Has anyone any ideas on the feasibility of using polygenic scores to demonstrate heritability of susceptibility to social care challenges such as alcohol dependency. If I have a study sample of alcohol dependent people who are willing to have their DNA sample analysed and compared to an existing random sample from the general population (put aside the ethical issues for the moment, this is entirely hypothetical) how many participants am I likely to need as a minimum in the study sample? Does the general population DNA data now exist in an accessible form for this type of study? How much per study participant does it cost to map human DNA in a way which would facilitate the comparison (I have seen the term Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) used for the process, but this is where I am getting out of depth, please correct me)? Thanks in advance.
Hi tony
I don’t know the answer of your question as a person who is expert in genetic field, but I think it is better to revise your hypothesis.
At the first you want to collect alcohol dependent DNA samples (case) and compare with control group?!
What is your criteria in this classification?! E.g may be control person, have alcohol dependent parents, so this person maybe experience this condition in the first trimester of uterine life!!
The second issue is, you think DNA samples of these 2 groups are different?! 99% genome of the people are the same, so the changes may occur in long duration!
But you can study the genome expression, it is better idea.
At the end I admire you because of this challengeable question and I wish you all the best.
Merry Christmas.
The generic answer to the questions are:
1) for the numbers: thousands to possibly tens of thousands of participants, both case and control. It cannot be determined a priori without making assumptions as to the effect size at loci (specific sites in the genome). As an example, the GIANT consortium studying height and weight variation currently has a combined cohort of some 400,000+. Together with prior studies the total number of loci now is about 400, see https://www.genomeweb.com/arrays/international-consortium-links-additional-genes-human-height.
2) Does general reference sample data exist; yes and no. There are general collections and specific collections (disease-based) available from repositories like dbGaP, but they are not always suitable. Usually preferable to establish collaboration with researchers who study specific collections to reduce potential biases in the outcome (detailed knowledge of individual cohorts is often required and this is usually only available from the researchers performing a specific study).
3) Cost varies by the "platform", i.e., which method and from which company as well as density (how many markers). Aside from other costs, genotyping cost can vary from a few tens of dollars to a few hundred per specimen.
Again, these are very generic answers to your broad questions. Answers from Anna Wolc appy.
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