Sample records for suggests genotype-phenotype correlation

  1. [Genotype/phenotype correlation in autism: genetic models and phenotypic characterization].

    PubMed

    Bonnet-Brilhault, F

    2011-02-01

    Autism spectrum disorders are a class of conditions categorized by communication problems, ritualistic behaviors, and deficits in social behaviors. This class of disorders merges a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders regarding some phenotypic and probably physiopathological aspects. Genetic basis is well admitted, however, considering phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity, correspondences between genotype and phenotype have yet to be established. To better identify such correspondences, genetic models have to be identified and phenotypic markers have to be characterized. Recent insights show that a variety of genetic mechanisms may be involved in autism spectrum disorders, i.e. single gene disorders, copy number variations and polygenic mechanisms. These current genetic models are described. Regarding clinical aspects, several approaches can be used in genetic studies. Nosographical approach, especially with the concept of autism spectrum disorders, merges a large group of disorders with clinical heterogeneity and may fail to identify clear genotype/phenotype correlations. Dimensional approach referred in genetic studies to the notion of "Broad Autism Phenotype" related to a constellation of language, personality, and social-behavioral features present in relatives that mirror the symptom domains of autism, but are much milder in expression. Studies of this broad autism phenotype may provide a potentially important complementary approach for detecting the genes involved in these domains. However, control population used in those studies need to be well characterized too. Identification of endophenotypes seems to offer more promising results. Endophenotypes, which are supposed to be more proximal markers of gene action in the same biological pathway, linking genes and complex clinical symptoms, are thought to be less genetically complex than the broader disease phenotype, indexing a limited aspect of genetic risk for the disorder as a whole. However

  2. Phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency in Mexico: genotype-phenotype correlations, BH4 responsiveness and evidence of a founder effect.

    PubMed

    Vela-Amieva, M; Abreu-González, M; González-del Angel, A; Ibarra-González, I; Fernández-Lainez, C; Barrientos-Ríos, R; Monroy-Santoyo, S; Guillén-López, S; Alcántara-Ortigoza, M A

    2015-07-01

    The mutational spectrum of the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene (PAH) in Mexico is unknown, although it has been suggested that PKU variants could have a differential geographical distribution. Genotype-phenotype correlations and genotype-based predictions of responsiveness to tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4 ) have never been performed. We sequenced the PAH gene and determined the geographic origin of each allele, mini-haplotype associated, genotype-phenotype correlations and genotype-based prediction of BH4 responsiveness in 48 Mexican patients. The mutational spectrum included 34 variants with c.60+5G>T being the most frequent (20.8%) and linked to haplotype 4.3 possibly because of a founder effect and/or genetic drift. Two new variants were found c.1A>T and c.969+6T>C. The genotype-phenotype correlation was concordant in 70.8%. The genotype-based prediction to BH4 -responsiveness was 41.7%, this information could be useful for the rational selection of candidates for BH4 testing and therapy. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. New insights into genotype-phenotype correlation for GLI3 mutations.

    PubMed

    Démurger, Florence; Ichkou, Amale; Mougou-Zerelli, Soumaya; Le Merrer, Martine; Goudefroye, Géraldine; Delezoide, Anne-Lise; Quélin, Chloé; Manouvrier, Sylvie; Baujat, Geneviève; Fradin, Mélanie; Pasquier, Laurent; Megarbané, André; Faivre, Laurence; Baumann, Clarisse; Nampoothiri, Sheela; Roume, Joëlle; Isidor, Bertrand; Lacombe, Didier; Delrue, Marie-Ange; Mercier, Sandra; Philip, Nicole; Schaefer, Elise; Holder, Muriel; Krause, Amanda; Laffargue, Fanny; Sinico, Martine; Amram, Daniel; André, Gwenaelle; Liquier, Alain; Rossi, Massimiliano; Amiel, Jeanne; Giuliano, Fabienne; Boute, Odile; Dieux-Coeslier, Anne; Jacquemont, Marie-Line; Afenjar, Alexandra; Van Maldergem, Lionel; Lackmy-Port-Lis, Marylin; Vincent-Delorme, Catherine; Chauvet, Marie-Liesse; Cormier-Daire, Valérie; Devisme, Louise; Geneviève, David; Munnich, Arnold; Viot, Géraldine; Raoul, Odile; Romana, Serge; Gonzales, Marie; Encha-Razavi, Ferechte; Odent, Sylvie; Vekemans, Michel; Attie-Bitach, Tania

    2015-01-01

    The phenotypic spectrum of GLI3 mutations includes autosomal dominant Greig cephalopolysyndactyly syndrome (GCPS) and Pallister-Hall syndrome (PHS). PHS was first described as a lethal condition associating hypothalamic hamartoma, postaxial or central polydactyly, anal atresia and bifid epiglottis. Typical GCPS combines polysyndactyly of hands and feet and craniofacial features. Genotype-phenotype correlations have been found both for the location and the nature of GLI3 mutations, highlighting the bifunctional nature of GLI3 during development. Here we report on the molecular and clinical study of 76 cases from 55 families with either a GLI3 mutation (49 GCPS and 21 PHS), or a large deletion encompassing the GLI3 gene (6 GCPS cases). Most of mutations are novel and consistent with the previously reported genotype-phenotype correlation. Our results also show a correlation between the location of the mutation and abnormal corpus callosum observed in some patients with GCPS. Fetal PHS observations emphasize on the possible lethality of GLI3 mutations and extend the phenotypic spectrum of malformations such as agnathia and reductional limbs defects. GLI3 expression studied by in situ hybridization during human development confirms its early expression in target tissues.

  4. Primary hyperoxaluria: genotype-phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Pirulli, Doroti; Marangella, Martino; Amoroso, Antonio

    2003-01-01

    Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency of alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT), which is encoded by a single copy gene (AGXT). Molecular diagnosis was used in conjunction with clinical, biochemical and enzymological data to evaluate genotype-phenotype correlation. Patients can present a severe form of PH1, an adult form and a mild to moderate decrease in renal function. Biochemical diagnosis is made by plasma, urine and dialyzate oxalate and glycolate assays, and by liver AGT activity and pyridoxine responsitivity. Molecular genetic diagnosis can be made using different techniques, for example, the single strand conformation polymorphism technique (SSCP), followed by the sequencing of the 11 AGXT exons. The disease is clinically and genetically classified as highly heterogeneous. Mutant alleles can be recognised in 80- 90% of chromosomes, depending on the techniques used. Mutations in exons 1, 2, 4 and 10 are more frequent in Italian patients. Normalized AGT activity seems to be lower in the severe form than in the adult form. Double heterozygous patients present a lower age at disease onset and they were more frequent in the more severe than in mild severe disease. The 444T>C mutation was more frequent in the severe form, while the opposite was observed for 630G>A. 630G>A mutation homozygotes had a higher AGT residual activity. The presence of allelic heterogeneity of the AGXT could be responsible, to some extent, for the phenotypic heterogeneity in PH1. Homozygous genotypes were more frequent than expected and were associated with a less severe form of the disease.

  5. Novel EDA mutation in X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia and genotype-phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Zeng, B; Lu, H; Xiao, X; Zhou, L; Lu, J; Zhu, L; Yu, D; Zhao, W

    2015-11-01

    X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XLHED) is characterized by abnormalities of hair, teeth, and sweat glands, while non-syndromic hypodontia (NSH) affects only teeth. Mutations in Ectodysplasin A (EDA) underlie both XLHED and NSH. This study investigated the genetic causes of six hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED) patients and genotype-phenotype correlation. The EDA gene of six patients with HED was sequenced. Bioinformatics analysis and structural modeling for the mutations were performed. The records of 134 patients with XLHED and EDA-related NSH regarding numbers of missing permanent teeth from this study and 20 articles were reviewed. Nonparametric tests were used to analyze genotype-phenotype correlations. In four of the six patients, we identified a novel mutation c.852T>G (p.Phe284Leu) and three reported mutations: c.467G>A (p.Arg156His), c.776C>A (p.Ala259Glu), and c.871G>A (p.Gly291Arg). They were predicted to be pathogenic by bioinformatics analysis and structural modeling. Genotype-phenotype correlation analysis revealed that truncating mutations were associated with more missing teeth. Missense mutations and the mutations affecting the TNF homology domain were correlated with fewer missing teeth. This study extended the mutation spectrum of XLHED and revealed the relationship between genotype and the number of missing permanent teeth. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Molecular epidemiology, genotype-phenotype correlation and BH4 responsiveness in Spanish patients with phenylketonuria.

    PubMed

    Aldámiz-Echevarría, Luis; Llarena, Marta; Bueno, María A; Dalmau, Jaime; Vitoria, Isidro; Fernández-Marmiesse, Ana; Andrade, Fernando; Blasco, Javier; Alcalde, Carlos; Gil, David; García, María C; González-Lamuño, Domingo; Ruiz, Mónica; Ruiz, María A; Peña-Quintana, Luis; González, David; Sánchez-Valverde, Felix; Desviat, Lourdes R; Pérez, Belen; Couce, María L

    2016-08-01

    Phenylketonuria (PKU), the most common inborn error of amino acid metabolism, is caused by mutations in the phenylalanine-4-hydroxylase (PAH) gene. This study aimed to assess the genotype-phenotype correlation in the PKU Spanish population and the usefulness in establishing genotype-based predictions of BH4 responsiveness in our population. It involved the molecular characterization of 411 Spanish PKU patients: mild hyperphenylalaninemia non-treated (mild HPA-NT) (34%), mild HPA (8.8%), mild-moderate (20.7%) and classic (36.5%) PKU. BH4 responsiveness was evaluated using a 6R-BH4 loading test. We assessed genotype-phenotype associations and genotype-BH4 responsiveness in our population according to literature and classification of the mutations. The mutational spectrum analysis showed 116 distinct mutations, most missense (70.7%) and located in the catalytic domain (62.9%). The most prevalent mutations were c.1066-11G>A (9.7%), p.Val388Met (6.6%) and p.Arg261Gln (6.3%). Three novel mutations (c.61-13del9, p.Ile283Val and p.Gly148Val) were reported. Although good genotype-phenotype correlation was observed, there was no exact correlation for some genotypes. Among the patients monitored for the 6R-BH4 loading test: 102 were responders (87, carried either one or two BH4-responsive alleles) and 194 non-responders (50, had two non-responsive mutations). More discrepancies were observed in non-responders. Our data reveal a great genetic heterogeneity in our population. Genotype is quite a good predictor of phenotype and BH4 responsiveness, which is relevant for patient management, treatment and follow-up.

  7. Evidence of true genotype-phenotype correlation in primary hyperoxaluria type 1.

    PubMed

    Hoppe, Bernd

    2010-03-01

    A genotype-phenotype correlation in patients with primary hyperoxaluria type 1 and specific AGXT mutations has supposedly been found, at least for sensitivity to medication and long-term outcome. Nevertheless, other determinants, such as environmental factors or modifier genes, must play an essential role in the intra- and interfamilial heterogeneity of this disease. Harambat and co-workers report on this situation, presenting data on a major population of genotyped patients.

  8. Phenotype-genotype correlations in Leigh syndrome: new insights from a multicentre study of 96 patients.

    PubMed

    Sofou, Kalliopi; de Coo, Irenaeus F M; Ostergaard, Elsebet; Isohanni, Pirjo; Naess, Karin; De Meirleir, Linda; Tzoulis, Charalampos; Uusimaa, Johanna; Lönnqvist, Tuula; Bindoff, Laurence Albert; Tulinius, Már; Darin, Niklas

    2018-01-01

    Leigh syndrome is a phenotypically and genetically heterogeneous mitochondrial disorder. While some genetic defects are associated with well-described phenotypes, phenotype-genotype correlations in Leigh syndrome are not fully explored. We aimed to identify phenotype-genotype correlations in Leigh syndrome in a large cohort of systematically evaluated patients. We studied 96 patients with genetically confirmed Leigh syndrome diagnosed and followed in eight European centres specialising in mitochondrial diseases. We found that ataxia, ophthalmoplegia and cardiomyopathy were more prevalent among patients with mitochondrial DNA defects. Patients with mutations in MT-ND and NDUF genes with complex I deficiency shared common phenotypic features, such as early development of central nervous system disease, followed by high occurrence of cardiac and ocular manifestations. The cerebral cortex was affected in patients with NDUF mutations significantly more often than the rest of the cohort. Patients with the m.8993T>G mutation in MT-ATP6 gene had more severe clinical and radiological manifestations and poorer disease outcome compared with patients with the m.8993T>C mutation. Our study provides new insights into phenotype-genotype correlations in Leigh syndrome and particularly in patients with complex I deficiency and with defects in the mitochondrial ATP synthase. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  9. Genotype-phenotype correlations in individuals with pathogenic RERE variants.

    PubMed

    Jordan, Valerie K; Fregeau, Brieana; Ge, Xiaoyan; Giordano, Jessica; Wapner, Ronald J; Balci, Tugce B; Carter, Melissa T; Bernat, John A; Moccia, Amanda N; Srivastava, Anshika; Martin, Donna M; Bielas, Stephanie L; Pappas, John; Svoboda, Melissa D; Rio, Marlène; Boddaert, Nathalie; Cantagrel, Vincent; Lewis, Andrea M; Scaglia, Fernando; Kohler, Jennefer N; Bernstein, Jonathan A; Dries, Annika M; Rosenfeld, Jill A; DeFilippo, Colette; Thorson, Willa; Yang, Yaping; Sherr, Elliott H; Bi, Weimin; Scott, Daryl A

    2018-05-01

    Heterozygous variants in the arginine-glutamic acid dipeptide repeats gene (RERE) have been shown to cause neurodevelopmental disorder with or without anomalies of the brain, eye, or heart (NEDBEH). Here, we report nine individuals with NEDBEH who carry partial deletions or deleterious sequence variants in RERE. These variants were found to be de novo in all cases in which parental samples were available. An analysis of data from individuals with NEDBEH suggests that point mutations affecting the Atrophin-1 domain of RERE are associated with an increased risk of structural eye defects, congenital heart defects, renal anomalies, and sensorineural hearing loss when compared with loss-of-function variants that are likely to lead to haploinsufficiency. A high percentage of RERE pathogenic variants affect a histidine-rich region in the Atrophin-1 domain. We have also identified a recurrent two-amino-acid duplication in this region that is associated with the development of a CHARGE syndrome-like phenotype. We conclude that mutations affecting RERE result in a spectrum of clinical phenotypes. Genotype-phenotype correlations exist and can be used to guide medical decision making. Consideration should also be given to screening for RERE variants in individuals who fulfill diagnostic criteria for CHARGE syndrome but do not carry pathogenic variants in CHD7. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. WWOX-related encephalopathies: delineation of the phenotypical spectrum and emerging genotype-phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Mignot, Cyril; Lambert, Laetitia; Pasquier, Laurent; Bienvenu, Thierry; Delahaye-Duriez, Andrée; Keren, Boris; Lefranc, Jérémie; Saunier, Aline; Allou, Lila; Roth, Virginie; Valduga, Mylène; Moustaïne, Aissa; Auvin, Stéphane; Barrey, Catherine; Chantot-Bastaraud, Sandra; Lebrun, Nicolas; Moutard, Marie-Laure; Nougues, Marie-Christine; Vermersch, Anne-Isabelle; Héron, Bénédicte; Pipiras, Eva; Héron, Delphine; Olivier-Faivre, Laurence; Guéant, Jean-Louis; Jonveaux, Philippe; Philippe, Christophe

    2015-01-01

    Homozygous mutations in WWOX were reported in eight individuals of two families with autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxia type 12 and in two siblings with infantile epileptic encephalopathy (IEE), including one who deceased prior to DNA sampling. By combining array comparative genomic hybridisation, targeted Sanger sequencing and next generation sequencing, we identified five further patients from four families with IEE due to biallelic alterations of WWOX. We identified eight deleterious WWOX alleles consisting in four deletions, a four base-pair frameshifting deletion, one missense and two nonsense mutations. Genotype-phenotype correlation emerges from the seven reported families. The phenotype in four patients carrying two predicted null alleles was characterised by (1) little if any psychomotor acquisitions, poor spontaneous motility and absent eye contact from birth, (2) pharmacoresistant epilepsy starting in the 1st weeks of life, (3) possible retinal degeneration, acquired microcephaly and premature death. This contrasted with the less severe autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxia type 12 phenotype due to hypomorphic alleles. In line with this correlation, the phenotype in two siblings carrying a null allele and a missense mutation was intermediate. Our results obtained by a combination of different molecular techniques undoubtedly incriminate WWOX as a gene for recessive IEE and illustrate the usefulness of high throughput data mining for the identification of genes for rare autosomal recessive disorders. The structure of the WWOX locus encompassing the FRA16D fragile site might explain why constitutive deletions are recurrently reported in genetic databases, suggesting that WWOX-related encephalopathies, although likely rare, may not be exceptional. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  11. ADCY5-related dyskinesia: Broader spectrum and genotype-phenotype correlations.

    PubMed

    Chen, Dong-Hui; Méneret, Aurélie; Friedman, Jennifer R; Korvatska, Olena; Gad, Alona; Bonkowski, Emily S; Stessman, Holly A; Doummar, Diane; Mignot, Cyril; Anheim, Mathieu; Bernes, Saunder; Davis, Marie Y; Damon-Perrière, Nathalie; Degos, Bertrand; Grabli, David; Gras, Domitille; Hisama, Fuki M; Mackenzie, Katherine M; Swanson, Phillip D; Tranchant, Christine; Vidailhet, Marie; Winesett, Steven; Trouillard, Oriane; Amendola, Laura M; Dorschner, Michael O; Weiss, Michael; Eichler, Evan E; Torkamani, Ali; Roze, Emmanuel; Bird, Thomas D; Raskind, Wendy H

    2015-12-08

    To investigate the clinical spectrum and distinguishing features of adenylate cyclase 5 (ADCY5)-related dyskinesia and genotype-phenotype relationship. We analyzed ADCY5 in patients with choreiform or dystonic movements by exome or targeted sequencing. Suspected mosaicism was confirmed by allele-specific amplification. We evaluated clinical features in our 50 new and previously reported cases. We identified 3 new families and 12 new sporadic cases with ADCY5 mutations. These mutations cause a mixed hyperkinetic disorder that includes dystonia, chorea, and myoclonus, often with facial involvement. The movements are sometimes painful and show episodic worsening on a fluctuating background. Many patients have axial hypotonia. In 2 unrelated families, a p.A726T mutation in the first cytoplasmic domain (C1) causes a relatively mild disorder of prominent facial and hand dystonia and chorea. Mutations p.R418W or p.R418Q in C1, de novo in 13 individuals and inherited in 1, produce a moderate to severe disorder with axial hypotonia, limb hypertonia, paroxysmal nocturnal or diurnal dyskinesia, chorea, myoclonus, and intermittent facial dyskinesia. Somatic mosaicism is usually associated with a less severe phenotype. In one family, a p.M1029K mutation in the C2 domain causes severe dystonia, hypotonia, and chorea. The progenitor, whose childhood-onset episodic movement disorder almost disappeared in adulthood, was mosaic for the mutation. ADCY5-related dyskinesia is a childhood-onset disorder with a wide range of hyperkinetic abnormal movements. Genotype-specific correlations and mosaicism play important roles in the phenotypic variability. Recurrent mutations suggest particular functional importance of residues 418 and 726 in disease pathogenesis. © 2015 American Academy of Neurology.

  12. SigniSite: Identification of residue-level genotype-phenotype correlations in protein multiple sequence alignments.

    PubMed

    Jessen, Leon Eyrich; Hoof, Ilka; Lund, Ole; Nielsen, Morten

    2013-07-01

    Identifying which mutation(s) within a given genotype is responsible for an observable phenotype is important in many aspects of molecular biology. Here, we present SigniSite, an online application for subgroup-free residue-level genotype-phenotype correlation. In contrast to similar methods, SigniSite does not require any pre-definition of subgroups or binary classification. Input is a set of protein sequences where each sequence has an associated real number, quantifying a given phenotype. SigniSite will then identify which amino acid residues are significantly associated with the data set phenotype. As output, SigniSite displays a sequence logo, depicting the strength of the phenotype association of each residue and a heat-map identifying 'hot' or 'cold' regions. SigniSite was benchmarked against SPEER, a state-of-the-art method for the prediction of specificity determining positions (SDP) using a set of human immunodeficiency virus protease-inhibitor genotype-phenotype data and corresponding resistance mutation scores from the Stanford University HIV Drug Resistance Database, and a data set of protein families with experimentally annotated SDPs. For both data sets, SigniSite was found to outperform SPEER. SigniSite is available at: http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/SigniSite/.

  13. Is there a genotype-phenotype correlation in primary hyperoxaluria type 1?

    PubMed

    Beck, B B; Hoppe, B

    2006-09-01

    There is ongoing debate about a genotype-phenotype correlation in patients with primary hyperoxaluria type 1 and specific AGXT mutations. However, other determinants like environmental factors or modifer genes may play a pivotal role in the heterogeneity of the disease. The report of Lorenzo and co-workers highlights this situation, presenting data of a whole population with just one specific AGXT mutation.

  14. Genotypic richness predicts phenotypic variation in an endangered clonal plant

    PubMed Central

    Sinclair, Elizabeth A.; Poore, Alistair G.B.; Bain, Keryn F.; Vergés, Adriana

    2016-01-01

    Declines in genetic diversity within a species can affect the stability and functioning of populations. The conservation of genetic diversity is thus a priority, especially for threatened or endangered species. The importance of genetic variation, however, is dependent on the degree to which it translates into phenotypic variation for traits that affect individual performance and ecological processes. This is especially important for predominantly clonal species, as no single clone is likely to maximise all aspects of performance. Here we show that intraspecific genotypic diversity as measured using microsatellites is a strong predictor of phenotypic variation in morphological traits and shoot productivity of the threatened, predominantly clonal seagrass Posidonia australis, on the east coast of Australia. Biomass and surface area variation was most strongly predicted by genotypic richness, while variation in leaf chemistry (phenolics and nitrogen) was unrelated to genotypic richness. Genotypic richness did not predict tissue loss to herbivores or epiphyte load, however we did find that increased herbivore damage was positively correlated with allelic richness. Although there was no clear relationship between higher primary productivity and genotypic richness, variation in shoot productivity within a meadow was significantly greater in more genotypically diverse meadows. The proportion of phenotypic variation explained by environmental conditions varied among different genotypes, and there was generally no variation in phenotypic traits among genotypes present in the same meadows. Our results show that genotypic richness as measured through the use of presumably neutral DNA markers does covary with phenotypic variation in functionally relevant traits such as leaf morphology and shoot productivity. The remarkably long lifespan of individual Posidonia plants suggests that plasticity within genotypes has played an important role in the longevity of the species

  15. Genotype-phenotype correlation in boys with X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia.

    PubMed

    Burger, Kristin; Schneider, Anne-Theres; Wohlfart, Sigrun; Kiesewetter, Franklin; Huttner, Kenneth; Johnson, Ramsey; Schneider, Holm

    2014-10-01

    X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XLHED), the most frequent form of ectodermal dysplasia, is a genetic disorder of ectoderm development characterized by malformation of multiple ectodermal structures such as skin, hair, sweat and sebaceous glands, and teeth. The disease is caused by a broad spectrum of mutations in the gene EDA. Although XLHED symptoms show inter-familial and intra-familial variability, genotype-phenotype correlation has been demonstrated with respect to sweat gland function. In this study, we investigated to which extent the EDA genotype correlates with the severity of XLHED-related skin and hair signs. Nineteen male children with XLHED (age range 3-14 years) and seven controls (aged 6-14 years) were examined by confocal microscopy of the skin, quantification of pilocarpine-induced sweating, semi-quantitative evaluation of full facial photographs with respect to XLHED-related skin issues, and phototrichogram analysis. All eight boys with known hypomorphic EDA mutations were able to produce at least some sweat and showed less severe cutaneous signs of XLHED than the anhidrotic XLHED patients (e.g., perioral and periorbital eczema or hyperpigmentation, regional hyperkeratosis, characteristic wrinkles under the eyes). As expected, individuals with XLHED had significantly less and thinner hair than healthy controls. However, there were also significant differences in hair number, diameter, and other hair characteristics between the group with hypomorphic EDA mutations and the anhidrotic patients. In summary, this study indicated a remarkable genotype-phenotype correlation of skin and hair findings in prepubescent males with XLHED. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Correlation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus Genotypes and Carbohydrate Utilization Signatures Determined by Phenotype Profiling

    PubMed Central

    Lambert, Jolanda; van Limpt, Kees; Wels, Michiel; Smokvina, Tamara; Knol, Jan; Kleerebezem, Michiel

