In a paper published in the May issue of Nature Biotechnology, the researchers reported that their new approach allowed them to predict new functions for 343 yeast proteins based on their positions in the new wiring diagram. Researchers at UCSD have invented a technique that organizes the genetic information contained in the 16 chromosomes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae into a wiring diagram resembling an electronic circuit board. An analogous diagram of the human genome, when developed, is expected to help in the discovery of the genetic basis of many diseases. In a paper published in the May issue of Nature Biotechnology, professor Trey Ideker and graduate student Ryan Kelley reported that their new approach allowed them to predict new functions for 343 yeast proteins based on their positions in the new wiring diagram. “Beyond deciphering the circuitry of a yeast cell, our analytical approach can be applied in humans to find what years of research using other methods have failed thus far to uncover: combinations of genes that are the true culprits in many diseases,” said Ideker, a professor in the Jacobs School of Engineering’s Department of Bioengineering.
