA is distinguished from other forms of JIA by unique clinical features and treatment responses that are similar to autoinflammatory diseases. However, approximately half of children with sJIA develop destructive, long-standing arthritis that appears similar to other forms of JIA. Using genomic approaches, we sought to gain novel insights into the pathophysiology of sJIA and its relationship with other forms of JIA. METHODS: We performed a genome-wide association study of 770 children with sJIA collected in nine countries by the International Childhood Arthritis Genetics Consortium. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were tested for association with sJIA. Weighted genetic risk scores were used to compare the genetic architecture of sJIA with other JIA subtypes. RESULTS: The major histocompatibility complex locus and a locus on chromosome 1 each showed association with sJIA exceeding the threshold for genome-wide significance, while 23 other novel loci were suggestive of association with sJIA. Using a combination of genetic and statistical approaches, we found no evidence of shared genetic architecture between sJIA and other common JIA subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of shared genetic risk factors between sJIA and other JIA subtypes supports the hypothesis that sJIA is a unique disease process and argues for a different classification framework. Research to improve sJIA therapy should target its unique genetics and specific pathophysiological pathways. ; This work was supported by the Intramural Research Programs of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (Z01-AR041198 to MJO) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (Z01-HG200370 to DLK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Additional funding was provided by NIH grants R01-AR059049 (AAG), R01AR061297 (EDM), R01-AR060893 (SP), P30-AR47363 and P01-AR48929 (ST), AG030653, AG041718 and AG005133 (MIK) and U01-DK062420 and R01-DK076025 (RHD); ArthritisResearch UK Grant 20385 (WT); the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF project 01ER0813) for the 'ICON-JIA' inception cohort (KM and DF); the Val A. Browning Charitable Foundation ( JFB); the Marcus Foundation (SP); the Proyecto de Excelencia (CTS-2548) of the Andalousian Government (MA-R) and the Swedish Association Against Rheumatism (MA-R). IT and EZ were supported by the Wellcome Trust (098051). WT and JC are funded by the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Unit Funding Scheme. The CAPS study was funded by Arthritis Research UK Grant 20542. WT, AH, and JC are supported by the Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre (MAHSC). SPARKS-CHARMS was funded by grants from SPARKS UK (08ICH09 and 12ICH08), the Medical Research Council (MR/M004600/1) and the UK National Institute for Health Research GOSH Biomedical Research Centre. The BBOP study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Arthritis Society (CIHR funding reference number 82517) and the Canadian Arthritis Network (funding reference SRI-IJD-01). This research was supported in part by the Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation and its Cincinnati Genomic Control Cohort. The authors acknowledge the use of DNA from the UK Blood Services collection of Common Controls (UKBS-CC collection), which is funded by Wellcome Trust grant 076113/C/04/Z and by the USA NIH research programme grant to the National Health Service Blood and Transplant (RP-PG-0310-1002). The authors acknowledge the use of DNA from the British 1958 Birth Cohort collection, which is funded by the UK Medical Research Council grant G0000934 and the Wellcome Trust grant 068545/Z/02
CONTEXT: Vitamin D inadequacy is common in the adult population of the United States. Although the genetic determinants underlying vitamin D inadequacy have been studied in people of European ancestry, less is known about populations with Hispanic or African ancestry. OBJECTIVE: The Trans-Ethnic Evaluation of Vitamin D (TRANSCEN-D) genomewide association study (GWAS) consortium was assembled to replicate genetic associations with 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations from the Study of Underlying Genetic Determinants of Vitamin D and Highly Related Traits (SUNLIGHT) meta-analyses of European ancestry and to identify genetic variants related to vitamin D concentrations in African and Hispanic ancestries. DESIGN: Ancestry-specific (Hispanic and African) and transethnic (Hispanic, African, and European) meta-analyses were performed with Meta-Analysis Helper software (METAL). PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: In total, 8541 African American and 3485 Hispanic American (from North America) participants from 12 cohorts and 16,124 European participants from SUNLIGHT were included in the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Blood concentrations of 25(OH)D were measured for all participants. RESULTS: Ancestry-specific analyses in African and Hispanic Americans replicated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GC (2 and 4 SNPs, respectively). An SNP (rs79666294) near the KIF4B gene was identified in the African American cohort. Transethnic evaluation replicated GC and DHCR7 region SNPs. Additionally, the transethnic analyses revealed SNPs rs719700 and rs1410656 near the ANO6/ARID2 and HTR2A genes, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Ancestry-specific and transethnic GWASs of 25(OH)D confirmed findings in GC and DHCR7 for African and Hispanic American samples and revealed findings near KIF4B, ANO6/ARID2, and HTR2A. The biological mechanisms that link these regions with 25(OH)D metabolism warrant further investigation.
