A Method to Exploit the Structure of Genetic Ancestry Space to Enhance Case-Control Studies.

ABSTRACT: One goal of human genetics is to understand the genetic basis of disease, a challenge for diseases of complex inheritance because risk alleles are few relative to the vast set of benign variants. Risk variants are often sought by association studies in which allele frequencies in case subjects are contrasted with those from population-based samples used as control subjects. In an ideal world we would know population-level allele frequencies, releasing researchers to focus on case subjects. We argue this ideal is possible, at least theoretically, and we outline a path to achieving it in reality. If such a resource were to exist, it would yield ample savings and would facilitate the effective use of data repositories by removing administrative and technical barriers. We call this concept the

SUBMITTER: Bodea CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4864319 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature