How to identify a human disease gene.

	About this book
	15. Identifying human disease genes
	15.1. Principles and strategies in identifying disease genes
	15.2. Position-independent strategies for identifying disease genes
	15.3. In positional cloning, disease genes are identified using only knowledge of their approximate chromosomal location
	15.4. Positional candidate strategies identify candidate genes by a combination of their map position and expression, function or homology
	15.5. Confirming a candidate gene
	Further reading

Figure 15.1. How to identify a human disease gene. There is no single pathway to success, but the key step is to arrive at a plausible candidate gene, which can then be tested for mutations in affected people. Note the interplay between clinical work, laboratory benchwork and computer analysis. Database searching is becoming more and more crucial as information from genome projects accumulates.