The authors have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Bruce M. Psaty (BMP) serves on the DSMB of a clinical trial funded by Zoll Lifecor and on the Steering Committee of the Yale Open Data Access Project funded by Johnson & Johnson. Barbara V. Howard (BVH) has a contract from National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Brenda W.J.H. Penninx (BWJHP) has received research funding (non-related to the work reported here) from Jansen Research and Boehringer Ingelheim. Mike A. Nalls (MAN) is supported by a consulting contract between Data Tecnica International LLC and the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. MAN also consults for Illumina Inc., the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the University of California Healthcare. MAN also has commercial affiliation with Data Tecnica International, Glen Echo, MD, USA. Mark J. Caulfield (MJC) has commercial affiliation and is Chief Scientist for Genomics England, a UK government company. OHF is supported by grants from Metagenics (on women's health and epigenetics) and from Nestlé (on child health). Peter S. Sever (PSS) is financial supported from several pharmaceutical companies which manufacture either blood pressure lowering or lipid lowering agents, or both, and consultancy fees. Paul W. Franks (PWF) has been a paid consultant in the design of a personalized nutrition trial (PREDICT) as part of a private-public partnership at Kings College London, UK, and has received research support from several pharmaceutical companies as part of European Union Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) projects. Terho Lehtimäki (TL) is employed by Fimlab Ltd. Ozren Polašek (OP) is employed by Gen‐info Ltd. There are no patents, products in development, or marked products to declare. All the other authors have declared no competing interests exist. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. ; International audience ; Heavy alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for hypertension; the mechanism by which alcohol consumption impact blood pressure (BP) regulation remains unknown. We hypothesized that a genome-wide association study accounting for gene-alcohol consumption interaction for BP might identify additional BP loci and contribute to the understanding of alcohol-related BP regulation. We conducted a large two-stage investigation incorporating joint testing of main genetic effects and single nucleotide variant (SNV)-alcohol consumption interactions. In Stage 1, genome-wide discovery meta-analyses in ≈131K individuals across several ancestry groups yielded 3,514 SNVs (245 loci) with suggestive evidence of association (P < 1.0 x 10-5). In Stage 2, these SNVs were tested for independent external replication in ≈440K individuals across multiple ancestries. We identified and replicated (at Bonferroni correction threshold) five novel BP loci (380 SNVs in 21 genes) and 49 previously reported BP loci (2,159 SNVs in 109 genes) in European ancestry, and in multi-ancestry meta-analyses (P < 5.0 x 10-8). For African ancestry samples, we detected 18 potentially novel BP loci (P < 5.0 x 10-8) in Stage 1 that warrant further replication. Additionally, correlated meta-analysis identified eight novel BP loci (11 genes). Several genes in these loci (e.g., PINX1, GATA4, BLK, FTO and GABBR2) have been previously reported to be associated with alcohol consumption. These findings provide insights into the role of alcohol consumption in the genetic architecture of hypertension.