    2015-01-01

    Lactobacillus rhamnosus is a bacterial species commonly colonizing the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of humans and also frequently used in food products. While some strains have been studied extensively, physiological variability among isolates of the species found in healthy humans or their diet is largely unexplored. The aim of this study was to characterize the diversity of carbohydrate utilization capabilities of human isolates and food-derived strains of L. rhamnosus in relation to their niche of isolation and genotype. We investigated the genotypic and phenotypic diversity of 25 out of 65 L. rhamnosus strains from various niches, mainly human feces and fermented dairy products. Genetic fingerprinting of the strains by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) identified 11 distinct subgroups at 70% similarity and suggested niche enrichment within particular genetic clades. High-resolution carbohydrate utilization profiling (OmniLog) identified 14 carbon sources that could be used by all of the strains tested for growth, while the utilization of 58 carbon sources differed significantly between strains, enabling the stratification of L. rhamnosus strains into three metabolic clusters that partially correlate with the genotypic clades but appear uncorrelated with the strain's origin of isolation. Draft genome sequences of 8 strains were generated and employed in a gene-trait matching (GTM) analysis together with the publicly available genomes of L. rhamnosus GG (ATCC 53103) and HN001 for several carbohydrates that were distinct for the different metabolic clusters: l-rhamnose, cellobiose, l-sorbose, and α-methyl-d-glucoside. From the analysis, candidate genes were identified that correlate with l-sorbose and α-methyl-d-glucoside utilization, and the proposed function of these genes could be confirmed by heterologous expression in a strain lacking the genes. This study expands our insight into the phenotypic and genotypic diversity of the species L. rhamnosus

  17. Phenotype-genotype correlations in a series of wolfram syndrome families.

    PubMed

    Smith, Casey J A; Crock, Patricia A; King, Bruce R; Meldrum, Cliff J; Scott, Rodney J

    2004-08-01

    Wolfram syndrome is an extremely rare autosomal-recessive disorder that predisposes the development of type 1 diabetes in association with progressive optic atrophy. The genetic basis of this disease has been shown to be due to mutations in the WFS1 gene. The WFS1 gene encodes a novel transmembrane protein called wolframin, which recent evidence suggests may serve as a novel endoplasmic reticulum calcium channel in pancreatic beta-cells and neurons. Genotype-phenotype correlations in this syndrome are becoming apparent and may help in explaining some of the variable characteristics observed in this disease. In this report, we have studied 13 patients with Wolfram syndrome from nine families to further define the relationship between mutation site and type with specific disease characteristics. A severe phenotype was seen in patients with mutations in exon 4 and with a large deletion encompassing most of exon 8. In total, nine novel mutations were identified as well as three new silent polymorphisms. Similar to all other mutation reports, most causative changes identified in the WFS1 gene occurred in exon 8, and only one was identified outside this region in exon 4.

  18. [Phenotype-genotype correlation analysis of 12 cases with Angelman/Prader-Willi syndrome].

    PubMed

    Chen, Chen; Peng, Ying; Xia, Yan; Li, Haoxian; Zhu, Huimin; Pan, Qian; Yin, Fei; Wu, Lingqian

    2014-12-01

    To investigate the genotype-phenotype correlation in patients with Angelman syndrome/Prader-Willi syndrome (AS/PWS) and assess the application value of high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism microarrays (SNP array) for such diseases. Twelve AS/PWS patients were diagnosed through SNP array, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and karyotype analysis. Clinical characteristics were analyzed. Deletions ranging from 4.8 Mb to 7.0 Mb on chromosome 15q11.2-13 were detected in 11 patients. Uniparental disomy (UPD) was detected in only 1 patient. Patients with deletions could be divided into 2 groups, including 7 cases with class I and 4 with class II. The two groups however had no significant phenotypic difference. The UPD patient had relatively better development and language ability. Deletions of 6 patients were confirmed by FISH to be of de novo in origin. The risk to their sibs was determined to be less than 1%. The phenotypic differences between AS/PWS patients with class I and class II deletion need to be further studied. SNP array is useful in detecting and distinguishing of patients with deletion or UPD. This method may be applied for studying the genotype-phenotype association and the mechanism underlying AS/PWS.

  19. Genotype- phenotype correlation in trisomy X: a retrospective study of a selected group of 36 patients and review of literature.

    PubMed

    Butnariu, Lăcrămioara; Rusu, Cristina; Caba, Lavinia; Pânzaru, Monica; Braha, Elena; Grămescu, Mihaela; Popescu, Roxana; Bujoranu, C; Gorduza, E V

    2013-01-01

    Trisomy X (47,XXX) is a gonosomal aneuploidy characterized by the presence of an extra X chromosome in a female person. Usually the diagnosis is established made postnatally by chromosome analysis in patients with suggestive clinical signs. Clinical signs vary by age. In prepubertal patients have a growth retardation associated with uncharacteristic facial dysmorphism, mild mental retardation with behavioral disorders, plus clinical signs of ovarian dysgenesis, postpubertal. We analyzed retrospectively the genotype - phenotype correlations for a selected group of 36 patients diagnosed with trisomy X (homogeneous or mosaic) by cytogenetic methods (X chromatin and karyotype). Analysis of the clinical data of 36 patients diagnosed with trisomy X and correlation with the results of X chromatin and karyotype. Clinical signs detected in patients with homogeneous trisomy X 47,XXX (22.22%), mosaic 46,XX/47,XXX (16.66%) or 47,XXX/48,XXXX (5.55%) were prepubertal, growth retardation associated with dysmorphic facial (upslanted palpebral fissure, epichantus, thin lips) and postpubertal, signs of ovarian dysgenesis (secondary amenorrhea, early menopause). The phenotype of patients with different gonosomal mosaic corresponding to Turner syndrome, incorporating a cell line with trisomy X (55.55%) was variable, correlated with the type of chromosomal abnormalities detected. The results of our study are similar to those obtained in other studies and emphasizes that phenotypic variability of patients with trisomy X feature makes it difficult to genotype - phenotype correlations.

  20. Dental management of amelogenesis imperfecta patients: a primer on genotype-phenotype correlations.

    PubMed

    Ng, F K; Messer, L B

    2009-01-01

    Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) represents a group of hereditary conditions which affects enamel formation in the primary and permanent dentitions. Mutations in genes critical for amelogenesis result in diverse phenotypes characterized by variably thin and/or defective enamel. To date, mutations in 5 genes are known to cause AI in humans. Understanding the molecular etiologies and associated inheritance patterns can assist in the early diagnosis of this condition. Recognition of genotype-phenotype correlations will allow clinicians to guide genetic testing and select appropriate management strategies for patients who express different phenotypes. The purpose of this paper was to provide a narrative review of the current literature on amelogenesis imperfecta, particularly regarding recent advances in the identification of candidate genes and the patterns of inheritance.

  1. Network-based analysis of genotype-phenotype correlations between different inheritance modes.

    PubMed

    Hao, Dapeng; Li, Chuanxing; Zhang, Shaojun; Lu, Jianping; Jiang, Yongshuai; Wang, Shiyuan; Zhou, Meng

    2014-11-15

    Recent studies on human disease have revealed that aberrant interaction between proteins probably underlies a substantial number of human genetic diseases. This suggests a need to investigate disease inheritance mode using interaction, and based on which to refresh our conceptual understanding of a series of properties regarding inheritance mode of human disease. We observed a strong correlation between the number of protein interactions and the likelihood of a gene causing any dominant diseases or multiple dominant diseases, whereas no correlation was observed between protein interaction and the likelihood of a gene causing recessive diseases. We found that dominant diseases are more likely to be associated with disruption of important interactions. These suggest inheritance mode should be understood using protein interaction. We therefore reviewed the previous studies and refined an interaction model of inheritance mode, and then confirmed that this model is largely reasonable using new evidences. With these findings, we found that the inheritance mode of human genetic diseases can be predicted using protein interaction. By integrating the systems biology perspectives with the classical disease genetics paradigm, our study provides some new insights into genotype-phenotype correlations. haodapeng@ems.hrbmu.edu.cn or biofomeng@hotmail.com Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Same MSH2 Gene Mutation But Variable Phenotypes in 2 Families With Lynch Syndrome: Two Case Reports and Review of Genotype-Phenotype Correlation.

    PubMed

    Liccardo, Raffaella; De Rosa, Marina; Duraturo, Francesca

    2018-01-01

    Lynch syndrome is an autosomal dominant syndrome that can be subdivided into Lynch syndrome I, or site-specific colonic cancer, and Lynch syndrome II, or extracolonic cancers, particularly carcinomas of the stomach, endometrium, biliary and pancreatic systems, and urinary tract. Lynch syndrome is associated with point mutations and large rearrangements in DNA MisMatch Repair ( MMR ) genes. This syndrome shows a variable phenotypic expression in people who carry pathogenetic mutations. So far, a correlation in genotype-phenotype has not been definitely established. In this study, we describe 2 Lynch syndrome cases presenting with the same genotype but different phenotypes and discuss possible reasons for this.

  3. Genes for hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies: a genotype-phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Rotthier, Annelies; Baets, Jonathan; De Vriendt, Els; Jacobs, An; Auer-Grumbach, Michaela; Lévy, Nicolas; Bonello-Palot, Nathalie; Kilic, Sara Sebnem; Weis, Joachim; Nascimento, Andrés; Swinkels, Marielle; Kruyt, Moyo C; Jordanova, Albena; De Jonghe, Peter; Timmerman, Vincent

    2009-10-01

    Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies (HSAN) are clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders characterized by axonal atrophy and degeneration, exclusively or predominantly affecting the sensory and autonomic neurons. So far, disease-associated mutations have been identified in seven genes: two genes for autosomal dominant (SPTLC1 and RAB7) and five genes for autosomal recessive forms of HSAN (WNK1/HSN2, NTRK1, NGFB, CCT5 and IKBKAP). We performed a systematic mutation screening of the coding sequences of six of these genes on a cohort of 100 familial and isolated patients diagnosed with HSAN. In addition, we screened the functional candidate gene NGFR (p75/NTR) encoding the nerve growth factor receptor. We identified disease-causing mutations in SPTLC1, RAB7, WNK1/HSN2 and NTRK1 in 19 patients, of which three mutations have not previously been reported. The phenotypes associated with mutations in NTRK1 and WNK1/HSN2 typically consisted of congenital insensitivity to pain and anhidrosis, and early-onset ulcero-mutilating sensory neuropathy, respectively. RAB7 mutations were only found in patients with a Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2B (CMT2B) phenotype, an axonal sensory-motor neuropathy with pronounced ulcero-mutilations. In SPTLC1, we detected a novel mutation (S331F) corresponding to a previously unknown severe and early-onset HSAN phenotype. No mutations were found in NGFB, CCT5 and NGFR. Overall disease-associated mutations were found in 19% of the studied patient group, suggesting that additional genes are associated with HSAN. Our genotype-phenotype correlation study broadens the spectrum of HSAN and provides additional insights for molecular and clinical diagnosis.

  4. A novel mutation in the AGXT gene causing primary hyperoxaluria type I: genotype-phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    M'Dimegh, Saoussen; Aquaviva-Bourdain, Cécile; Omezzine, Asma; M'Barek, Ibtihel; Souche, Geneviéve; Zellama, Dorsaf; Abidi, Kamel; Achour, Abdelattif; Gargah, Tahar; Abroug, Saoussen; Bouslama, Ali

    2016-09-01

    Primary hyperoxaluria type I (PH1) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder caused by inherited mutations in the AGXT gene encoding liver peroxisomal alanine : glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT) which is deficient or mistargeted to mitochondria. PH1 shows considerable phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity. The incidence and severity of PH1 varies in different geographic regions. DNA samples of the affected members from two unrelated Tunisian families were tested by amplifying and sequencing each of the AGXT exons and intron-exon junctions. We identified a novel frameshift mutation in the AGXT gene, the c.406_410dupACTGC resulting in a truncated protein (p.Gln137Hisfs*19). It is found in homozygous state in two nonconsanguineous unrelated families from Tunisia. These molecular findings provide genotype/phenotype correlations in the intrafamilial phenotypic and permit accurate carrier detection, and prenatal diagnosis. The novel p.Gln137Hisfs*19 mutation detected in our study extend the spectrum of known AGXT gene mutations in Tunisia.

  5. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency: correlation between the genotype, biochemistry and phenotype.

    PubMed

    Chan, Daisy K L

    2008-12-01

    Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is a common genetic enzyme defect present in many people from African, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Asian countries. Individuals with the enzyme deficiency may remain asymptomatic, develop an acute haemolytic crises to infections or Fava beans, neonatal jaundice or chronic non-spherocytic haemolytic anaemia. Electrophoretic mobility may be fast, slow or normal. Over 160 mutations have been described, mostly due to single amino acid substitution. Although correlation of the genotype and biochemistry with the clinical phenotype of G6PD deficient individuals remains somewhat variable, there is better correlation among individuals presenting with chronic non-spherocytic haemolytic anaemia, which is related to the NADP structure of the enzyme.

