Key modifier found in genetic deletion related to neurodevelopmental disorders

Neurodevelopmental disorders, including schizophrenia and autism, likely result from complex interactions that modify the effects of individual genes. In a new study, researchers evaluated the effects of over 300 pairwise knockdowns—reducing the expression of two genes simultaneously—of the fruit fly versions of genes located in a region of human chromosome 3 that, when deleted, has been implicated in these disorders. These interactions suggest that the disorders have a complex causation involving many genes, rather than resulting from the effects of any individual gene. One gene in particular, NCBP2, appears to be a key modifier, influencing the impact of other genes in the deletion.
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