Predicting complex human phenotypes from genotypes has recently gained tremendous interest in the emerging field of consumer genomics, particularly in light of attempting personalized medicine [1,2]. So far, however, this approach has not been shown to be accurate, thus limiting its practical applications [3,4]. Here, we used human eye (iris) color of Europeans as an empirical example to demonstrate that highly accurate genetic prediction of complex human phenotypes is feasible. Moreover, the six DNA markers we identified as major eye color predictors will be valuable in forensic studies.

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doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2009.01.027, hdl.handle.net/1765/18319
Current Biology
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Liu, F., van Duijn, K., Vingerling, H., Hofman, A., Uitterlinden, A., Janssens, C., & Kayser, M. (2009). Eye color and the prediction of complex phenotypes from genotypes. Current Biology, 19(5). doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.01.027