  6. Novel SOX2 mutations and genotype-phenotype correlation in anophthalmia and microphthalmia.

    PubMed

    Schneider, Adele; Bardakjian, Tanya; Reis, Linda M; Tyler, Rebecca C; Semina, Elena V

    2009-12-01

    SOX2 represents a High Mobility Group domain containing transcription factor that is essential for normal development in vertebrates. Mutations in SOX2 are known to result in a spectrum of severe ocular phenotypes in humans, also typically associated with other systemic defects. Ocular phenotypes include anophthalmia/microphthalmia (A/M), optic nerve hypoplasia, ocular coloboma and other eye anomalies. We screened 51 unrelated individuals with A/M and identified SOX2 mutations in the coding region of the gene in 10 individuals. Seven of the identified mutations are novel alterations, while the remaining three individuals carry the previously reported recurrent 20-nucleotide deletion in SOX2, c.70del20. Among the SOX2-positive cases, seven patients had bilateral A/M and mutations resulting in premature termination of the normal protein sequence (7/38; 18% of all bilateral cases), one patient had bilateral A/M associated with a single amino acid insertion (1/38; 3% of bilateral cases), and the final two patients demonstrated unilateral A/M associated with missense mutations (2/13; 15% of all unilateral cases). These findings and review of previously reported cases suggest a potential genotype/phenotype correlation for SOX2 mutations with missense changes generally leading to less severe ocular defects. In addition, we report a new familial case of affected siblings with maternal mosaicism for the identified SOX2 mutation, which further underscores the importance of parental testing to provide accurate genetic counseling to families.

  7. Novel SOX2 Mutations and Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in Anophthalmia and Microphthalmia

    PubMed Central

    Schneider, Adele; Bardakjian, Tanya; Reis, Linda M.; Tyler, Rebecca C.; Semina, Elena V.

    2009-01-01

    SOX2 represents a High Mobility Group domain containing transcription factor that is essential for normal development in vertebrates. Mutations in SOX2 are known to result in a spectrum of severe ocular phenotypes in humans, also typically associated with other systemic defects. Ocular phenotypes include anophthalmia/microphthalmia (A/M), optic nerve hypoplasia, ocular coloboma and other eye anomalies. We screened 51 unrelated individuals with A/M and indentified SOX2 mutations in the coding region of the gene in 10 individuals. Seven of the identified mutations are novel alterations, while the remaining three individuals carry the previously reported recurrent 20-nucleotide deletion in SOX2, c.70del20. Among the SOX2-positive cases, seven patients had bilateral A/M and mutations resulting in premature termination of the normal protein sequence (7/38; 18% of all bilateral cases), one patient had bilateral A/M associated with a single amino acid insertion (1/38; 3% of bilateral cases), and the final two patients demonstrated unilateral A/M associated with missense mutations (2/13; 15% of all unilateral cases). These findings and review of previously reported cases suggest a potential genotype/phenotype correlation for SOX2 mutations with missense changes generally leading to less severe ocular defects. In addition, we report a new familial case of affected siblings with maternal mosaicism for the identified SOX2 mutation, which further underscores the importance of parental testing to provide accurate genetic counseling to families. PMID:19921648

  8. Novel mutations and their genotype-phenotype correlations in patients with Noonan syndrome, using next-generation sequencing.

    PubMed

    Tafazoli, Alireza; Eshraghi, Peyman; Pantaleoni, Francesca; Vakili, Rahim; Moghaddassian, Morteza; Ghahraman, Martha; Muto, Valentina; Paolacci, Stefano; Golyan, Fatemeh Fardi; Abbaszadegan, Mohammad Reza

    2018-03-01

    Noonan Syndrome (NS) is an autosomal dominant disorder with many variable and heterogeneous conditions. The genetic basis for 20-30% of cases is still unknown. This study evaluates Iranian Noonan patients both clinically and genetically for the first time. Mutational analysis of PTPN11 gene was performed in 15 Iranian patients, using PCR and Sanger sequencing at phase one. Then, as phase two, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) in the form of targeted resequencing was utilized for analysis of exons from other related genes. Homology modelling for the novel founded mutations was performed as well. The genotype, phenotype correlation was done according to the molecular findings and clinical features. Previously reported mutation (p.N308D) in some patients and a novel mutation (p.D155N) in one of the patients were identified in phase one. After applying NGS methods, known and new variants were found in four patients in other genes, including: CBL (p. V904I), KRAS (p. L53W), SOS1 (p. I1302V), and SOS1 (p. R552G). Structural studies of two deduced novel mutations in related genes revealed deficiencies in the mutated proteins. Following genotype, phenotype correlation, a new pattern of the presence of intellectual disability in two patients was registered. NS shows strong variable expressivity along the high genetic heterogeneity especially in distinct populations and ethnic groups. Also possibly unknown other causative genes may be exist. Obviously, more comprehensive and new technologies like NGS methods are the best choice for detection of molecular defects in patients for genotype, phenotype correlation and disease management. Copyright © 2017 Medical University of Bialystok. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Genotype-phenotype correlation in FMF patients: A "non classic" recessive autosomal or "atypical" dominant autosomal inheritance?

    PubMed

    Procopio, V; Manti, S; Bianco, G; Conti, G; Romeo, A; Maimone, F; Arrigo, T; Cutrupi, M C; Salpietro, C; Cuppari, C

    2018-01-30

    Uncertainty remains on the pathogenetic mechanisms, model of inheritance as well as genotype-phenotype correlation of FMF disease. To investigate the impact of genetic factors on the FMF phenotype and the disease inheritance model. A total of 107 FMF patients were enrolled. Patients were diagnosed clinically. All patients underwent genetic analysis of the FMF locus on 16p13.3. 9 distinct mutations were detected. Specifically, the 85.98% of patients showed a heterozygous genotype. The most common genotypes were p.Met680Ile/wt and p.Met694Val/wt. The most frequent clinical findings were fever, abdominal pain, joint pain, thoracic pain, and erysipelas-like erythema. Analysis of clinical data did not detect any significant difference in clinical phenotype among heterozygous, homozygous as well as compound homozygous subjects, further supporting the evidence that, contrary to the recessive autosomal inheritance, heterozygous patients fulfilled the criteria of clinical FMF. Moreover, subjects with p.Met694Val/wt and p.Met680Ile/wt genotype reported the most severe clinical phenotype. p.Ala744Ser/wt, p.Glu148Gln/Met680Ile, p.Met680Ile/Met680Ile, p.Met680Ile/Met694Val, p.Pro369Ser/wt, p.Met694Ile/wt, p.Glu148Gln/Glu148Gln, p.Lys695Arg/wt resulted in 100% pathogenicity. The existence of a "non classic" autosomal recessive inheritance as well as of an "atypical" dominant autosomal inheritance with incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity cannot be excluded in FMF. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. CYP2C9 Genotype vs. Metabolic Phenotype for Individual Drug Dosing—A Correlation Analysis Using Flurbiprofen as Probe Drug

    PubMed Central

    Vogl, Silvia; Lutz, Roman W.; Schönfelder, Gilbert; Lutz, Werner K.

    2015-01-01

    Currently, genotyping of patients for polymorphic enzymes responsible for metabolic elimination is considered a possibility to adjust drug dose levels. For a patient to profit from this procedure, the interindividual differences in drug metabolism within one genotype should be smaller than those between different genotypes. We studied a large cohort of healthy young adults (283 subjects), correlating their CYP2C9 genotype to a simple phenotyping metric, using flurbiprofen as probe drug. Genotyping was conducted for CYP2C9*1, *2, *3. The urinary metabolic ratio MR (concentration of CYP2C9-dependent metabolite divided by concentration of flurbiprofen) determined two hours after flurbiprofen (8.75 mg) administration served as phenotyping metric. Linear statistical models correlating genotype and phenotype provided highly significant allele-specific MR estimates of 0.596 for the wild type allele CYP2C9*1, 0.405 for CYP2C9*2 (68 % of wild type), and 0.113 for CYP2C9*3 (19 % of wild type). If these estimates were used for flurbiprofen dose adjustment, taking 100 % for genotype *1/*1, an average reduction to 84 %, 60 %, 68 %, 43 %, and 19 % would result for genotype *1/*2, *1/*3, *2/*2, *2/*3, and *3/*3, respectively. Due to the large individual variation within genotypes with coefficients of variation ≥ 20 % and supposing the normal distribution, one in three individuals would be out of the average optimum dose by more than 20 %, one in 20 would be 40 % off. Whether this problem also applies to other CYPs and other drugs has to be investigated case by case. Our data for the given example, however, puts the benefit of individual drug dosing to question, if it is exclusively based on genotype. PMID:25775139

  11. CYP2C9 genotype vs. metabolic phenotype for individual drug dosing--a correlation analysis using flurbiprofen as probe drug.

    PubMed

    Vogl, Silvia; Lutz, Roman W; Schönfelder, Gilbert; Lutz, Werner K

    2015-01-01

    Currently, genotyping of patients for polymorphic enzymes responsible for metabolic elimination is considered a possibility to adjust drug dose levels. For a patient to profit from this procedure, the interindividual differences in drug metabolism within one genotype should be smaller than those between different genotypes. We studied a large cohort of healthy young adults (283 subjects), correlating their CYP2C9 genotype to a simple phenotyping metric, using flurbiprofen as probe drug. Genotyping was conducted for CYP2C9*1, *2, *3. The urinary metabolic ratio MR (concentration of CYP2C9-dependent metabolite divided by concentration of flurbiprofen) determined two hours after flurbiprofen (8.75 mg) administration served as phenotyping metric. Linear statistical models correlating genotype and phenotype provided highly significant allele-specific MR estimates of 0.596 for the wild type allele CYP2C9*1, 0.405 for CYP2C9*2 (68 % of wild type), and 0.113 for CYP2C9*3 (19 % of wild type). If these estimates were used for flurbiprofen dose adjustment, taking 100 % for genotype *1/*1, an average reduction to 84 %, 60 %, 68 %, 43 %, and 19 % would result for genotype *1/*2, *1/*3, *2/*2, *2/*3, and *3/*3, respectively. Due to the large individual variation within genotypes with coefficients of variation ≥ 20 % and supposing the normal distribution, one in three individuals would be out of the average optimum dose by more than 20 %, one in 20 would be 40 % off. Whether this problem also applies to other CYPs and other drugs has to be investigated case by case. Our data for the given example, however, puts the benefit of individual drug dosing to question, if it is exclusively based on genotype.

  12. Phenotype-genotype correlations in congenital isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD).

    PubMed

    Alatzoglou, Kyriaki S; Dattani, Mehul T

    2012-01-01

    Isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) may be congenital, often due to genetic mutations, or acquired as a result of other factors such as cranial irradiation. The commonest genes implicated in its genetic etiology are those encoding growth hormone (GH1) and the receptor for GH-releasing hormone (GHRHR). Rarely, IGHD may be caused by mutations in transcription factors (HESX1, SOX3, OTX2) or be the first presentation before the development of other pituitary hormone deficiencies. IGHD has been classified in four genetic forms (type IA, IB, II and III). Despite the increasing number of genes implicated in the etiology of IGHD, mutations in known genes account only for a small percentage of cases; therefore, other as yet unidentified factors may be implicated in its etiology. Although there is no strict genotype/phenotype correlation in patients with IGHD, there are some emerging patterns that may guide us towards a genetic diagnosis of the condition. There is increasing understanding that the phenotype of patients with IGHD is highly variable and sometimes even evolving, dictating the need for long term follow-up in these cases.

  13. Distribution of genotype network sizes in sequence-to-structure genotype-phenotype maps.

    PubMed

    Manrubia, Susanna; Cuesta, José A

    2017-04-01

    An essential quantity to ensure evolvability of populations is the navigability of the genotype space. Navigability, understood as the ease with which alternative phenotypes are reached, relies on the existence of sufficiently large and mutually attainable genotype networks. The size of genotype networks (e.g. the number of RNA sequences folding into a particular secondary structure or the number of DNA sequences coding for the same protein structure) is astronomically large in all functional molecules investigated: an exhaustive experimental or computational study of all RNA folds or all protein structures becomes impossible even for moderately long sequences. Here, we analytically derive the distribution of genotype network sizes for a hierarchy of models which successively incorporate features of increasingly realistic sequence-to-structure genotype-phenotype maps. The main feature of these models relies on the characterization of each phenotype through a prototypical sequence whose sites admit a variable fraction of letters of the alphabet. Our models interpolate between two limit distributions: a power-law distribution, when the ordering of sites in the prototypical sequence is strongly constrained, and a lognormal distribution, as suggested for RNA, when different orderings of the same set of sites yield different phenotypes. Our main result is the qualitative and quantitative identification of those features of sequence-to-structure maps that lead to different distributions of genotype network sizes. © 2017 The Author(s).

  14. Phenotypic and genotypic analyses of blastic cell population suggest that pure B-lymphoblastic leukemia may arise from myelodysplastic syndrome.

    PubMed

    Pajor, L; Matolcsy, A; Vass, J A; Méhes, G; Marton, E; Szabó, F; Iványi, J L

    1998-01-01

    The case history of a 70-year-old man with myelodysplastic syndrome terminated into acute leukemia in 22 months is presented. The leukemic cells exhibited multifocal acid phosphatase positivity and expressed TdT, CD45, CD34 and HLA-DR but not myeloid, monocytic or megakaryocytic differentiation antigenes. The genotypic analysis revealed clonal immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangement. These phenotypic and genotypic analyses of the blastic cell population suggest that myelodysplastic syndrome may transform to pure acute lymphoblastic leukemia of B-cell origin.

  15. Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Dairy Goats: Genotypic and Phenotypic Comparison of Intramammary and Environmental Isolates

    PubMed Central

    Scaccabarozzi, Licia; Leoni, Livia; Ballarini, Annalisa; Barberio, Antonio; Locatelli, Clara; Casula, Antonio; Bronzo, Valerio; Pisoni, Giuliano; Jousson, Olivier; Morandi, Stefano; Rapetti, Luca; García-Fernández, Aurora; Moroni, Paolo

    2015-01-01

    Following the identification of a case of severe clinical mastitis in a Saanen dairy goat (goat A), an average of 26 lactating goats in the herd was monitored over a period of 11 months. Milk microbiological analysis revealed the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 7 of the goats. Among these 7 does, only goat A showed clinical signs of mastitis. The 7 P. aeruginosa isolates from the goat milk and 26 P. aeruginosa isolates from environmental samples were clustered by RAPD-PCR and PFGE analyses in 3 genotypes (G1, G2, G3) and 4 clusters (A, B, C, D), respectively. PFGE clusters A and B correlated with the G1 genotype and included the 7 milk isolates. Although it was not possible to identify the infection source, these results strongly suggest a spreading of the infection from goat A. Clusters C and D overlapped with genotypes G2 and G3, respectively, and included only environmental isolates. The outcome of the antimicrobial susceptibility test performed on the isolates revealed 2 main patterns of multiple resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics and macrolides. Virulence related phenotypes were analyzed, such as swarming and swimming motility, production of biofilm and production of secreted virulence factors. The isolates had distinct phenotypic profiles, corresponding to genotypes G1, G2 and G3. Overall, correlation analysis showed a strong correlation between sampling source, RAPD genotype, PFGE clusters, and phenotypic clusters. The comparison of the levels of virulence related phenotypes did not indicate a higher pathogenic potential in the milk isolates as compared to the environmental isolates. PMID:26606430

  16. Genotype-phenotype correlation of xeroderma pigmentosum in a Chinese Han population.

    PubMed

    Sun, Z; Zhang, J; Guo, Y; Ni, C; Liang, J; Cheng, R; Li, M; Yao, Z

    2015-04-01

    Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by extreme sensitivity to sunlight, freckle-like pigmentation and a greatly increased incidence of skin cancers. Genetic mutation detection and genotype-phenotype analysis of XP are rarely reported in the Chinese Han population. To investigate the mutational spectrum of XP in a Chinese Han population, to discover any genotype-phenotype correlation and, consequently, to propose a simple and effective tool for the molecular diagnosis of XP. This study was carried out on 12 unrelated Chinese families that included 13 patients with clinically suspected XP. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples. Mutation screening was performed by direct sequencing of exons and flanking intron-exon boundaries for the entire coding region of eight XP genes. In 12 patients, direct sequencing of the whole coding region of eight XP genes revealed pathogenic mutations, including seven compound heterozygous mutations, three homozygous mutations and a Japanese founder mutation. Thirteen mutations have not been previously identified. This cohort was composed of four patients with XP-C (XPC), two with XP-G (ERCC5), three with XP-A (XPA) and three with XP-V (POLH). This study identified 13 novel mutations and extended the mutation spectrum of XP in the Chinese Han population. In this cohort, we found that patients with XP-G have no neurological symptoms, and patients with XP-A and XP-V have a high incidence of malignancy. Furthermore, lack of stringent protection against sunlight, late diagnosis and long duration of disease play an important role. © 2014 British Association of Dermatologists.

  17. Novel TMEM67 Mutations and Genotype-phenotype Correlates in Meckelin-related Ciliopathies

    PubMed Central

    Iannicelli, Miriam; Brancati, Francesco; Mougou-Zerelli, Soumaya; Mazzotta, Annalisa; Thomas, Sophie; Elkhartoufi, Nadia; Travaglini, Lorena; Gomes, Céline; Ardissino, Gian Luigi; Bertini, Enrico; Boltshauser, Eugen; Castorina, Pierangela; D'Arrigo, Stefano; Fischetto, Rita; Leroy, Brigitte; Loget, Philippe; Bonnière, Maryse; Starck, Lena; Tantau, Julia; Gentilin, Barbara; Majore, Silvia; Swistun, Dominika; Flori, Elizabeth; Lalatta, Faustina; Pantaleoni, Chiara; Johannes.Penzien; Grammatico, Paola; Dallapiccola, Bruno; Gleeson, Joseph G.; Attie-Bitach, Tania; Valente, Enza Maria

    2010-01-01

    Human ciliopathies are hereditary conditions caused by defects of proteins expressed at the primary cilium. Among ciliopathies, Joubert syndrome and related disorders (JSRD), Meckel syndrome (MKS) and nephronophthisis (NPH) present clinical and genetic overlap, being allelic at several loci. One of the most interesting gene is TMEM67, encoding the transmembrane protein meckelin. We performed mutation analysis of TMEM67 in 341 probands, including 265 JSRD representative of all clinical subgroups and 76 MKS fetuses. We identified 33 distinct mutations, of which 20 were novel, in 8/10 (80%) JS with liver involvement (COACH phenotype) and 12/76 (16%) MKS fetuses. No mutations were found in other JSRD subtypes, confirming the strong association between TMEM67 mutations and liver involvement. Literature review of all published TMEM67 mutated cases was performed to delineate genotype-phenotype correlates. In particular, comparison of the types of mutations and their distribution along the gene in lethal versus non lethal phenotypes showed in MKS patients a significant enrichment of missense mutations falling in TMEM67 exons 8 to 15, especially when in combination with a truncating mutation. These exons encode for a region of unknown function in the extracellular domain of meckelin. PMID:20232449

  18. Percolation on fitness landscapes: effects of correlation, phenotype, and incompatibilities

    PubMed Central

    Gravner, Janko; Pitman, Damien; Gavrilets, Sergey

    2009-01-01

    We study how correlations in the random fitness assignment may affect the structure of fitness landscapes, in three classes of fitness models. The first is a phenotype space in which individuals are characterized by a large number n of continuously varying traits. In a simple model of random fitness assignment, viable phenotypes are likely to form a giant connected cluster percolating throughout the phenotype space provided the viability probability is larger than 1/2n. The second model explicitly describes genotype-to-phenotype and phenotype-to-fitness maps, allows for neutrality at both phenotype and fitness levels, and results in a fitness landscape with tunable correlation length. Here, phenotypic neutrality and correlation between fitnesses can reduce the percolation threshold, and correlations at the point of phase transition between local and global are most conducive to the formation of the giant cluster. In the third class of models, particular combinations of alleles or values of phenotypic characters are “incompatible” in the sense that the resulting genotypes or phenotypes have zero fitness. This setting can be viewed as a generalization of the canonical Bateson-Dobzhansky-Muller model of speciation and is related to K- SAT problems, prominent in computer science. We analyze the conditions for the existence of viable genotypes, their number, as well as the structure and the number of connected clusters of viable genotypes. We show that analysis based on expected values can easily lead to wrong conclusions, especially when fitness correlations are strong. We focus on pairwise incompatibilities between diallelic loci, but we also address multiple alleles, complex incompatibilities, and continuous phenotype spaces. In the case of diallelic loci, the number of clusters is stochastically bounded and each cluster contains a very large sub-cube. Finally, we demonstrate that the discrete NK model shares some signature properties of models with high

  19. Multivariate Analysis of Genotype-Phenotype Association.

    PubMed

    Mitteroecker, Philipp; Cheverud, James M; Pavlicev, Mihaela

    2016-04-01

    With the advent of modern imaging and measurement technology, complex phenotypes are increasingly represented by large numbers of measurements, which may not bear biological meaning one by one. For such multivariate phenotypes, studying the pairwise associations between all measurements and all alleles is highly inefficient and prevents insight into the genetic pattern underlying the observed phenotypes. We present a new method for identifying patterns of allelic variation (genetic latent variables) that are maximally associated-in terms of effect size-with patterns of phenotypic variation (phenotypic latent variables). This multivariate genotype-phenotype mapping (MGP) separates phenotypic features under strong genetic control from less genetically determined features and thus permits an analysis of the multivariate structure of genotype-phenotype association, including its dimensionality and the clustering of genetic and phenotypic variables within this association. Different variants of MGP maximize different measures of genotype-phenotype association: genetic effect, genetic variance, or heritability. In an application to a mouse sample, scored for 353 SNPs and 11 phenotypic traits, the first dimension of genetic and phenotypic latent variables accounted for >70% of genetic variation present in all 11 measurements; 43% of variation in this phenotypic pattern was explained by the corresponding genetic latent variable. The first three dimensions together sufficed to account for almost 90% of genetic variation in the measurements and for all the interpretable genotype-phenotype association. Each dimension can be tested as a whole against the hypothesis of no association, thereby reducing the number of statistical tests from 7766 to 3-the maximal number of meaningful independent tests. Important alleles can be selected based on their effect size (additive or nonadditive effect on the phenotypic latent variable). This low dimensionality of the genotype-phenotype map

  20. Phenotype/genotype correlations in Gaucher disease type 1: Clinical and therapeutic implications

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sibille, A.; Eng, C.M.; Kim, S.J.

    1993-06-01

    Gaucher disease is the most frequent lysosomal storage disease and the most prevalent genetic disease among Ashkenazi Jews. Gaucher disease type 1 is characterized by marked variability of the phenotype and by the absence of neuronopathic involvement. To test the hypothesis that this phenotypic variability was due to genetic compounds of several different mutant alleles, 161 symptomatic patients with Gaucher disease type 1 (> 90% Ashkenazi Jewish) were analyzed for clinical involvement, and their genotypes were determined. Qualitative and quantitative measures of disease involvement included age at onset of the disease manifestations, hepatic and splenic volumes, age at splenectomy, andmore » severity of bony disease. High statistically significant differences (P < .005) were found in each clinical parameter in patients with the N370S/N370S genotype compared with those patients with the N370S/84GG, N370S/L444P, and N370/ genotypes. The symptomatic N370S homozygotes had onset of their disease two to three decades later than patients with the other genotypes. In addition, patients with the latter genotypes have much more severely involved livers, spleens, and bones and had a higher incidence of splenectomy at an earlier age. These predictive genotype analyses provide the basis for genetic care delivery and therapeutic recommendations in patients affected with Gaucher disease type 1. 38 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs.« less

  1. Huntington's Disease: Relationship Between Phenotype and Genotype.

    PubMed

    Sun, Yi-Min; Zhang, Yan-Bin; Wu, Zhi-Ying

    2017-01-01

    Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant inherited neurodegenerative disease with the typical manifestations of involuntary movements, psychiatric and behavior disorders, and cognitive impairment. It is caused by the dynamic mutation in CAG triplet repeat number in exon 1 of huntingtin (HTT) gene. The symptoms of HD especially the age at onset are related to the genetic characteristics, both the CAG triplet repeat and the modified factors. Here, we reviewed the recent advancement on the genotype-phenotype relationship of HD, mainly focus on the characteristics of different expanded CAG repeat number, genetic modifiers, and CCG repeat number in the 3' end of CAG triplet repeat and their effects on the phenotype. We also reviewed the special forms of HD (juvenile HD, atypical onset HD, and homozygous HD) and their phenotype-genotype correlations. The review will aid clinicians to predict the onset age and disease course of HD, give the genetic counseling, and accelerate research into the HD mechanism.

