Direct Genomic Selection Pinpoints Disease Genes

Researchers applying the direct genomic selection method to very large sequences of patient DNA have pinpointed genes associated with psoriasis and other diseases.

Investigators at the Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, MO, USA) developed the direct genomic selection procedure. This method allows for the modification of sections of the human genome that have been maintained in bacterial culture (bacterial artificial chromosomes or BACs). The modified segments can then be used to selectively bind with DNA taken from a patient.

Applying this methodology to samples from patients with psoriasis, the investigators reported in the January 2005 issue of Nature Methods that they had found about 100 previously unidentified genetic variations with potential links to the skin disorder.

Senior author Dr. Michael Lovett, professor of genetics and pediatrics at the Washington University School of Medicine explained, "It really is a much quicker and more affordable way of getting at these types of variations and has potential for applications in other areas including cancer research. The challenge now is that we have many disease genes that are not all-or-nothing factors--they can be linked to increased risk of disease, but not to guaranteed development of the disease. In some such instances, there's concern that another gene or bit of genetic code sitting somewhere nearby, in the same approximate region, might be able to more completely explain what happens in the disease.”



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