Systems biology and the analysis of genetic variation.

This issue of Current Opinion in Genetics and Development is devoted to Systems Biology approaches in the analysis of genetic variation. Studies of DNA variation within human and other populations are propelled by the strong interest in genetics of complex and Mendelian traits, population genetics and microevolution. Dramatic improvements in sequencing technology have led to accelerated accumulation of information about genetic variation. Interpretation of sequence variation has now become a bottleneck in our progress towards mapping and understanding of complex genetic disease. Systems biology approaches offer great promise in interpreting genetic variation from the functional standpoint. Furthermore, analysis of sequence variation holds a potential to inform systems biology by highlighting gene sets and pathways underlying organismal and molecular traits, and by revealing interactions and mechanics of evolution underlying functional modules. This issue covers both systems biology approaches to the analysis of genetic variation and new genetic analyses informative about biological systems.