Fig. 1.

Graphical summary of nomenclature used throughout this study. Orange represents the chromosome with the trans-acting regulatory locus. Red circles correspond to SNPs. Trans-eQTLs are loci that regulate gene expression from another chromosome. We defined trans-eQTL as the sentinel SNP with regulatory trans effects. The trans-eQTL in our study were also GWS SNPs from one of 11 studied phenotypes. Some trans-eQTL also had cis effects on genes located on the same chromosome. Green represents the trans-probe chromosome. The trans-probe region refers to the genetic locus ± 50 kb around the transcription start site (TSS). This region often includes SNPs outside the UCSC-defined genes. Each trans-probe tagged a trans-gene.