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Genes typically do not function in isolation such that mutation in one gene will influence the activity of many other genes in a cell or organism. This is important to our understanding of disease since most genetic disorders are not caused by mutation of a single gene but rather by rare combinations of mutations in different genes. Thus, determining how genes "interact" with each other will help us understand the basis of genetic disease.
With collaborators at the University of Toronto, the Myers lab developed a method to map interactions between genes by combining different gene mutations in the same yeast cell and monitoring the outcome. In the largest study of its kind for any organism, they examined over 5 million gene-gene combinations, identifying thousands of connections or "interactions" between genes. Importantly, a gene's interactions of ten defines its role in the cell so that genes sharing common interactions also share similar biological functions (as indicated by different colors on the map).
Because yeast are remarkably similar genetically to human cells, the genetic interaction map has important implications to health research by providing a model for how various individual genes can combine to control inherited traits, including those associated with human disease. The genetic interaction network can also be used to interpret yeast's sensitivity to different chemical compounds, which may help scientists link bioactive compounds to their targets, a critical step in the drug discovery process.
