What genes code for beauty?

[Enmos]

Don't fret. I referred to craniofacial genes in my post, though I refuted the argument that their (individual) impact has a tremendous effect on "beauty."

Of course not. Beauty is subjective, although some rules seem to apply (symmetry, smooth skin).
But each and every of those 17K genes will have a small contribution to how a face looks and thus to the possibility of someone finding it beautiful.

I also defined beauty in Evolutionary/Biological terms in order to make a scientific discussion possible.

To sum it up: Beauty is that collection of phenotypic components which benefits one's ability to find a mate and (presumably) reproduce.

That's about as scientific as it can get, I'm afraid.

That's what I'm saying. The question was which genes.. no answer is going to come.

My argument is that beauty - if we define it as a social response, or as a means of sexual selection, is rather a lack of defects or abnormalities as opposed to the presence of "good" genes versus the lack of bad ones.

I am proposing that ugly people - those who have difficulty finding sexual partners with which to mate - suffer from some form of genetic or developmental abnormality.

True in part. Current cultural interpretation of beauty has an impact as well.
And nowadays, with so many genotypes coming together, there are more and new combinations of which some will be expressed in a way that might be considered attractive and others in a way that might not be considered attractive.
Also, some genes might not code for any particular beauty but might be beneficial in other areas. In this way they will probably stay in the genepool. Facial beauty is not the only aspect of the human body that aids in sexual selection.

This line of logic leads us to an interesting (I think) conclusion: that sexual selection based on appearance is a means of selecting against those who may carry undesirable genes. Let's face it, folks with such genetic conditions as Muscular Dystrophy or Dwarfism have problems finding sexual partners.

Agreed.

As far as I know there is not a "symmetry gene", rather symmetry or lack thereof is more likely a result of developmental factors such as a lack of blood supply to some region in the growing fetus' body.

In other words beauty is incredibly subjective and genetics far too complicated to neatly define sexual appeal.

Agreed.