Rachel Fieldhouse in Nature: The effect of a gene can vary greatly — and sometimes be the complete opposite — depending on whether it is inherited from the mother or the father. Some genetic variants can, for instance, increase a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes when inherited from the father, but lower it when inherited from the mother. But such effects have been challenging to unpick owing to gaps in genomic data.
But such effects have been challenging to unpick owing to gaps in genomic data. A study published in Nature this week describes a statistical method used to identify at least 30 parent-of-origin effects1 in 14 genes. When a child is conceived, it inherits two copies of almost every gene — one from each parent — and both are generally turned either on or off.
When a child is conceived, it inherits two copies of almost every gene — one from each parent — and both are generally turned either on or off.