Whole-genome sequencing of patients with rare diseases in a national health system

Turro, E. et al. (2020) Whole-genome sequencing of patients with rare diseases in a national health system. Nature, 583(7814), pp. 96-102. (doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2434-2) (PMID:32581362)

Abstract

Most patients with rare diseases do not receive a molecular diagnosis and the aetiological variants and causative genes for more than half such disorders remain to be discovered1. Here we used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in a national health system to streamline diagnosis and to discover unknown aetiological variants in the coding and non-coding regions of the genome. We generated WGS data for 13,037 participants, of whom 9,802 had a rare disease, and provided a genetic diagnosis to 1,138 of the 7,065 extensively phenotyped participants. We identified 95 Mendelian associations between genes and rare diseases, of which 11 have been discovered since 2015 and at least 79 are confirmed to be aetiological. By generating WGS data of UK Biobank participants2, we found that rare alleles can explain the presence of some individuals in the tails of a quantitative trait for red blood cells. Finally, we identified four novel non-coding variants that cause disease through the disruption of transcription of ARPC1B, GATA1, LRBA and MPL. Our study demonstrates a synergy by using WGS for diagnosis and aetiological discovery in routine healthcare.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: University of Glasgow authors are members of the NIHR BioResource for the 100,000 Genomes Project.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Thomas, Dr Moira and Tait, Dr Robert and Hague, Dr Rosie and Maxwell, Dr Heather and Muir, Professor Keith and Peacock, Professor Andrew
• Authors: Turro, E., Astle, W. J., Megy, K., Gräf, S., Greene, D., Shamardina, O., Allen, H. L., Sanchis-Juan, A., Frontini, M., Thys, C., Stephens, J., Mapeta, R., Burren, O. S., Downes, K., Haimel, M., Tuna, S., Deevi, S. V. V., Aitman, T. J., Bennett, D. L., Calleja, P., Carss, K., Caulfield, M. J., Chinnery, P. F., Dixon, P. H., Gale, D. P., James, R., Koziell, A., Laffan, M. A., Levine, A. P., Maher, E. R., Markus, H. S., Morales, J., Morrell, N. W., Mumford, A. D., Ormondroyd, E., Rankin, S., Rendon, A., Richardson, S., Roberts, I., Roy, N. B. A., Saleem, M. A., Smith, K. G. C., Stark, H., Tan, R. Y. Y., Themistocleous, A. C., Thrasher, A. J., Watkins, H., Webster, A. R., Wilkins, M. R., Williamson, C., Whitworth, J., Humphray, S., Bentley, D. R., Kingston, N., Walker, N., Bradley, J. R., Ashford, S., Penkett, C. J., Freson, K., Stirrups, K. E., Raymond, F. L., Ouwehand, W. H., Peacock, A., Hague, R., Maxwell, H., Muir, K. W., Tait, R. C., and Thomas, M. J.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: Nature
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 0028-0836
• ISSN (Online): 1476-4687
• Published Online: 24 June 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Nature 583(7814): 96-102
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy