title: Connecting the Human Variome Project to nutrigenomics.
abstract: Nutrigenomics is the science of analyzing and understanding gene-nutrient interactions, which because of the genetic heterogeneity, varying degrees of interaction among gene products, and the environmental diversity is a complex science. Although much knowledge of human diversity has been accumulated, estimates suggest that ~90% of genetic variation has not yet been characterized. Identification of the DNA sequence variants that contribute to nutrition-related disease risk is essential for developing a better understanding of the complex causes of disease in humans, including nutrition-related disease. The Human Variome Project (HVP; http://www.humanvariomeproject.org/) is an international effort to systematically identify genes, their mutations, and their variants associated with phenotypic variability and indications of human disease or phenotype. Since nutrigenomic research uses genetic information in the design and analysis of experiments, the HVP is an essential collaborator for ongoing studies of gene-nutrient interactions. With the advent of next generation sequencing methodologies and the understanding of the undiscovered variation in human genomes, the nutrigenomic community will be generating novel sequence data and results. The guidelines and practices of the HVP can guide and harmonize these efforts.
authors.affiliation: Division of Personalised Nutrition and Medicine, FDA/National Center for Toxicological Research, 3900 NCTR Road, Jefferson, AR 72079 USA.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaput
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioinformatics (BiGCaT), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Chris T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Evelo
authors.affiliation: INRAN-National Research Institute on Food & Nutrition, Via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuditta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perozzi
authors.affiliation: TNO Quality of Life, P.O. box 360, 3700 AJ Zeist, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: van Ommen
authors.affiliation: Genomic Disorders Research Centre, Level 2, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry Street, Melbourne, VIC 3053 Australia.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cotton
keywords: Harmonization; Human Variome Project; Nutrigenomics