Cited by 1,256Genetic Associations and EpidemiologyRNA Research and SplicingGenetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals

Understanding mechanisms underlying human gene expression variation with RNA sequencing

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Pickrell, Joseph K., Marioni, John C., Pai, Athma A., Degner, Jacob F., Engelhardt, Barbara E., Nkadori, Everlyne, Veyrieras, Jean-Baptiste, Stephens, Matthew +2 more·2010·Nature

Abstract

Understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying natural variation in gene expression is a central goal of both medical and evolutionary genetics, and studies of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) have become an important tool for achieving this goal. Although all eQTL studies so far have assayed messenger RNA levels using expression microarrays, recent advances in RNA sequencing enable the analysis of transcript variation at unprecedented resolution. We sequenced RNA from 69 lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from unrelated Nigerian individuals that have been extensively genotyped by the International HapMap Project. By pooling data from all individuals, we generated a map of the transcriptional landscape of these cells, identifying extensive use of unannotated untranslated regions and more than 100 new putative protein-coding exons. Using the genotypes from the HapMap project, we identified more than a thousand genes at which genetic variation influences overall expression levels or splicing. We demonstrate that eQTLs near genes generally act by a mechanism involving allele-specific expression, and that variation that influences the inclusion of an exon is enriched within and near the consensus splice sites. Our results illustrate the power of high-throughput sequencing for the joint analysis of variation in transcription, splicing and allele-specific expression across individuals.

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Authors
Pickrell, J. K., Marioni, J. C., Pai, A. A., Degner, J. F., Engelhardt, B. E., Nkadori, E., Veyrieras, J.-B., Stephens, M., Gilad, Y., & Pritchard, J. K.
Affiliations
  • University of Chicago (US)
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
Corresponding author
  • Pickrell, Joseph K.
  • Gilad, Yoav
  • Pritchard, Jonathan K.
Venue
Nature
Published
2010-03-10
Volume
464
Issue
7289
Pages
768-772
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2027455260
Cited by
1,256
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 63 · 2020: 67 · 2019: 56 · 2018: 79 · 2017: 86 · 2016: 99 · 2015: 111 · 2014: 152 · 2013: 137 · 2012: 117
FWCI
68.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH084703, MH084703-01)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (GM077959, R01GM077959)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA Research and Splicing
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals
Keywords
gene expression variation, expression quantitative trait loci, allele-specific expression, alternative splicing, transcriptome, lymphoblastoid cell lines, HapMap, splice sites, transcriptional variation
MeSH terms
Alleles, Exons, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Nigeria, RNA, Messenger, Transcription, Genetic, Genetic Variation, Consensus Sequence, Sequence Analysis, RNA, DNA, Complementary, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Gene Expression Profiling, RNA Splice Sites, Quantitative Trait Loci, Black People

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