RT Journal
A1 Williams, Rohan B.H.
A1 Chan, Eva K.F.
A1 Cowley, Mark J.
A1 Little, Peter F.R.
T1 The influence of genetic variation on gene expression
JF Genome Research 
JO Genome Research 
YR 2007 
FD December 01 
VO 17 
IS 12 
SP 1707 
OP 1716 
DO 10.1101/gr.6981507 
UL http://genome.cshlp.org/content/17/12/1707.abstract 
AB The view that changes to the control of gene expression rather than alterations to protein sequence are central to the evolution of organisms has become something of a truism in molecular biology. In reality, the direct evidence for this is limited, and only recently have we had the ability to look more globally at how genetic variation influences gene expression, focusing upon inter-individual variation in gene expression and using microarrays to test for differences in mRNA levels. Here, we review the scope of these experimental analyses, what they are designed to tell us about genetic variation, and what are their limitations from both a technical and a conceptual viewpoint. We conclude that while we are starting to understand the impact of this class of genetic variation upon steady-state mRNA levels, we are still far from identifying the potential phenotypic and evolutionary outcomes.