University:
University of Virginia
Course:
BIOL 1040 | The DNA Revolution in Science and Society
Academic year:

2024
Views:

74

Pages:

3
Author:

Kayli N.

Lecture 4 Polygenic Prediction for educational attatinment within and between families from GWAS: 3 million individuals identified with 3,952 SNPs by 23andMe ● Polygenic risk score of 12-16% variance ● Incremental advance given that we know how genetic correlations with education attatinment can be misinterpreted ● Upper and lower ends of distribution of genetic risk differ dramatically in prevalence of college completion ○ Doesn't show environmenal effects ● Individuals with different levels of educational attainment are highly variable genetically and don't form distinct groups (statistical fit is poor) ○ Can't make predictions on this variation about one's future ○ Statistical difference useful in a public health context (determining which groups should be more regularly screened for heart disease) ○ DON'T want to predict one's future based on the risk group they belong to (basis of discrimination) ● Lessons from coronary artery disease apply to other traits -> early death ● Assigned to apolygenetic risk score based on genes correlated with human lifespan ● Genetics puts higher risk on early death but healthy lifetyle can raise that risk by 62% ● Given score based on how they adhere to healthy lifestyle, 78% more likely to die early from unhealthy lifestyle regardless of genetic risk ● social/policy intervention are effective for traits that are heritable (IQ, Educational attainment) Other Polygenic Risk Scores ● Orchid Biosciences: genetic testing prior to conception to calculte risk scores for likelihood of common illnesses ○ IVF: identify the healthiest of their embryso for their pregnancy ○ However, is creating controversery ● U.S-based biotech startup is promising prospective parents smtarter children through controversial and expensive genetically screening embryos ○ Heliospect's genomic prediction -> 5 couples used in 2023, to increase child's IQ by at least 6 points Take Home Messages ● Personalized genomics involves some sort of Polygenic Risk Score, i.e. trying to predict phenotype from genotype. ● Polygenic risk scores can be calculated from GWAS data and Personal Genome services such as 23andMe. ● The simplest polygenic risk scores add up the effects of each individual’s genotype, at each SNP throughout the genome, on the phenotype. ● Polygenic risk scores are typically calculated using data from the Europeans, which makes the prediction of genetic risk less accurate for underrepresented communities. This problem is being addressed, but new problems will emerge. ● Polygenic risk score often overstates the degree of genetic essentialism, and one should be cautious about making individual healthcare decisions based on them. Public health decisions based on statistics is another matter. ● Applying a statistical association in a population to make judgements about an individual’s qualities or outcomes sounds like bigotry ● All the cautionary notes about GWAS apply here as well. For example, are we really studying genes for educational attainment? ● Combining genomics with reproductive technologies have significant ethical concerns. ● Personalized genomics and polygenic risk will become a significant factor in health care as we move toward so-called personalized/precision medicine