A model to decipher the complexity of gene regulation

SysGenetiX project (UNIGE/UNIL) aimed to investigate the regulatory elements, as well as the manifold interactions between them and with genes, with the ultimate goal of understanding the mechanisms that render some people more predisposed to manifesting particular diseases than others. By studying chromatin modifications in the cells, scientists identified the very structure of these regulatory elements and were able to model how their interactions throughout the whole genome influence gene regulation and risk of disease.