From Genotype to Phenotype - Systems Biology Bridging the Gap (2010-2012)

One of the great mysteries of modern biology is as to exactly how a particular genotype causes a specific phenotype. Simple cases can be understood, but when the gene/protein in question affects multiple metabolic or signaling pathways, the genotype-phenotype connection is currently nigh impossible to understand. The project aims to bridge this genotype-phenotype gap by using a systems biology approach: We will characterize mice with mutations in the growth hormone receptor with a combination of genomics, proteomics, metabonomics, fluxomics and physiology, and use these data to develop an integrated computer model of the mouse liver metabolism that will help us to understand how a certain genotype leads to the corresponding phenotype.