scholarly journals The contribution of rare whole genome sequencing variants to plasma protein levels and to the missing heritability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Kierczak ◽  
Nima Rafati ◽  
Julia Höglund ◽  
Hadrien Gourle ◽  
Daniel Schmitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Complex Traits ◽  
Rare Variants ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Missing Heritability ◽  
Common Genetic Variants

Abstract Despite the success in identifying effects of common genetic variants, using genome-wide association studies (GWAS), much of the genetic contribution to complex traits remains unexplained. Here, we analysed high coverage whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data, to evaluate the contribution of rare genetic variants to 414 plasma proteins. The frequency distribution of genetic variants was skewed towards the rare spectrum, and damaging variants were more often rare. However, only 2.24% of the heritability was estimated to be explained by rare variants. A gene-based approach, developed to also capture the effect of rare variants, identified associations for 249 of the proteins, which was 25% more as compared to a GWAS. Out of those, 24 associations were driven by rare variants, clearly highlighting the capacity of aggregated tests and WGS data. We conclude that, while many rare variants have considerable phenotypic effects, their contribution to the missing heritability is limited by their low frequencies.

scholarly journals Improved power and precision with whole genome sequencing data in genome-wide association studies of inflammatory biomarkers

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Höglund ◽  
Nima Rafati ◽  
Mathias Rask-Andersen ◽  
Stefan Enroth ◽  
Torgny Karlsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Accurate Determination ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Inflammatory Biomarkers ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Common Genetic Variants

AbstractGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified associations between thousands of common genetic variants and human traits. However, common variants usually explain a limited fraction of the heritability of a trait. A powerful resource for identifying trait-associated variants is whole genome sequencing (WGS) data in cohorts comprised of families or individuals from a limited geographical area. To evaluate the power of WGS compared to imputations, we performed GWAS on WGS data for 72 inflammatory biomarkers, in a kinship-structured cohort. When using WGS data, we identified 18 novel associations that were not detected when analyzing the same biomarkers with genotyped or imputed SNPs. Five of the novel top variants were low frequency variants with a minor allele frequency (MAF) of <5%. Our results suggest that, even when applying a GWAS approach, we gain power and precision using WGS data, presumably due to more accurate determination of genotypes. The lack of a comparable dataset for replication of our results is a limitation in our study. However, this further highlights that there is a need for more genetic epidemiological studies based on WGS data.

scholarly journals Rare ABCA7 variants in 2 German families with Alzheimer disease

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. e224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick May ◽  
Sabrina Pichler ◽  
Daniela Hartl ◽  
Dheeraj R. Bobbili ◽  
Manuel Mayhaus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer Disease ◽  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Rare Variants ◽  
Late Onset ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Pathogenic Variants ◽  
Genome Wide

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to identify variants associated with familial late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) using whole-genome sequencing.MethodsSeveral families with an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern of AD were analyzed by whole-genome sequencing. Variants were prioritized for rare, likely pathogenic variants in genes already known to be associated with AD and confirmed by Sanger sequencing using standard protocols.ResultsWe identified 2 rare ABCA7 variants (rs143718918 and rs538591288) with varying penetrance in 2 independent German AD families, respectively. The single nucleotide variant (SNV) rs143718918 causes a missense mutation, and the deletion rs538591288 causes a frameshift mutation of ABCA7. Both variants have previously been reported in larger cohorts but with incomplete segregation information. ABCA7 is one of more than 20 AD risk loci that have so far been identified by genome-wide association studies, and both common and rare variants of ABCA7 have previously been described in different populations with higher frequencies in AD cases than in controls and varying penetrance. Furthermore, ABCA7 is known to be involved in several AD-relevant pathways.ConclusionsWe conclude that both SNVs might contribute to the development of AD in the examined family members. Together with previous findings, our data confirm ABCA7 as one of the most relevant AD risk genes.

scholarly journals Integration of genome wide association studies and whole genome sequencing provides novel insights into fat deposition in chicken

