Abstract
Population Genetics In humans, it is difficult to work out how natural selection affects phenotypic variation. With the accumulation of huge repositories of human genetic data and new computational methods, the impact of medical conditions and their evolutionary importance can be estimated. One challenge is that many complex diseases are linked to phenotypes with common and widely occurring genetic variants. Vy et al. predicted the overall number of deleterious genetic variants in coding proteins (known as the deleterious load) within individuals from the UK Biobank. Although overall deleterious load is not linked with any specific disease states, the authors found statistically significant associations between 27 traits and phenotypes associated with disease, including body mass, metabolic rate, and adiposity. Thus, the accumulative effect of deleterious load might be a useful indicator for general health. PLoS Genet. 17 , e1009337 (2021).
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.