Networking complex traits
The challenge of identifying the genomic sequence that determines complex traits has been recently tackled by Aryoles et al. in an investigation involving the species of fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster (bottom left). This involved the use of systems genetics, a process of analysing the data sets gained from microarray results in order to correlate the phenotypic expression with genetic information of a large population. In the study by Aryoles, microarrays obtained from 40 inbred D. melanogaster were analysed and it was found that around 80% of the predetermined DNA transcripts was expressed whilst the remaining 20% was determined as genetically variable (i.e. dependant on gene combinations).
The study found that these genetically variable transcripts are strongly correlated, and could be grouped in modules according to the extent of correlation. These modules often had highly interrelated genes, suggesting the influence of gene combination on the expression of these
complex phenotypes. Interestingly, the transcripts of each module were biologically related which also supports the fact that the genome can affect a variety of phenotypes.
This may prove very useful when applied to humans, allowing for a number of opportunities in predicting the onset of disease, and other phenotypic variables that early detection can solve.
Original Article: http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v10/n4/full/nrg2566.html#top
References: http://compgen.unc.edu/wp/
