Finding Genes That Underlie Complex Traits

Phenotypic variation among organisms is central to evolutionary adaptations underlying natural and artificial selection, and also determines individual susceptibility to common diseases. These types of complex traits pose special challenges for genetic analysis because of gene-gene and gene-environm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2002-12, Vol.298 (5602), p.2345-2349
Main Authors: Glazier, Anne M., Nadeau, Joseph H., Aitman, Timothy J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alleles
Analysis
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Chromosome Mapping
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gene expression
Genes
Genes. Genome
Genetic aspects
Genetic Linkage
Genetic Predisposition to Disease
Genetic Variation
Genomes
Human genetics
Humans
Medical genetics
Mendel's law
Mendel's laws
Molecular and cellular biology
Molecular genetics
Multifactorial Inheritance
Mutation
Nucleotides
Phenotype
Phenotypes
Phenotypic traits
Plants - genetics
Quantitative Trait Loci
Quantitative Trait, Heritable
Review
Saccharomyces cerevisiae - genetics
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Type 1 diabetes mellitus
Type 2 diabetes mellitus
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Description
Summary:Phenotypic variation among organisms is central to evolutionary adaptations underlying natural and artificial selection, and also determines individual susceptibility to common diseases. These types of complex traits pose special challenges for genetic analysis because of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions, genetic heterogeneity, low penetrance, and limited statistical power. Emerging genome resources and technologies are enabling systematic identification of genes underlying these complex traits. We propose standards for proof of gene discovery in complex traits and evaluate the nature of the genes identified to date. These proof-of-concept studies demonstrate the insights that can be expected from the accelerating pace of gene discovery in this field.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1076641