Your browser version may not work well with NCBI's Web applications. More information here...
1: Nat Genet. 2006 Aug;38(8):896-903. Epub 2006 Jul 16.
Related Articles, Links
Click here to read Click here to read
Comment in:
Systematic mapping of genetic interactions in Caenorhabditis elegans identifies common modifiers of diverse signaling pathways.

Lehner B, Crombie C, Tischler J, Fortunato A, Fraser AG.

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1HH, UK.

Most heritable traits, including disease susceptibility, are affected by interactions between multiple genes. However, we understand little about how genes interact because very few possible genetic interactions have been explored experimentally. We have used RNA interference in Caenorhabditis elegans to systematically test approximately 65,000 pairs of genes for their ability to interact genetically. We identify approximately 350 genetic interactions between genes functioning in signaling pathways that are mutated in human diseases, including components of the EGF/Ras, Notch and Wnt pathways. Most notably, we identify a class of highly connected 'hub' genes: inactivation of these genes can enhance the phenotypic consequences of mutation of many different genes. These hub genes all encode chromatin regulators, and their activity as genetic hubs seems to be conserved across animals. We propose that these genes function as general buffers of genetic variation and that these hub genes may act as modifier genes in multiple, mechanistically unrelated genetic diseases in humans.

Publication Types:
PMID: 16845399 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]