Incorporating tandem repeats improves gene expression prediction models

Tandem repeats (TRs), consisting of consecutive repeated units of 1+bp, are highly polymorphic features found throughout the genome that have been shown to have widespread impacts on gene expression and other traits. However, despite their prevalence, TRs are not included as features in polygenic prediction models, which typically focus on common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Here, we develop a framework to incorporate TRs into gene expression models, which consider variants in a cis-window around each gene to predict expression levels. Simulation analyses demonstrate that including

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