Fifth, important sources of overlap between alcohol consumption and AUD (r g = 0.58) were observed, adding to the literature examining their genetic commonalities and differences. 19 , 20 , 28 One source of overlap was the BANK1‐SLC39A8 locus, a region of relatively high LD that includes two genes ~175 kb apart that code for proteins involved in cellular transport and scaffolding. Multiple analytic approaches (e.g., GWAS, LAVA, and H‐MAGMA) in the present study linked this region to alcohol consumption and AUD, whereas prior studies reported only suggestive associations with alcohol consumption traits. 70 Notably, H‐MAGMA analyses indicated tissue‐specific relations to gene annotations in dopaminergic midbrain neurons, consistent with prior evidence indicating that variants in this region are associated with striatal volume, 26 , 30 , 71 and act as cis‐expression quantitative trait loci for these genes in the caudate and putamen. 39 Taken together, these results highlight a shared BANK1‐SLC39A8 genetic signal relevant to the mesostriatal dopaminergic pathway implicated in neurobiological models of addiction. 11
