Improving Phenotypic Prediction by Combining Genetic and Epigenetic Associations

We tested whether DNA-methylation profiles account for inter-individual variation in body mass index (BMI) and height and whether they predict these phenotypes over and above genetic factors. Genetic predictors were derived from published summary results from the largest genome-wide association studies on BMI (n ∼ 350,000) and height (n ∼ 250,000) to date. We derived methylation predictors by estimating probe-trait effects in discovery samples and tested them in external samples. Methylation profiles associated with BMI in older individuals from the Lothian Birth Cohorts (LBCs, n = 1,366) explained 4.9% of the variation in BMI in Dutch adults from the LifeLines DEEP study (n = 750) but did not account for any BMI variation in adolescents from the Brisbane Systems Genetic Study (BSGS, n = 403).

Source: The American Journal of Human Genetics - June 25, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Sonia Shah, Marc J. Bonder, Riccardo E. Marioni, Zhihong Zhu, Allan F. McRae, Alexandra Zhernakova, Sarah E. Harris, Dave Liewald, Anjali K. Henders, Michael M. Mendelson, Chunyu Liu, Roby Joehanes, Liming Liang, BIOS Consortium, Daniel Levy, Nichol Tags: Article Source Type: research