The authors have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Bruce M. Psaty (BMP) serves on the DSMB of a clinical trial funded by Zoll Lifecor and on the Steering Committee of the Yale Open Data Access Project funded by Johnson & Johnson. Barbara V. Howard (BVH) has a contract from National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Brenda W.J.H. Penninx (BWJHP) has received research funding (non-related to the work reported here) from Jansen Research and Boehringer Ingelheim. Mike A. Nalls (MAN) is supported by a consulting contract between Data Tecnica International LLC and the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. MAN also consults for Illumina Inc., the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the University of California Healthcare. MAN also has commercial affiliation with Data Tecnica International, Glen Echo, MD, USA. Mark J. Caulfield (MJC) has commercial affiliation and is Chief Scientist for Genomics England, a UK government company. OHF is supported by grants from Metagenics (on women's health and epigenetics) and from Nestlé (on child health). Peter S. Sever (PSS) is financial supported from several pharmaceutical companies which manufacture either blood pressure lowering or lipid lowering agents, or both, and consultancy fees. Paul W. Franks (PWF) has been a paid consultant in the design of a personalized nutrition trial (PREDICT) as part of a private-public partnership at Kings College London, UK, and has received research support from several pharmaceutical companies as part of European Union Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) projects. Terho Lehtimäki (TL) is employed by Fimlab Ltd. Ozren Polašek (OP) is employed by Gen‐info Ltd. There are no patents, products in development, or marked products to declare. All the other authors have declared no competing interests exist. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. ; International audience ; Heavy alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for hypertension; the mechanism by which alcohol consumption impact blood pressure (BP) regulation remains unknown. We hypothesized that a genome-wide association study accounting for gene-alcohol consumption interaction for BP might identify additional BP loci and contribute to the understanding of alcohol-related BP regulation. We conducted a large two-stage investigation incorporating joint testing of main genetic effects and single nucleotide variant (SNV)-alcohol consumption interactions. In Stage 1, genome-wide discovery meta-analyses in ≈131K individuals across several ancestry groups yielded 3,514 SNVs (245 loci) with suggestive evidence of association (P < 1.0 x 10-5). In Stage 2, these SNVs were tested for independent external replication in ≈440K individuals across multiple ancestries. We identified and replicated (at Bonferroni correction threshold) five novel BP loci (380 SNVs in 21 genes) and 49 previously reported BP loci (2,159 SNVs in 109 genes) in European ancestry, and in multi-ancestry meta-analyses (P < 5.0 x 10-8). For African ancestry samples, we detected 18 potentially novel BP loci (P < 5.0 x 10-8) in Stage 1 that warrant further replication. Additionally, correlated meta-analysis identified eight novel BP loci (11 genes). Several genes in these loci (e.g., PINX1, GATA4, BLK, FTO and GABBR2) have been previously reported to be associated with alcohol consumption. These findings provide insights into the role of alcohol consumption in the genetic architecture of hypertension.
The authors have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Bruce M. Psaty (BMP) serves on the DSMB of a clinical trial funded by Zoll Lifecor and on the Steering Committee of the Yale Open Data Access Project funded by Johnson & Johnson. Barbara V. Howard (BVH) has a contract from National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Brenda W.J.H. Penninx (BWJHP) has received research funding (non-related to the work reported here) from Jansen Research and Boehringer Ingelheim. Mike A. Nalls (MAN) is supported by a consulting contract between Data Tecnica International LLC and the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. MAN also consults for Illumina Inc., the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the University of California Healthcare. MAN also has commercial affiliation with Data Tecnica International, Glen Echo, MD, USA. Mark J. Caulfield (MJC) has commercial affiliation and is Chief Scientist for Genomics England, a UK government company. OHF is supported by grants from Metagenics (on women's health and epigenetics) and from Nestlé (on child health). Peter S. Sever (PSS) is financial supported from several pharmaceutical companies which manufacture either blood pressure lowering or lipid lowering agents, or both, and consultancy fees. Paul W. Franks (PWF) has been a paid consultant in the design of a personalized nutrition trial (PREDICT) as part of a private-public partnership at Kings College London, UK, and has received research support from several pharmaceutical companies as part of European Union Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) projects. Terho Lehtimäki (TL) is employed by Fimlab Ltd. Ozren Polašek (OP) is employed by Gen‐info Ltd. There are no patents, products in development, or marked products to declare. All the other authors have declared no competing interests exist. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. ; International audience ; Heavy alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for hypertension; the mechanism by which alcohol consumption impact blood pressure (BP) regulation remains unknown. We hypothesized that a genome-wide association study accounting for gene-alcohol consumption interaction for BP might identify additional BP loci and contribute to the understanding of alcohol-related BP regulation. We conducted a large two-stage investigation incorporating joint testing of main genetic effects and single nucleotide variant (SNV)-alcohol consumption interactions. In Stage 1, genome-wide discovery meta-analyses in ≈131K individuals across several ancestry groups yielded 3,514 SNVs (245 loci) with suggestive evidence of association (P < 1.0 x 10-5). In Stage 2, these SNVs were tested for independent external replication in ≈440K individuals across multiple ancestries. We identified and replicated (at Bonferroni correction threshold) five novel BP loci (380 SNVs in 21 genes) and 49 previously reported BP loci (2,159 SNVs in 109 genes) in European ancestry, and in multi-ancestry meta-analyses (P < 5.0 x 10-8). For African ancestry samples, we detected 18 potentially novel BP loci (P < 5.0 x 10-8) in Stage 1 that warrant further replication. Additionally, correlated meta-analysis identified eight novel BP loci (11 genes). Several genes in these loci (e.g., PINX1, GATA4, BLK, FTO and GABBR2) have been previously reported to be associated with alcohol consumption. These findings provide insights into the role of alcohol consumption in the genetic architecture of hypertension.
