Contribution of Large Region Joint Associations to Complex Traits Genetics

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It is widely accepted that genetics influences a broad range of human traits and diseases, yet only a few genetic variants are known to determine these traits and their impact is modest. In this report, we made the hypothesis that combining information from a large number of genetic variants would help better explain how they together contribute to traits such as height. To do so, we first had to select a proper method to integrate large numbers of genetic variants in a single test, here named “large region joint association”. Next, we tested our method on height in 3,740 European participants from the Health and Retirement Study. We showed that the contribution of regional associations to variation in height was 17.2%, as compared to the 12.9% explained by known genetic determinants of height. In other words, the joint effect of multiple genetic variants integrated together contributed to a substantial fraction of the genetics of height. These results are significant because they can help identify new genes or genetic regions associated with human traits or diseases. Conversely, these results can be used to better understand genes that we already know are associated. Furthermore, our results provide insights on how traits are genetically determined.

Vyšlo v časopise: Contribution of Large Region Joint Associations to Complex Traits Genetics. PLoS Genet 11(4): e32767. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1005103
Kategorie: Research Article
prolekare.web.journal.doi_sk: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1005103

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