For the first time, interactions between combination of genes have been systematically mapped in an animal and identifying global properties of genetic interactions.
Most human genetic diseases are complex, arising not from the action of a single gene, but from interactions between combinations of genes. However, these interactions are extremely difficult to identify in humans. Simple animals contain many of the same genes as humans and so, by understanding how genes interact in less complex animals, scientists can understand how human genes interact to cause disease.
