Genome-wide association studies of complex traits have been successful in identifying common variant associations, but a substantial heritability gap remains. The field of complex trait genetics is shifting towards the study of low frequency and rare variants, which are hypothesised to have larger effects. The study of these variants can be empowered by focusing on isolated populations, in which rare variants may have increased in frequency and linkage disequilibrium tends to be extended. This work focuses on isolated populations from Greece. Sequencing is very efficient in isolated populations, because variants found in a few samples will be shared by others in extended haplotype contexts, supporting accurate imputation.

Genome-wide association studies of complex traits have been successful in identifying common variant associations, but a substantial heritability gap remains. The field of complex trait genetics is shifting towards the study of low frequency and rare variants, which are hypothesised to have larger effects. The study of these variants can be empowered by focusing on isolated populations, in which rare variants may have increased in frequency and linkage disequilibrium tends to be extended. This work focuses on isolated populations from Greece. Sequencing is very efficient in isolated populations, because variants found in a few samples will be shared by others in extended haplotype contexts, supporting accurate imputation.

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