deCODE: A Genealogical Approach to Human Genetics in Iceland

Jeffrey R Gulcher, deCODE Genetics, Reykjavik, Iceland
Kari Stefansson, deCODE Genetics, Reykjavik, Iceland

Published online: September 2006

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0006270

The identification of genes contributing to diseases provides the most direct method for discovering the rate-limiting molecular pathways involved in their pathogenesis. deCODE has built a system of information in Iceland, linking medical information from patients who have given them specific informed consent, disease by disease, to a nation-wide genealogy database and their molecular genetic information.

Keywords: genealogy; Iceland; genetics; common disease; genotype

 References
    Gretarsdottir S, Sveinbjartsdottir S, Jonsson H, et al. (2002) Localization of a susceptibility gene for common forms of stroke to 5q12. American Journal of Human Genetics 70: 593–603.
    Gudbjartsson DF, Jonasson K, Frigge ML and Kong A (2000) Allegro, a new computer program for multipoint linkage analysis. Nature Genetics 25: 12–13.
    Gulcher JR, Kong A and Stefansson K (2001a) The role of linkage studies for common diseases. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development 11: 264–267.
    Gulcher J, Kong A and Stefansson K (2001b) The genealogic approach to human genetics of disease. Cancer Journal 7: 61–68.
    Gulcher JR, Kristjansson K, Gudbjartsson H and Stefansson K (2000) Protection of privacy by third-party encryption in genetic research in Iceland. European Journal of Human Genetics 8: 739–742.
    Kong A, Gudbjartsson DF, Sainz J, et al. (2002) A high-resolution recombination map of the human genome. Nature Genetics 31: 241–247.
    Stefansson H, Sigurdsson E, Steinsthorsdottir V, et al. (2002a) Neuregulin 1 and susceptibility to schizophrenia. American Journal of Human Genetics 71: 877–892.
    Stefansson H, Sarginson J, Kong A, et al. (2002b) Association of neuregulin 1 with schizophrenia confirmed in a Scottish population. American Journal of Human Genetics 72: 83–87.
 Further Reading
    Gretarsdottir S, Thorleifsson G, Reynirsdottir S, et al. Phosphodiesterase 4D gene polymorphisms confer risk to ischemic stroke (submitted).
    Styrkarsdottir U, Cazier JB, Rolfsson O, et al. The Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 gene contributes to bone mass density and osteoporotic fractures (submitted).
 Web Links
    ePath deCODE genetics. Website for Decode Genetics describing the company, the diseases of interest and population based genetics platform http://www.decode.com/
    ePath BMP2 (bone morphogenetic protein 2); Locus ID: 650. LocusLink: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/LocRpt.cgi?l=650
    ePath NRG1 (neuregulin 1); Locus ID: 3084. LocusLink: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/LocRpt.cgi?l=3084
    ePath PDE4D (phosphodiesterase 4D, cAMP-specific (phosphodiesterase E3 dunce homolog, Drosophila)); Locus ID: 5144. LocusLink: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/LocRpt.cgi?l=5144
    ePath BMP2 (bone morphogenetic protein 2); MIM number: 112261. OMIM: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?112261
    ePath NRG1 (neuregulin 1); MIM number: 142445. OMIM: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?142445
    ePath PDE4D (phosphodiesterase 4D, cAMP-specific (phosphodiesterase E3 dunce homolog, Drosophila)); MIM number: 600129. OMIM: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?600129

Related Sub-Topics:

Human Evolution | Population Structure and Genetics | Linkage Analysis | Statistical Methodology in Genetics | Gene Mapping by Disease Association | Bioinformatics and Genetic Disease
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Article Title: deCODE: A Genealogical Approach to Human Genetics in Iceland
 
How to Cite close
Gulcher, Jeffrey R, and Stefansson, Kari(Sep 2006) deCODE: A Genealogical Approach to Human Genetics in Iceland. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0006270]