  2. Phenotype-genotype correlations in X linked retinitis pigmentosa.

    PubMed Central

    Kaplan, J; Pelet, A; Martin, C; Delrieu, O; Aymé, S; Bonneau, D; Briard, M L; Hanauer, A; Larget-Piet, L; Lefrançois, P

    1992-01-01

    Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) represents a group of clinically heterogeneous retinal degenerations in which all modes of inheritance have been described. We have previously found two different clinical profiles in X linked RP as a function of age and mode of onset. The first clinical form has very early onset with severe myopia. The second form starts later with night blindness with mild myopia or none. At least two genes have been identified in X linked forms, namely RP2 (linked to DXS7, DXS255, and DXS14) and RP3 (linked to DXS84 and OTC) on the short arm of the X chromosome. In order to contribute to phenotype-genotype correlations in X linked RP, we tested the hypothesis that the two clinical profiles could be accounted for by the two different gene loci. The present study provides evidence for linkage of the clinical form with early myopia as the onset symptom with the RP2 gene (pairwise linkage to DXS255: Z = 3.13 at theta = 0), while the clinical form with later night blindness as the onset symptom is linked to the RP3 gene (pairwise linkage to OTC: Z = 4.16 at theta = 0). Images PMID:1357178

  3. Genotype-phenotype associations in WT1 glomerulopathy.

    PubMed

    Lipska, Beata S; Ranchin, Bruno; Iatropoulos, Paraskevas; Gellermann, Jutta; Melk, Anette; Ozaltin, Fatih; Caridi, Gianluca; Seeman, Tomas; Tory, Kalman; Jankauskiene, Augustina; Zurowska, Aleksandra; Szczepanska, Maria; Wasilewska, Anna; Harambat, Jerome; Trautmann, Agnes; Peco-Antic, Amira; Borzecka, Halina; Moczulska, Anna; Saeed, Bassam; Bogdanovic, Radovan; Kalyoncu, Mukaddes; Simkova, Eva; Erdogan, Ozlem; Vrljicak, Kristina; Teixeira, Ana; Azocar, Marta; Schaefer, Franz

    2014-05-01

    WT1 mutations cause a wide spectrum of renal and extrarenal manifestations. Here we evaluated disease prevalence, phenotype spectrum, and genotype-phenotype correlations of 61 patients with WT1-related steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome relative to 700 WT1-negative patients, all with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. WT1 patients more frequently presented with chronic kidney disease and hypertension at diagnosis and exhibited more rapid disease progression. Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis was equally prevalent in both cohorts, but diffuse mesangial sclerosis was largely specific for WT1 disease and was present in 34% of cases. Sex reversal and/or urogenital abnormalities (52%), Wilms tumor (38%), and gonadoblastoma (5%) were almost exclusive to WT1 disease. Missense substitutions affecting DNA-binding residues were associated with diffuse mesangial sclerosis (74%), early steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome onset, and rapid progression to ESRD. Truncating mutations conferred the highest Wilms tumor risk (78%) but typically late-onset steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. Intronic (KTS) mutations were most likely to present as isolated steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (37%) with a median onset at an age of 4.5 years, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis on biopsy, and slow progression (median ESRD age 13.6 years). Thus, there is a wide range of expressivity, solid genotype-phenotype associations, and a high risk and significance of extrarenal complications in WT1-associated nephropathy. We suggest that all children with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome undergo WT1 gene screening.

  4. Brain imaging in mitochondrial respiratory chain deficiency: combination of brain MRI features as a useful tool for genotype/phenotype correlations.

    PubMed

    Bricout, M; Grévent, D; Lebre, A S; Rio, M; Desguerre, I; De Lonlay, P; Valayannopoulos, V; Brunelle, F; Rötig, A; Munnich, A; Boddaert, N

    2014-07-01

    Mitochondrial diseases are characterised by a broad clinical and genetic heterogeneity that makes diagnosis difficult. Owing to the wide pattern of symptoms in mitochondrial disorders and the constantly growing number of disease genes, their genetic diagnosis is difficult and genotype/phenotype correlations remain elusive. Brain MRI appears as a useful tool for genotype/phenotype correlations. Here, we summarise the various combinations of MRI lesions observed in the most frequent mitochondrial respiratory chain deficiencies so as to direct molecular genetic test in patients at risk of such diseases. We believe that the combination of brain MRI features is of value to support respiratory chain deficiency and direct molecular genetic tests. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  5. Cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome: Does genotype predict phenotype?

    PubMed Central

    Allanson, Judith E; Annerén, Göran; Aoki, Yoki; Armour, Christine M; Bondeson, Marie-Louise; Cave, Helene; Gripp, Karen W; Kerr, Bronwyn; Nystrom, Anna-Maja; Sol-Church, Katia; Verloes, Alain; Zenker, Martin

    2011-01-01

    Cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome is a sporadic multiple congenital anomalies/mental retardation condition principally caused by mutations in BRAF, MEK1, and MEK2. Mutations in KRAS and SHOC2 lead to a phenotype with overlapping features. In approximately 10–30% of individuals with a clinical diagnosis of cardio-facio-cutaneous, a mutation in one of these causative genes is not found. Cardinal features of cardio-facio-cutaneous include congenital heart defects, a characteristic facial appearance, and ectodermal abnormalities. Additional features include failure to thrive with severe feeding problems, moderate to severe intellectual disability and short stature with relative macrocephaly. First described in 1986, more than 100 affected individuals are reported. Following the discovery of the causative genes, more information has emerged on the breadth of clinical features. Little, however, has been published on genotype-phenotype correlations. This clinical study of 186 children and young adults with mutation-proven cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome is the largest reported to date. BRAF mutations are documented in 140 individuals (~75%), while 46 (~25%) have a mutation in MEK 1 or MEK 2. The age range is 6 months to 32 years, the oldest individual being a female from the original report [Reynolds et al., 1986]. While some clinical data on 136 are in the literature, fifty are not previously published. We provide new details of the breadth of phenotype and discuss the frequency of particular features in each genotypic group. Pulmonary stenosis is the only anomaly that demonstrates a statistically significant genotype-phenotype correlation, being more common in individuals with a BRAF mutation. PMID:21495173

  6. Genotyping of Staphylococcus aureus in bovine mastitis and correlation to phenotypic characteristics.

    PubMed

    Artursson, Karin; Söderlund, Robert; Liu, Lihong; Monecke, Stefan; Schelin, Jenny

    2016-09-25

    Reducing the prevalence of mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is essential to improve animal health and reduce economic losses for farmers. The clinical outcome of acute mastitis and risk of progression to persistent mastitis can, at least to some extent, be related to genetic variants of the strain causing the infection. In the present study we have used microarrays to investigate the presence of virulence genes in S. aureus isolates from dairy cows with acute clinical mastitis (n=70) and correlated the findings to other genotypic and phenotypic characteristics. Among the most commonly found virulence factors were genes encoding several hemolysin types, leukocidins D and lukM/lukF-P83, clumping factors A and B, fibrinogen binding protein and fibronectin-binding protein A. Some virulence factors e.g. fibronectin-binding protein B and Staphylococcus aureus surface protein G were less common. Genes coding for several staphylococcal enterotoxins and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) were commonly found, especially in one major pulsotype. No beta-lactamase genes were found in any common pulsotype, while present in some rare pulsotypes, indicated to be of human origin. Production of TSST-1, enterotoxins, hemolysins and beta-lactamase could all be positively correlated to presence of the corresponding genes. This study reveals a number of genotypic differences and similarities among common and rare pulsotypes of S. aureus from cases of mastitis in Sweden. The results could help the design of diagnostic tools to guide on-farm interventions according to the expected impact on udder health from a specific S. aureus genotype. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Phenotype- and Genotype-Specific Structural Alterations in Spasmodic Dysphonia

    PubMed Central

    Bianchi, Serena; Battistella, Giovanni; Huddleston, Hailey; Scharf, Rebecca; Fleysher, Lazar; Rumbach, Anna F.; Frucht, Steven J.; Blitzer, Andrew; Ozelius, Laurie J.; Simonyan, Kristina

    2017-01-01

    Background Spasmodic dysphonia is a focal dystonia characterized by involuntary spasms in the laryngeal muscles that occur selectively during speaking. Although hereditary trends have been reported in up to 16% of patients, the causative etiology of spasmodic dysphonia is unclear, and the influences of various phenotypes and genotypes on disorder pathophysiology are poorly understood. In this study, we examined structural alterations in cortical gray matter and white matter integrity in relationship to different phenotypes and putative genotypes of spasmodic dysphonia to elucidate the structural component of its complex pathophysiology. Methods Eighty-nine patients with spasmodic dysphonia underwent high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging to examine cortical thickness and white matter fractional anisotropy in adductor versus abductor forms (distinct phenotypes) and in sporadic versus familial cases (distinct genotypes). Results Phenotype-specific abnormalities were localized in the left sensorimotor cortex and angular gyrus and the white matter bundle of the right superior corona radiata. Genotype-specific alterations were found in the left superior temporal gyrus, supplementary motor area, and the arcuate portion of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus. Conclusions Our findings suggest that phenotypic differences in spasmodic dysphonia arise at the level of the primary and associative areas of motor control, whereas genotype-related pathophysiological mechanisms may be associated with dysfunction of regions regulating phonological and sensory processing. Identification of structural alterations specific to disorder phenotype and putative genotype provides an important step toward future delineation of imaging markers and potential targets for novel therapeutic interventions for spasmodic dysphonia. PMID:28186656

  8. Phenotype- and genotype-specific structural alterations in spasmodic dysphonia.

    PubMed

    Bianchi, Serena; Battistella, Giovanni; Huddleston, Hailey; Scharf, Rebecca; Fleysher, Lazar; Rumbach, Anna F; Frucht, Steven J; Blitzer, Andrew; Ozelius, Laurie J; Simonyan, Kristina

    2017-04-01

    Spasmodic dysphonia is a focal dystonia characterized by involuntary spasms in the laryngeal muscles that occur selectively during speaking. Although hereditary trends have been reported in up to 16% of patients, the causative etiology of spasmodic dysphonia is unclear, and the influences of various phenotypes and genotypes on disorder pathophysiology are poorly understood. In this study, we examined structural alterations in cortical gray matter and white matter integrity in relationship to different phenotypes and putative genotypes of spasmodic dysphonia to elucidate the structural component of its complex pathophysiology. Eighty-nine patients with spasmodic dysphonia underwent high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging to examine cortical thickness and white matter fractional anisotropy in adductor versus abductor forms (distinct phenotypes) and in sporadic versus familial cases (distinct genotypes). Phenotype-specific abnormalities were localized in the left sensorimotor cortex and angular gyrus and the white matter bundle of the right superior corona radiata. Genotype-specific alterations were found in the left superior temporal gyrus, supplementary motor area, and the arcuate portion of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus. Our findings suggest that phenotypic differences in spasmodic dysphonia arise at the level of the primary and associative areas of motor control, whereas genotype-related pathophysiological mechanisms may be associated with dysfunction of regions regulating phonological and sensory processing. Identification of structural alterations specific to disorder phenotype and putative genotype provides an important step toward future delineation of imaging markers and potential targets for novel therapeutic interventions for spasmodic dysphonia. © 2017 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2017 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

  9. Paranormal experience and the COMT dopaminergic gene: a preliminary attempt to associate phenotype with genotype using an underlying brain theory.

    PubMed

    Raz, Amir; Hines, Terence; Fossella, John; Castro, Daniella

    2008-01-01

    Paranormal belief and suggestibility seem related. Given our recent findings outlining a putative association between suggestibility and a specific dopaminergic genetic polymorphism, we hypothesized that similar exploratory genetic data may offer supplementary insights into a similar correlation with paranormal belief. With more affordable costs and better technology in the aftermath of the human genome project, genotyping is increasingly ubiquitous. Compelling brain theories guide specific research hypotheses as scientists begin to unravel tentative relationships between phenotype and genotype. In line with a dopaminergic brain theory, we tried to correlate a specific phenotype concerning paranormal belief with a dopaminergic gene (COMT) known for its involvement in prefrontal executive cognition and for a polymorphism that is positively correlated with suggestibility. Although our preliminary findings are inconclusive, the research approach we outline should pave the road to a more scientific account of elucidating paranormal belief.

  10. Genotypic character relationship and phenotypic path coefficient analysis in chili pepper genotypes grown under tropical condition.

