Global genetic analysis

Abstract

The introduction of molecular markers in genetic analysis has revolutionized medicine. These molecular markers are genetic variations associated with a predisposition to common diseases and individual variations in drug responses. Identification and genotyping a vast number of genetic polymorphisms in large populations are increasingly important for disease gene identification, pharmacogenetics and population-based studies. Among variations being analyzed, single nucleotide polymorphisms seem to be most useful in large-scale genetic analysis. This review discusses approaches for genetic analysis, use of different markers, and emerging technologies for large-scale genetic analysis where millions of genotyping need to be performed.