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Effective study design for comparative functional genomics

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Comparative studies struggle with the challenge of balancing technical properties with the requirement of obtaining samples from multiple species. Guidelines are needed to minimize the effect of confounders and increase the robustness of the inference. We argue for the paramount importance of extensive record keeping and reporting.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank N. Gonzales, W. Dowd, M. Tobler, L. Barreiro, A. Pai, L. Blake and J. Tung for helpful comments on the manuscript. Y.G is. supported by NIGMS MIRA R35GM131726; J.L.K. is supported by NSF 1557795, 1906015 and 1931650.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

    Joanna L. Kelley

  2. Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Yoav Gilad

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  1. Joanna L. Kelley
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  2. Yoav Gilad
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The authors contributed equally to all aspects of the article.

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Correspondence to Yoav Gilad.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Kelley, J.L., Gilad, Y. Effective study design for comparative functional genomics. Nat Rev Genet 21, 385–386 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-020-0242-z

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