Biotech Values

[biomaven0]

>23andme etc

I think everyone understands now that SNPs (and even sequencing) are only going to provide part of the puzzle. Copy number variation, methylation and other yet-to-be-determined epigenetic variations will all turn out to play a part. Let's see what emerges from the 1,000 genome project before we throw up our hands and give up. It may be that common SNPs don't provide that much information, but that "uncommon" SNPs will. Worst case would be that very rare mutations are the big driver - that people are tall (or short) for their own individual (but still inherited) genetic reasons.

It was hard to understand from that MIT review article exactly what these folks are saying. I assume it involves something along the lines of this extract from wikipedia:

Although epigenetics in multicellular organisms is generally thought to be a mechanism involved in differentiation, with epigenetic patterns "reset" when organisms reproduce, there have been some observations of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (e.g., the phenomenon of paramutation observed in maize). Although most of these multigenerational epigenetic traits are gradually lost over several generations, the possibility remains that multigenerational epigenetics could be another aspect to evolution and adaptation. A sequestered germ line or Weismann barrier is specific to animals, and epigenetic inheritance is expected to be far more common in plants and microbes. These effects may require enhancements to the standard conceptual framework of the modern evolutionary synthesis.[35][36]

Epigenetic features may play a role in short-term adaptation of species by allowing for reversible phenotype variability. The modification of epigenetic features associated with a region of DNA allows organisms, on a multigenerational time scale, to switch between phenotypes that express and repress that particular gene.[37] When the DNA sequence of the region is not mutated, this change is reversible. It has also been speculated that organisms may take advantage of differential mutation rates associated with epigenetic features to control the mutation rates of particular genes.[37] Interestingly, recent analysis have suggested that members of the APOBEC family of cytosine deaminases are capable of simultaneously mediating genetic and epigenetic inheritance using similar molecular mechanisms.[38]

Epigenetic changes have also been observed to occur in response to environmental exposure—for example, mice given some dietary supplements have epigenetic changes affecting expression of the agouti gene, which affects their fur color, weight, and propensity to develop cancer.[39][40]

More than 100 cases of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance phenomena have been reported in a wide range of organisms, including prokaryotes, plants, and animals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics