ezQTL A Web Platform for Interactive Visualization and Colocalization of Quantitative Trait Loci and GWAS

Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTLs) and other molecular QTL studies have been valuable resources in identifying candidate causal genes from GWAS loci through statistical colocalization methods. While QTL colocalization is becoming a standard analysis in post-GWAS investigation, an easy web tool for users to perform formal colocalization analyses with either user-provided or public GWAS and eQTL datasets has been lacking. ezQTL is a web-based bioinformatic application to interactively visualize and analyze genetic association data such as GWAS and molecular QTLs under different linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns (1000 Genomes, UK Biobank, or user-provided). ezQTL facilitates mapping disease susceptibility regions and assists researchers in characterizing and prioritizing functional genes and variants based on the genotype-phenotype associations.