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Costa Monteiro Moreira ◽  
Clarissa Boschiero ◽  
Aline Silva Mello Cesar ◽  
James M. Reecy ◽  
Thaís Fernanda Godoy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Fat Deposition ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Genome Wide

scholarly journals Whole-genome sequencing reveals new Alzheimer’s disease-associated rare variants in loci related to synaptic function and neuronal development

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry Prokopenko ◽  
Sarah L. Morgan ◽  
Kristina Mullin ◽  
Oliver Hofmann ◽  
Brad Chapman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Rare Variants ◽  
Spatial Clustering ◽  
Synaptic Function ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Genome Wide

AbstractINTRODUCTIONGenome-wide association studies have led to numerous genetic loci associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) now permit genome-wide analyses to identify rare variants contributing to AD risk.METHODSWe performed single-variant and spatial clustering-based testing on rare variants (minor allele frequency ≤1%) in a family-based WGS-based association study of 2,247 subjects from 605 multiplex AD families, followed by replication in 1,669 unrelated individuals.RESULTSWe identified 13 new AD candidate loci that yielded consistent rare-variant signals in discovery and replication cohorts (4 from single-variant, 9 from spatial-clustering), implicating these genes: FNBP1L, SEL1L, LINC00298, PRKCH, C15ORF41, C2CD3, KIF2A, APC, LHX9, NALCN, CTNNA2, SYTL3, CLSTN2.DISCUSSIONDownstream analyses of these novel loci highlight synaptic function, in contrast to common AD-associated variants, which implicate innate immunity. These loci have not been previously associated with AD, emphasizing the ability of WGS to identify AD-associated rare variants, particularly outside of coding regions.

scholarly journals Whole genome sequencing identifies common and rare structural variants contributing to hematologic traits in the NHLBI TOPMed program

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marsha M. Wheeler ◽  
Adrienne M Stilp ◽  
Shuquan Rao ◽  
Bjarni V Halldorsson ◽  
Doruk V Beyter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Cell ◽  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Chromatin Domain ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Structural Variants ◽  
Genome Wide

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified thousands of single nucleotide variants and small indels that contribute to the genetic architecture of hematologic traits. While structural variants (SVs) are known to cause rare blood or hematopoietic disorders, the genome-wide contribution of SVs to quantitative blood cell trait variation is unknown. Here we utilized SVs detected from whole genome sequencing (WGS) in ancestrally diverse participants of the NHLBI TOPMed program (N=50,675). Using single variant tests, we assessed the association of common and rare SVs with red cell-, white cell-, and platelet-related quantitative traits. The results show 33 independent SVs (23 common and 10 rare) reaching genome-wide significance. The majority of significant association signals (N=27) replicated in independent datasets from deCODE genetics and the UK BioBank. Moreover, most trait-associated SVs (N=24) are within 1Mb of previously-reported GWAS loci. SV analyses additionally discovered an association between a complex structural variant on 17p11.2 and white blood cell-related phenotypes. Based on functional annotation, the majority of significant SVs are located in non-coding regions (N=26) and predicted to impact regulatory elements and/or local chromatin domain boundaries in blood cells. We predict that several trait-associated SVs represent the causal variant. This is supported by genome-editing experiments which provide evidence that a deletion associated with lower monocyte counts leads to disruption of an S1PR3 monocyte enhancer and decreased S1PR3 expression.

scholarly journals A Novel Approach for the Simultaneous Analysis of Common and Rare Variants in Complex Traits

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. BBI.S8852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ao Yuan ◽  
Guanjie Chen ◽  
Yanxun Zhou ◽  
Amy Bentley ◽  
Charles Rotimi
Keyword(s):  
Complex Traits ◽  
Rare Variants ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Simultaneous Analysis ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Common Variants ◽  
Disease Etiology ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Common Genetic Variants

