textual entity author summary textual entity A textual entity, distinct from the abstract, that describes the significance and broader context of the document content. The author summary is often written in a non-technical manner and is aimed at both scientists and non-scientist readers, e.g as described in the article submission guidelines for PLoS Genetics (http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/s/submission-guidelines). Article submission guidelines for PLoS Genetics (http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/s/submission-guidelines). From Pendse et al. BMC Genomics. 2013; 14: 136. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3608171/): The search for genetic risk factors for common human diseases often relies on the use of linkage and association studies to establish correlation between genomic markers and disease risk. These studies require additional functional evaluation of candidate genes, including their possible interaction with diet and environment. The number of candidate genes is typically large and the development of appropriate genetic tools in mammalian systems is slow. By contrast, large-scale genetic screens, using widely available genetic tools, are routinely conducted in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. In this study, we used Drosophila to screen candidate genes identified in human genome-wide scans as associated with risk of metabolic abnormalities such as type 2 diabetes. We show that a number of human candidate genes have fly orthologs that play an important role in Drosophila tolerance to high dietary sucrose. We further explored some of the specific metabolic abnormalities that can result when these genes’ activities are reduced in flies, focusing on a gene we call dHHEX (CG7056), the fly ortholog of human HHEX. PERSON: Bill Baumgartner author summary textual entity