Publisher's version (útgefin grein). ; Heavy alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for hypertension; the mechanism by which alcohol consumption impact blood pressure (BP) regulation remains unknown. We hypothesized that a genome-wide association study accounting for gene-alcohol consumption interaction for BP might identify additional BP loci and contribute to the understanding of alcohol-related BP regulation. We conducted a large two-stage investigation incorporating joint testing of main genetic effects and single nucleotide variant (SNV)-alcohol consumption interactions. In Stage 1, genome-wide discovery meta-analyses in ≈131K individuals across several ancestry groups yielded 3, 514 SNVs (245 loci) with suggestive evidence of association (P < 1.0 × 10-5). In Stage 2, these SNVs were tested for independent external replication in ≈440K individuals across multiple ancestries. We identified and replicated (at Bonferroni correction threshold) five novel BP loci (380 SNVs in 21 genes) and 49 previously reported BP loci (2, 159 SNVs in 109 genes) in European ancestry, and in multi-ancestry meta-analyses (P < 5.0 × 10-8). For African ancestry samples, we detected 18 potentially novel BP loci (P < 5.0 × 10-8) in Stage 1 that warrant further replication. Additionally, correlated meta-analysis identified eight novel BP loci (11 genes). Several genes in these loci (e.g., PINX1, GATA4, BLK, FTO and GABBR2) have been previously reported to be associated with alcohol consumption. These findings provide insights into the role of alcohol consumption in the genetic architecture of hypertension. ; The following authors declare commercial private and/or governmental affiliations: Bruce M. Psaty (BMP) serves on the DSMB of a clinical trial funded by Zoll Lifecor and on the Steering Committee of the Yale Open Data Access Project funded by Johnson & Johnson. Barbara V. Howard (BVH) has a contract from National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Brenda W.J.H. Penninx (BWJHP) has received research funding (non-related to the work reported here) from Jansen Research and Boehringer Ingelheim. Mike A. Nalls (MAN) is supported by a consulting contract between Data Tecnica International LLC and the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. MAN also consults for Illumina Inc., the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the University of California Healthcare. MAN also has commercial affiliation with Data Tecnica International, Glen Echo, MD, USA. Mark J. Caulfield (MJC) has commercial affiliation and is Chief Scientist for Genomics England, a UK government company. Oscar H Franco (OHF) is supported by grants from Metagenics (on women's health and epigenetics) and from Nestlé (on child health). Peter S. Sever (PSS) is financial supported from several pharmaceutical companies which manufacture either blood pressure lowering or lipid lowering agents, or both, and consultancy fees. Paul W. Franks (PWF) has been a paid consultant in the design of a personalized nutrition trial (PREDICT) as part of a private-public partnership at Kings College London, UK, and has received research support from several pharmaceutical companies as part of European Union Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) projects. Fimlab LTD provided support in the form of salaries for author Terho Lehtimäki (TL) but did not have any additional role in the study design to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Gen‐info Ltd provided support in the form of salaries for author Ozren Polašek (OP) but did not have any additional role in the study design to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the 'author contributions' section. There are no patents, products in development, or marked products to declare. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. ; Peer Reviewed