    PubMed

    Usman, Magaji G; Rafii, Mohd Y; Martini, Mohammad Y; Oladosu, Yusuff; Kashiani, Pedram

    2017-03-01

    Studies on genotypic and phenotypic correlations among characters of crop plants are useful in planning, evaluating and setting selection criteria for the desired characters in a breeding program. The present study aimed to estimate the phenotypic correlation coefficients among yield and yield attributed characters and to work out the direct and indirect effects of yield-related characters on yield per plant using path coefficient analysis. Twenty-six genotypes of chili pepper were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Yield per plant showed positive and highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) correlations with most of the characters studied at both the phenotypic and genotypic levels. By contrast, disease incidence and days to flowering showed a significant negative association with yield. Fruit weight and number of fruits exerted positive direct effect on yield and also had a positive and significant (P ≤ 0.01) correlation with yield per plant. However, fruit length showed a low negative direct effect with a strong and positive indirect effect through fruit weight on yield and had a positive and significant association with yield. Longer fruits, heavy fruits and a high number of fruits are variables that are related to higher yields of chili pepper under tropical conditions and hence could be used as a reliable indicator in indirect selection for yield. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  11. Patterns of Novel Alleles and Genotype/Phenotype Correlations Resulting from the Analysis of 108 Previously Undetected Mutations in Patients Affected by Neurofibromatosis Type I

    PubMed Central

    Bonatti, Francesco; Adorni, Alessia; Matichecchia, Annalisa; Mozzoni, Paola; Uliana, Vera; Pisani, Francesco; Garavelli, Livia; Graziano, Claudio; Gnoli, Maria; Bigoni, Stefania; Boschi, Elena; Martorana, Davide; Percesepe, Antonio

    2017-01-01

    Neurofibromatosis type I, a genetic disorder due to mutations in the NF1 gene, is characterized by a high mutation rate (about 50% of the cases are de novo) but, with the exception of whole gene deletions associated with a more severe phenotype, no specific hotspots and few solid genotype/phenotype correlations. After retrospectively re-evaluating all NF1 gene variants found in the diagnostic activity, we studied 108 patients affected by neurofibromatosis type I who harbored mutations that had not been previously reported in the international databases, with the aim of analyzing their type and distribution along the gene and of correlating them with the phenotypic features of the affected patients. Out of the 108 previously unreported variants, 14 were inherited by one of the affected parents and 94 were de novo. Twenty-nine (26.9%) mutations were of uncertain significance, whereas 79 (73.2%) were predicted as pathogenic or probably pathogenic. No differential distribution in the exons or in the protein domains was observed and no statistically significant genotype/phenotype correlation was found, confirming previous evidences. PMID:28961165

  12. First evidence of genotype-phenotype correlations in Gorlin syndrome.

    PubMed

    Evans, D Gareth; Oudit, Deemesh; Smith, Miriam J; Rutkowski, David; Allan, Ernest; Newman, William G; Lear, John T

    2017-08-01

    Gorlin syndrome (GS) is an autosomal dominant syndrome characterised by multiple basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) and an increased risk of jaw cysts and early childhood medulloblastoma. Heterozygous germline variants in PTCH1 and SUFU encoding components of the Sonic hedgehog pathway explain the majority of cases. Here, we aimed to delineate genotype-phenotype correlations in GS. We assessed genetic and phenotypic data for 182 individuals meeting the diagnostic criteria for GS (median age: 47.1; IQR: 31.1-61.1). A total of 126 patients had a heterozygous pathogenic variant, 9 had SUFU pathogenic variants and 46 had no identified mutation. Patients with variants were more likely to be diagnosed earlier (p=0.02), have jaw cysts (p=0.002) and have bifid ribs (p=0.003) or any skeletal abnormality (p=0.003) than patients with no identified mutation. Patients with a missense variant in PTCH1 were diagnosed later (p=0.03) and were less likely to develop at least 10 BCCs and jaw cysts than those with other pathogenic PTCH1 variants (p=0.03). Patients with SUFU pathogenic variants were significantly more likely than those with PTCH1 pathogenic variants to develop a medulloblastoma (p=0.009), a meningioma (p=0.02) or an ovarian fibroma (p=0.015), but were less likely to develop a jaw cyst (p=0.0004). We propose that the clinical heterogeneity of GS can in part be explained by the underlying or SUFU variant. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  13. Novel mutations of RPGR in Chinese retinitis pigmentosa patients and the genotype-phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Yang, Liping; Yin, Xiaobei; Feng, Lina; You, Debo; Wu, Lemeng; Chen, Ningning; Li, Aijun; Li, Genlin; Ma, Zhizhong

    2014-01-01

    X-linked Retinitis Pigmentosa (XLRP) accounts for 10-20% of all RP cases, and represents the most severe subtype of this disease. Mutations in the Retinitis Pigmentosa GTPase Regulator (RPGR) gene are the most common causes of XLRP, accounting for over 70-75% of all XLRP cases. In this work, we analyzed all the exons of RPGR gene with Sanger sequencing in seven Chinese XLRP families, two of these with a provisional diagnosis of adRP but without male-to-male transmission. Three novel deletions (c.2233_34delAG; c.2236_37delGA and c.2403_04delAG) and two known nonsense mutations (c.851C→G and c.2260G→T) were identified in five families. Two novel deletions (c.2233_34delAG and c.2236_37delGA) resulted in the same frame shift (p.E746RfsX22), created similar phenotype in Family 3 and 4. The novel deletion (c.2403_04delAG; p.E802GfsX31) resulted in both XLRP and x-linked cone-rod dystrophy within the male patients of family 5, which suggested the presence of either genetic or environmental modifiers, or both, play a substantial role in disease expression. Genotype-phenotype correlation analysis suggested that (1) both patients and female carriers with mutation in Exon 8 (Family 1) manifest more severe disease than did those with ORF15 mutations (Family 2&3&4); (2) mutation close to downstream of ORF15 (Family 5) demonstrate the early preferential loss of cone function with moderate loss of rod function.

  14. Duffy blood group phenotype-genotype correlations using high-resolution melting analysis PCR and microarray reveal complex cases including a new null FY*A allele: the role for sequencing in genotyping algorithms.

    PubMed

    Lopez, G H; Morrison, J; Condon, J A; Wilson, B; Martin, J R; Liew, Y-W; Flower, R L; Hyland, C A

    2015-10-01

    Duffy blood group phenotypes can be predicted by genotyping for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) responsible for the Fy(a) /Fy(b) polymorphism, for weak Fy(b) antigen, and for the red cell null Fy(a-b-) phenotype. This study correlates Duffy phenotype predictions with serotyping to assess the most reliable procedure for typing. Samples, n = 155 (135 donors and 20 patients), were genotyped by high-resolution melt PCR and by microarray. Samples were in three serology groups: 1) Duffy patterns expected n = 79, 2) weak and equivocal Fy(b) patterns n = 29 and 3) Fy(a-b-) n = 47 (one with anti-Fy3 antibody). Discrepancies were observed for five samples. For two, SNP genotyping predicted weak Fy(b) expression discrepant with Fy(b-) (Group 1 and 3). For three, SNP genotyping predicted Fy(a) , discrepant with Fy(a-b-) (Group 3). DNA sequencing identified silencing mutations in these FY*A alleles. One was a novel FY*A 719delG. One, the sample with the anti-Fy3, was homozygous for a 14-bp deletion (FY*01N.02); a true null. Both the high-resolution melting analysis and SNP microarray assays were concordant and showed genotyping, as well as phenotyping, is essential to ensure 100% accuracy for Duffy blood group assignments. Sequencing is important to resolve phenotype/genotype conflicts which here identified alleles, one novel, that carry silencing mutations. The risk of alloimmunisation may be dependent on this zygosity status. © 2015 International Society of Blood Transfusion.

  15. The genotype-phenotype map of an evolving digital organism.

    PubMed

    Fortuna, Miguel A; Zaman, Luis; Ofria, Charles; Wagner, Andreas

    2017-02-01

    To understand how evolving systems bring forth novel and useful phenotypes, it is essential to understand the relationship between genotypic and phenotypic change. Artificial evolving systems can help us understand whether the genotype-phenotype maps of natural evolving systems are highly unusual, and it may help create evolvable artificial systems. Here we characterize the genotype-phenotype map of digital organisms in Avida, a platform for digital evolution. We consider digital organisms from a vast space of 10141 genotypes (instruction sequences), which can form 512 different phenotypes. These phenotypes are distinguished by different Boolean logic functions they can compute, as well as by the complexity of these functions. We observe several properties with parallels in natural systems, such as connected genotype networks and asymmetric phenotypic transitions. The likely common cause is robustness to genotypic change. We describe an intriguing tension between phenotypic complexity and evolvability that may have implications for biological evolution. On the one hand, genotypic change is more likely to yield novel phenotypes in more complex organisms. On the other hand, the total number of novel phenotypes reachable through genotypic change is highest for organisms with simple phenotypes. Artificial evolving systems can help us study aspects of biological evolvability that are not accessible in vastly more complex natural systems. They can also help identify properties, such as robustness, that are required for both human-designed artificial systems and synthetic biological systems to be evolvable.

  16. The genotype-phenotype map of an evolving digital organism

    PubMed Central

    Zaman, Luis; Wagner, Andreas

    2017-01-01

    To understand how evolving systems bring forth novel and useful phenotypes, it is essential to understand the relationship between genotypic and phenotypic change. Artificial evolving systems can help us understand whether the genotype-phenotype maps of natural evolving systems are highly unusual, and it may help create evolvable artificial systems. Here we characterize the genotype-phenotype map of digital organisms in Avida, a platform for digital evolution. We consider digital organisms from a vast space of 10141 genotypes (instruction sequences), which can form 512 different phenotypes. These phenotypes are distinguished by different Boolean logic functions they can compute, as well as by the complexity of these functions. We observe several properties with parallels in natural systems, such as connected genotype networks and asymmetric phenotypic transitions. The likely common cause is robustness to genotypic change. We describe an intriguing tension between phenotypic complexity and evolvability that may have implications for biological evolution. On the one hand, genotypic change is more likely to yield novel phenotypes in more complex organisms. On the other hand, the total number of novel phenotypes reachable through genotypic change is highest for organisms with simple phenotypes. Artificial evolving systems can help us study aspects of biological evolvability that are not accessible in vastly more complex natural systems. They can also help identify properties, such as robustness, that are required for both human-designed artificial systems and synthetic biological systems to be evolvable. PMID:28241039

  17. Genotype-phenotype correlations of dyshormonogenetic goiter in children and adolescents from South India

    PubMed Central

    Ramesh, Bangaraiah Gari; Bhargav, Panchangam Ramakanth; Rajesh, Bangaraiah Gari; Devi, Nangedda Vimala; Vijayaraghavan, Rajagopalan; Varma, Bhongir Aparna

    2016-01-01

    Background: Dyshormonogenetic goiter is one of the most common causes of hypothyroidism in children and adolescents in iodine nonendemic areas. The exact genotype-phenotypic correlations (GPCs) and risk categorization of hypothyroid phenotypes of dyshormonogenetic mutations are largely speculative. The genetic studies in pediatric dyshormonogenesis are very sparse from Indian sub-continent. In this context, we analyzed the implications of TPO, NIS, and DUOX2 gene mutations in hypothyroid children with dyshormonogenetic hypothyroidism (DH) from South India. Materials and Methods: This is interdisciplinary prospective study, we employed eight sets of primers and screened for 142 known single nucleotide polymorphisms in TPO, NIS, and DUOX2 genes. The subjects were children and adolescents with hypothyroidism due to dyshormonogenetic goiter. Congenital hypothyroidism, iodine deficiency, and Hashimoto's thyroiditis cases were excluded. Results: We detected nine mutations in 8/22 (36%) children. All the mutations were observed in the intronic regions of NIS gene and none in TPO or DUOX2 genes. Except for bi-allelic, synonymous polymorphism of TPO gene in child number 14, all other mutations were heterozygous in nature. GPCs show that our mutations significantly expressed the phenotypic traits such as overt hypothyroidism, goiter, and existence of family history. Other phenotypic characters such as sex predilection, the age of onset and transitory nature of hypothyroidism were not significantly affected by these mutations. Conclusion: NIS gene mutations alone appears to be most prevalent mutations in DH among South Indian children and these mutations significantly influenced phenotypic expressions such as severity of hypothyroidism, goiter rates, and familial clustering. PMID:27867886

  18. Phenotype-Genotype Correlations and Estimated Carrier Frequencies of Primary Hyperoxaluria

    PubMed Central

    Hopp, Katharina; Cogal, Andrea G.; Bergstralh, Eric J.; Seide, Barbara M.; Olson, Julie B.; Meek, Alicia M.; Lieske, John C.; Milliner, Dawn S.

