Regulatory SNPs and their widespread effects on the transcriptome

Currently, it is generally accepted that the cis-acting effects of noncoding variants on gene expression are a major factor for phenotypic variation in complex traits and disease susceptibility. Meanwhile, the protein products of many target genes for the identified cis-regulatory variants (rSNPs) are regulatory molecules themselves (transcription factors, effectors, components of signal transduction pathways, etc.), which implies dramatic downstream effects of these variations on complex gene networks. Here, we brief the results of recent most comprehensive studies on the role of rSNPs in transcriptional regulation across the genome.