Infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is necessary but not sufficient for the development of gastric cancer, the third leading …

Non-additive genetic effects are an often underappreciated source of heritability for complex traits, however studies to map and identify the underlying interacting variants remain difficult. Mouse chromosome substitution strains are a powerful approach to discover epistatic interactions given their limited allelic variation and ability to study what in other population structures may be rare allelic combinations. We utilized these strains to map epistatic quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for multiple complex traits and for gene expression. Testing for epistatic interactions revealed multiple large-effect QTLs that were missed using typical single-loci analyses, demonstrating the importance of accounting for epistasis in genetic studies.

Polymorphisms in the gene for apolipoprotein L1, known to contribute significant risk for chronic kidney disease, also are associated with preeclampsia in African Americans.

The genetic contribution of additive versus non-additive (epistatic) effects in the regulation of hematologic and other complex traits …