The Genetics of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a rare, heritable disorder with infrequent genetic transmission of the condition owing to low reproductive fitness. The recent identification of several small, additional families with inheritance of classic features of FOP has provided the opportunity to expand positional cloning efforts to identify the mutated gene in FOP through whole-genome linkage analyses. Candidate gene studies using both genetic (linkage) and molecular (gene expression) approaches also are contributing to information about the genetic and cellular causes of FOP.