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been successful in detecting common genetic variants underlying common traits and diseases. Despite the GWAS success stories, the percent trait variance explained by GWAS signals, the so called “missing heritability” has been, at best, modest. Also, the predictive power of common variants identified by GWAS has not been encouraging. Given these observations along with the fact that the effects of rare variants are often, by design, unaccounted for by GWAS and the availability of sequence data, there is a growing need for robust analytic approaches to evaluate the contribution of rare variants to common complex diseases. Here we propose a new method that enables the simultaneous analysis of the association between rare and common variants in disease etiology. We refer to this method as SCARVA (simultaneous common and rare variants analysis). SCARVA is simple to use and is efficient. We used SCARVA to analyze two independent real datasets to identify rare and common variants underlying variation in obesity among participants in the Africa America Diabetes Mellitus (AADM) study and plasma triglyceride levels in the Dallas Heart Study (DHS). We found common and rare variants associated with both traits, consistent with published results.

scholarly journals Genome-Based Characterization of Emergent Invasive Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup Y Isolates in Sweden from 1995 to 2012

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (7) ◽  
pp. 2154-2162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bianca Törös ◽  
Sara T. Hedberg ◽  
Magnus Unemo ◽  
Susanne Jacobsson ◽  
Dorothea M. C. Hill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neisseria Meningitidis ◽  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Meningococcal Disease ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Whole Genome

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) caused byNeisseria meningitidisserogroup Y has increased in Europe, especially in Scandinavia. In Sweden, serogroup Y is now the dominating serogroup, and in 2012, the serogroup Y disease incidence was 0.46/100,000 population. We previously showed that a strain type belonging to sequence type 23 was responsible for the increased prevalence of this serogroup in Sweden. The objective of this study was to investigate the serogroup Y emergence by whole-genome sequencing and compare the meningococcal population structure of Swedish invasive serogroup Y strains to those of other countries with different IMD incidence. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on invasive serogroup Y isolates from 1995 to 2012 in Sweden (n= 186). These isolates were compared to a collection of serogroup Y isolates from England, Wales, and Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 (n= 143), which had relatively low serogroup Y incidence, and two isolates obtained in 1999 in the United States, where serogroup Y remains one of the major causes of IMD. The meningococcal population structures were similar in the investigated regions; however, different strain types were prevalent in each geographic region. A number of genes known or hypothesized to have an impact on meningococcal virulence were shown to be associated with different strain types and subtypes. The reasons for the IMD increase are multifactorial and are influenced by increased virulence, host adaptive immunity, and transmission. Future genome-wide association studies are needed to reveal additional genes associated with serogroup Y meningococcal disease, and this work would benefit from a complete serogroup Y meningococcal reference genome.

scholarly journals Novel Alzheimer’s disease risk variants identified based on whole-genome sequencing of APOE ε4 carriers

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Ho Park ◽  
Inho Park ◽  
Emilia Moonkyung Youm ◽  
Sejoon Lee ◽  
June-Hee Park ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
European Ancestry ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Ε4 Allele

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with a complex genetic etiology. Besides the apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) allele, a few dozen other genetic loci associated with AD have been identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) conducted mainly in individuals of European ancestry. Recently, several GWAS performed in other ethnic groups have shown the importance of replicating studies that identify previously established risk loci and searching for novel risk loci. APOE-stratified GWAS have yielded novel AD risk loci that might be masked by, or be dependent on, APOE alleles. We performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) on DNA from blood samples of 331 AD patients and 169 elderly controls of Korean ethnicity who were APOE ε4 carriers. Based on WGS data, we designed a customized AD chip (cAD chip) for further analysis on an independent set of 543 AD patients and 894 elderly controls of the same ethnicity, regardless of their APOE ε4 allele status. Combined analysis of WGS and cAD chip data revealed that SNPs rs1890078 (P = 6.64E−07) and rs12594991 (P = 2.03E−07) in SORCS1 and CHD2 genes, respectively, are novel genetic variants among APOE ε4 carriers in the Korean population. In addition, nine possible novel variants that were rare in individuals of European ancestry but common in East Asia were identified. This study demonstrates that APOE-stratified analysis is important for understanding the genetic background of AD in different populations.

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