Genomic detectives crack the case of the missing heritability

Feb. 22, 2013 9 a.m.

Despite years of research, the genetic factors behind many human diseases and characteristics remain unknown. The inability to find the complete genetic causes of family traits such as height or the risk of type 2 diabetes has been called the "missing heritability" problem.


Heritability A

Researchers mated two yeast strains (BY from a laboratory and RM from a vineyard) and collected the offspring (tetrads) for genome-wide analysis to look for gene variations that contributed to survival. This experimental setup allowed the researchers to determine how much of the inherited survival traits could be detected by genome-wide scan and how much was "missing" or undetectable using a genome-wide scan. (Illustration by Joshua Bloom, Kruglyak Lab)













Heritability C

The researchers placed the more than 1,000 single-cell yeast offspring in a grid pattern on plates such as this one, and subjected each plate to a different condition, including different temperatures, food sources and presence of various drugs. Offspring thrived (large dots) or did not thrive (small dots) depending on their genetic make-up. Researchers examined the yeast to find out how much of their ability to survive was inherited from their parents. (Image courtesy of Joshua Bloom, Kruglyak Lab)




The paper, "Finding the sources of missing heritability in a yeast cross," was published in Nature on Feb. 3, 2013. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants R37 MH59520 and R01 GM102308; a James S. McDonnell Centennial Fellowship (L.K.); the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (L.K.); a National Science Foundation (NSF) fellowship (J.S.B.); an NIH postdoctoral fellowship F32 HG51762 (I.M.E.); and NIH grant P50 GM071508 to the Center for Quantitative Biology at the Lewis-Sigler Institute of Princeton University.