Team Sheds Light on Genetic Complexity of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Researchers say genes located in a large chromosomal aberration associated with autism interact with each other to modulate the variable symptoms of the disease. A Penn State-led team tested the role of these genes individually and in tandem by reducing the amount of the genes expressed in a fruit fly model. Their study (“ Pervasive genetic interactions modulate neurodevelopmental defects of the autism-associated 16p11.2 deletion in Drosophila melanogaster ”),  which a