Computational selection and prioritization of candidate genes for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Abstract

Background: Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a serious global health problem and is observed at high frequencies in certain South African communities. Although in utero alcohol exposure is the primary trigger, there is evidence for genetic- and other susceptibility factors in FAS development. No genome-wide association or linkage studies have been performed for FAS, making computational selection and -prioritization of candidate disease genes an attractive approach. Results: 10174 Candidate genes were initially selected from the whole genome using a previously described method, which selects candidate genes according to their expression in disease-affected tissues. Hereafter candidates were p..