Pacific population study
The entire adult population of the Micronesian island of Kosrae will soon be subjects in a genome-wide association study carried out by scientists from Rockefeller University in New York, Harvard University's Broad Research Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The study, announced on June 7, which combines large-scale genotyping technology and a population with limited genetic variability, is expected to provide a wealth of data on the connection between genetic variants and disease. Rockefeller's Jeffrey Friedman, who has been studying obesity in the Kosrae population for over a decade, says that those interested in disease-associated variants have been pointing toward whole genome studies for awhile. Up until now, such a massive study—200,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapped in 3,200 individuals—would have been prohibitively expensive, and researchers have instead focused on candidate genes and targeted regions of the genome. But at less than a penny a SNP, high-density GeneChip arrays from Affymetrix are making whole genome scans possible, and is driving down the cost of genotyping, according to Richard Judson, CSO of Genaissance in New Haven. Still, the price tag for the Kosrae study will run well into the millions, and hence whole genome scans may not yet be for everyone. LD
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution