Molecular Biology

Recent advances in molecular biology techniques permit scientists to identify genetic contributions to alcoholism. Two main types of technology are commonly used to identify genes that cause or predispose a person to a disease: positional cloning techniques and candidate gene techniques. Positional cloning techniques allow disease genes to be identified based solely on their location within the genome without prior knowledge of the gene's function. Techniques for confirming the role of candidate genes rely on sufficient prior understanding of the disease process to implicate possible disease-related genes. Scientists use cloning techniques or the application of certain enzymes to reproduce a candidate gene in sufficient quantity for study. As the human genome project progresses and the gene map becomes increasingly complete, more and more disease genes will be identified through a combination of positional cloning and the candidate gene approach.