Foretelling the Phenotype of a Genomic Sequence

Estimating phenotypic features (physical and biochemical traits) in a biological organism from their genomic sequence alone and/or environmental conditions has major applications in anthropological paleontology and criminal forensics, for example. To what extent do genomic sequences generally and causally determine phenotypic features of organisms, environmental conditions aside? We present results of two studies, one in blackfly (Insecta:Diptera:Simuliidae) larvae in two species (Simulium ignescens and S. tunja) with four phenotypic features, including the area and spot pattern of the cephalic apotome (in the form of a latin cross on the dorsal side of the head), the postgenal cleft (area under the head on the ventral side) and general body color in larva specimens; the second in strains of Arabidopsis thaliana. They establish that a substantial component of these phenotypic features (over 75 percent) are at least logically inferable, if not causally determined, by genomic fragments alone, despite the fact that these phenotypic features are not 100 percent determined entirely by genetic traits. These results suggest that it is possible to infer the genetic contribution in the determination of specific phenotypic features of a biological organism, without recourse to the causal chain of metabolomics and proteomic events leading to them from genomic sequences.