A model to decipher the complexity of gene regulation

UNIGE and UNIL scientists have designed a framework for gene regulation analysis and propose a model to better understand the role of the non-coding part of the genome in the risk of deviation

More than the genes themselves, how, where and when they express themselves determine our biological traits - our phenotypes. If gene expression is controlled by many regulatory elements, what ultimately controls them? How do genetic variations affect them? The SysGenetiX project, led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with the University of Lausanne (UNIL), aims precisely to study these regulatory elements, as well as the multiple interactions between them and with genes. The goal? Understand the mechanisms that make people more predisposed than others to the manifestation of certain diseases. By studying the changes in chromatin (or how the genome is "packaged") in the cells of about 300 individuals, Genevan and Lausanne scientists not only identified the very structure of these regulatory elements, but they were also able to model how their genome-wide interactions influence gene regulation and disease risk. A pioneering approach, to read in the journal Science, which will shape the precision medicine of tomorrow.

By examining chromatin alterations (for example how the genome is "bundled") in the cells of around 300 people, researchers from Geneva and Lausanne not just distinguished the structure of these administrative components, they were additionally ready to demonstrate how their collaborations all through the entire genome impact quality guideline and danger of ailment. Their methodology is presently distributed in Science.

Emmanouil Dermitzakis, pioneer of the SysGenetiX venture, is an expert of the hereditary variety of quality guideline. He clarifies the novel methodology of this work: "Rather than just examining the dimensions of quality articulation