Some people struggle more to lose weight than others. The Fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene is the first gene identified by genome-wide association studies as a strong candidate for obesity-related phenotypes. Researchers study the connection between the risk associated FTO gene and body fat composition in response to exercise. They identify that sedentary Caucasian men homozygous for the risk allele were fatter and heavier than those heterozygous for the risk allele. Factors such as environment and diet play an equally important, if not greater role, in one’s ability to lose weight. Researchers also impact of exercise on weight gain and composition of the gut microbiota. They found that exercise changes the micbrobes that colonize the gut and may act to prevent weight gain due to high fat diet. Sequencing is helping us better understand how much risk we inherit and also the role the environment plays in weight control. For more information on applications of Illumina technology in the field of Metagenomics and Genomics, please visit us at Illumina: Microbial Genomics http://www.illumina.com/applications/microbiology.ilmn and Genomics http://www.illumina.com/applications/sequencing/dna_sequencing.ilmn Products: HiSeq: http://www.illumina.com/systems/hiseq_2500_1500.ilmn GoldenGate Assay: http://www.illumina.com/array/array_kits/goldengate_genotyping_kits.ilmn Publication Links: PMID: 19543202 | Rankinen T., et al (2010): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19543202 PMID: 24670791 | Evans C.C., et al (2014): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24670791 Publication Research Reviews: http://www.illumina.com/science/publications/publications-review.ilmn The Science Mondays (SciMon) series is brought to you by Illumina http://www.illumina.com/ Illumina hosts Swati Kadam, Ph.D., Scientific Liaison, Scientific Affairs and Jacques Retief, Associate Director Scientific Affairs deliver 5 minutes of scientific enlightenment on the latest discoveries.