Genetic influences on haematopoiesis

Haematopoiesis has long been a paradigm for understanding how human genetic variation can influence physiology in health and disease, ranging from the genetic characterization of Mendelian blood diseases to population-scale genomic studies of blood cell phenotypes and diseases. More recently, advances in single-cell genomics and variant-to-function mapping are enabling mechanistic insights into how genetic variation shapes blood cell development. Alongside inherited variation, the characterization of somatic mutations accumulating in haematopoietic stem cells during the lifespan has revealed clonal haematopoiesis as a ubiquitous evolutionary process, with heterogeneous clonal expansions impacting haematopoietic function and disease risk. Insights from genetic studies of haematopoiesis are translating into therapeutic applications, transforming treatment for monogenic blood disorders and promising broader applications. As methods continue to advance, haematopoiesis will remain central to understanding how genetic variation influences human biology, disease susceptibility and therapeutic response.