    2015-01-01

    Primary hyperoxaluria (PH) is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by oxalate accumulation in the kidneys and other organs. Three loci have been identified: AGXT (PH1), GRHPR (PH2), and HOGA1 (PH3). Here, we compared genotype to phenotype in 355 patients in the Rare Kidney Stone Consortium PH registry and calculated prevalence using publicly available whole-exome data. PH1 (68.4% of families) was the most severe PH type, whereas PH3 (11.0% of families) showed the slowest decline in renal function but the earliest symptoms. A group of patients with disease progression similar to that of PH3, but for whom no mutation was detected (11.3% of families), suggested further genetic heterogeneity. We confirmed that the AGXT p.G170R mistargeting allele resulted in a milder PH1 phenotype; however, other potential AGXT mistargeting alleles caused more severe (fully penetrant) disease. We identified the first PH3 patient with ESRD; a homozygote for two linked, novel missense mutations. Population analysis suggested that PH is an order of magnitude more common than determined from clinical cohorts (prevalence, approximately 1:58,000; carrier frequency, approximately 1:70). We estimated PH to be approximately three times less prevalent among African Americans than among European Americans because of a limited number of common European origin alleles. PH3 was predicted to be as prevalent as PH1 and twice as common as PH2, indicating that PH3 (and PH2) cases are underdiagnosed and/or incompletely penetrant. These results highlight a role for molecular analyses in PH diagnostics and prognostics and suggest that wider analysis of the idiopathic stone-forming population may be beneficial. PMID:25644115

  19. Phenotype-Genotype Correlations and Estimated Carrier Frequencies of Primary Hyperoxaluria.

    PubMed

    Hopp, Katharina; Cogal, Andrea G; Bergstralh, Eric J; Seide, Barbara M; Olson, Julie B; Meek, Alicia M; Lieske, John C; Milliner, Dawn S; Harris, Peter C

    2015-10-01

    Primary hyperoxaluria (PH) is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by oxalate accumulation in the kidneys and other organs. Three loci have been identified: AGXT (PH1), GRHPR (PH2), and HOGA1 (PH3). Here, we compared genotype to phenotype in 355 patients in the Rare Kidney Stone Consortium PH registry and calculated prevalence using publicly available whole-exome data. PH1 (68.4% of families) was the most severe PH type, whereas PH3 (11.0% of families) showed the slowest decline in renal function but the earliest symptoms. A group of patients with disease progression similar to that of PH3, but for whom no mutation was detected (11.3% of families), suggested further genetic heterogeneity. We confirmed that the AGXT p.G170R mistargeting allele resulted in a milder PH1 phenotype; however, other potential AGXT mistargeting alleles caused more severe (fully penetrant) disease. We identified the first PH3 patient with ESRD; a homozygote for two linked, novel missense mutations. Population analysis suggested that PH is an order of magnitude more common than determined from clinical cohorts (prevalence, approximately 1:58,000; carrier frequency, approximately 1:70). We estimated PH to be approximately three times less prevalent among African Americans than among European Americans because of a limited number of common European origin alleles. PH3 was predicted to be as prevalent as PH1 and twice as common as PH2, indicating that PH3 (and PH2) cases are underdiagnosed and/or incompletely penetrant. These results highlight a role for molecular analyses in PH diagnostics and prognostics and suggest that wider analysis of the idiopathic stone-forming population may be beneficial. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Nephrology.

  20. Whole-Blood Thiopurine S-Methyltransferase Genotype and Phenotype Concordance in Iranian Kurdish Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Patients.

    PubMed

    Bahrehmand, Fariborz; Vaisi-Raygani, Asad; Kiani, Amir; Bashiri, Homayoun; Zobeiri, Mahdi; Tanhapour, Maryam; Pourmotabbed, Tayebeh

    2017-05-01

    Thiopurine methyl transferase (TPMT), a drug-metabolizing enzyme, catalyzes methylation and consequently, the metabolism of thiopurine compounds used for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Individuals who are homozygous recessive or have extremely low TPMT activity need to avoid thiopurines because of concern for significant leukopenia. The aim of this research was to determine TPMT phenotypes and genotypes in IBD patients to predict the risk of thiopurine toxicity before treatment. The present case-control study consisted of 210 ulcerative colitis patients and 212 unrelated healthy controls from the population of western Iran. TPMT phenotype and genotype were determined by HPLC and allele specific PCR and PCR-RFLP, respectively. TPMT phenotyping and genotyping were compatible and demonstrated no frequency for deficient, 2.2% for low, and 97.8% for normal-activity which is different compared with the results of other studies. There was a significant negative correlation between TPMT activities as calculated based on nmol6MTG/gHb/h and the Hb levels in both UC (r = -0.54, p < 0.001) and control groups (r = -0.27, p < 0.001). Interestingly, a significant positive correlation between Hb levels and TPMT activities was seen when the enzyme activity was calculated in mU/L in both UC patients (r = 0.14, p = 0.05) and in control subjects (r = 0.43, p < 0.001). The overall concordance rate between TPMT phenotypes and genotypes of mutants to alleles (9 out of 422), based on receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve, yielded a sensitivity of 94.7% and specificity of 90% for mU/L and a sensitivity of 85.6% and specificity of 90% for nmol6MTG/gHb/h. The use of mU/L is more appropriate than nmol6MTG/gHb/h for expressing TPMT activity, and there is better correlation between genotypes and phenotypes of TPMT based on mU/L. The frequency of known mutant TPMT alleles in western Iran (Kurd population) is low suggesting low risk of thiopurine drug toxicity in IBD

  1. Cone opsins, colour blindness and cone dystrophy: Genotype-phenotype correlations.

    PubMed

    Gardner, J C; Michaelides, M; Hardcastle, A J

    2016-05-25

    X-linked cone photoreceptor disorders caused by mutations in the OPN1LW (L) and OPN1MW (M) cone opsin genes on chromosome Xq28 include a range of conditions from mild stable red-green colour vision deficiencies to severe cone dystrophies causing progressive loss of vision and blindness. Advances in molecular genotyping and functional analyses of causative variants, combined with deep retinal phenotyping, are unravelling genetic mechanisms underlying the variability of cone opsin disorders.

  2. Novel Phenotype-Genotype Correlations of Restrictive Cardiomyopathy With Myosin-Binding Protein C (MYBPC3) Gene Mutations Tested by Next-Generation Sequencing.

    PubMed

    Wu, Wei; Lu, Chao-Xia; Wang, Yi-Ning; Liu, Fang; Chen, Wei; Liu, Yong-Tai; Han, Ye-Chen; Cao, Jian; Zhang, Shu-Yang; Zhang, Xue

    2015-07-10

    MYBPC3 dysfunctions have been proven to induce dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and/or left ventricular noncompaction; however, the genotype-phenotype correlation between MYBPC3 and restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) has not been established. The newly developed next-generation sequencing method is capable of broad genomic DNA sequencing with high throughput and can help explore novel correlations between genetic variants and cardiomyopathies. A proband from a multigenerational family with 3 live patients and 1 unrelated patient with clinical diagnoses of RCM underwent a next-generation sequencing workflow based on a custom AmpliSeq panel, including 64 candidate pathogenic genes for cardiomyopathies, on the Ion Personal Genome Machine high-throughput sequencing benchtop instrument. The selected panel contained a total of 64 genes that were reportedly associated with inherited cardiomyopathies. All patients fulfilled strict criteria for RCM with clinical characteristics, echocardiography, and/or cardiac magnetic resonance findings. The multigenerational family with 3 adult RCM patients carried an identical nonsense MYBPC3 mutation, and the unrelated patient carried a missense mutation in the MYBPC3 gene. All of these results were confirmed by the Sanger sequencing method. This study demonstrated that MYBPC3 gene mutations, revealed by next-generation sequencing, were associated with familial and sporadic RCM patients. It is suggested that the next-generation sequencing platform with a selected panel provides a highly efficient approach for molecular diagnosis of hereditary and idiopathic RCM and helps build new genotype-phenotype correlations. © 2015 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley Blackwell.

  3. Biotinidase deficiency: Genotype-biochemical phenotype association in Brazilian patients

    PubMed Central

    Borsatto, Taciane; Sperb-Ludwig, Fernanda; Lima, Samyra E.; S. Carvalho, Maria R.; S. Fonseca, Pablo A.; S. Camelo, José; M. Ribeiro, Erlane; F. V. de Medeiros, Paula; M. Lourenço, Charles; F. M. de Souza, Carolina; Boy, Raquel; Félix, Têmis M.; M. Bittar, Camila; L. C. Pinto, Louise; C. Neto, Eurico; J. Blom, Henk; D. Schwartz, Ida V.

    2017-01-01

    Introduction The association between the BTD genotype and biochemical phenotype [profound biotinidase deficiency (BD), partial BD or heterozygous activity] is not always consistent. This study aimed to investigate the genotype-biochemical phenotype association in patients with low biotinidase activity. Methods All exons, the 5'UTR and the promoter of the BTD gene were sequenced in 72 Brazilian individuals who exhibited low biotinidase activity. For each patient, the expected biochemical phenotype based on the known genotype was compared with the observed biochemical phenotype. Additional non-genetic factors that could affect the biotinidase activity were also analysed. Results Most individuals were identified by neonatal screening (n = 66/72). When consecutive results for the same patient were compared, age, prematurity and neonatal jaundice appeared to affect the level of biotinidase activity. The biochemical phenotype at the time of the second blood collection changed in 11/22 patients compared to results from the first sample. Three novel variants were found: c.1337T>C (p.L446P), c.1466A>G (p.N489S) and c.962G>A (p.W321*). Some patients with the same genotype presented different biochemical phenotypes. The expected and observed biochemical phenotypes agreed in 68.5% of cases (concordant patients). The non-coding variants c.-183G>A, c.-315A>G and c.-514C>T were present in heterozygosis in 5/17 discordant patients. In addition, c.-183G>A and c.-514C>T were also present in 10/37 concordant patients. Conclusions The variants found in the promoter region do not appear to have a strong impact on biotinidase activity. Since there is a disparity between the BTD genotype and biochemical phenotype, and biotinidase activity may be affected by both genetic and non-genetic factors, we suggest that the diagnosis of BD should be based on more than one measurement of plasma biotinidase activity. DNA analysis can be of additional relevance to differentiate between partial BD and

  4. Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in NF1: Evidence for a More Severe Phenotype Associated with Missense Mutations Affecting NF1 Codons 844-848.

    PubMed

    Koczkowska, Magdalena; Chen, Yunjia; Callens, Tom; Gomes, Alicia; Sharp, Angela; Johnson, Sherrell; Hsiao, Meng-Chang; Chen, Zhenbin; Balasubramanian, Meena; Barnett, Christopher P; Becker, Troy A; Ben-Shachar, Shay; Bertola, Debora R; Blakeley, Jaishri O; Burkitt-Wright, Emma M M; Callaway, Alison; Crenshaw, Melissa; Cunha, Karin S; Cunningham, Mitch; D'Agostino, Maria D; Dahan, Karin; De Luca, Alessandro; Destrée, Anne; Dhamija, Radhika; Eoli, Marica; Evans, D Gareth R; Galvin-Parton, Patricia; George-Abraham, Jaya K; Gripp, Karen W; Guevara-Campos, Jose; Hanchard, Neil A; Hernández-Chico, Concepcion; Immken, LaDonna; Janssens, Sandra; Jones, Kristi J; Keena, Beth A; Kochhar, Aaina; Liebelt, Jan; Martir-Negron, Arelis; Mahoney, Maurice J; Maystadt, Isabelle; McDougall, Carey; McEntagart, Meriel; Mendelsohn, Nancy; Miller, David T; Mortier, Geert; Morton, Jenny; Pappas, John; Plotkin, Scott R; Pond, Dinel; Rosenbaum, Kenneth; Rubin, Karol; Russell, Laura; Rutledge, Lane S; Saletti, Veronica; Schonberg, Rhonda; Schreiber, Allison; Seidel, Meredith; Siqveland, Elizabeth; Stockton, David W; Trevisson, Eva; Ullrich, Nicole J; Upadhyaya, Meena; van Minkelen, Rick; Verhelst, Helene; Wallace, Margaret R; Yap, Yoon-Sim; Zackai, Elaine; Zonana, Jonathan; Zurcher, Vickie; Claes, Kathleen; Martin, Yolanda; Korf, Bruce R; Legius, Eric; Messiaen, Ludwine M

    2018-01-04

    Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a common genetic disorder with a birth incidence of 1:2,000-3,000, is characterized by a highly variable clinical presentation. To date, only two clinically relevant intragenic genotype-phenotype correlations have been reported for NF1 missense mutations affecting p.Arg1809 and a single amino acid deletion p.Met922del. Both variants predispose to a distinct mild NF1 phenotype with neither externally visible cutaneous/plexiform neurofibromas nor other tumors. Here, we report 162 individuals (129 unrelated probands and 33 affected relatives) heterozygous for a constitutional missense mutation affecting one of five neighboring NF1 codons-Leu844, Cys845, Ala846, Leu847, and Gly848-located in the cysteine-serine-rich domain (CSRD). Collectively, these recurrent missense mutations affect ∼0.8% of unrelated NF1 mutation-positive probands in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) cohort. Major superficial plexiform neurofibromas and symptomatic spinal neurofibromas were more prevalent in these individuals compared with classic NF1-affected cohorts (both p < 0.0001). Nearly half of the individuals had symptomatic or asymptomatic optic pathway gliomas and/or skeletal abnormalities. Additionally, variants in this region seem to confer a high predisposition to develop malignancies compared with the general NF1-affected population (p = 0.0061). Our results demonstrate that these NF1 missense mutations, although located outside the GAP-related domain, may be an important risk factor for a severe presentation. A genotype-phenotype correlation at the NF1 region 844-848 exists and will be valuable in the management and genetic counseling of a significant number of individuals. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Tumour risks and genotype-phenotype correlations associated with germline variants in succinate dehydrogenase subunit genes SDHB, SDHC and SDHD.

    PubMed

    Andrews, Katrina A; Ascher, David B; Pires, Douglas Eduardo Valente; Barnes, Daniel R; Vialard, Lindsey; Casey, Ruth T; Bradshaw, Nicola; Adlard, Julian; Aylwin, Simon; Brennan, Paul; Brewer, Carole; Cole, Trevor; Cook, Jackie A; Davidson, Rosemarie; Donaldson, Alan; Fryer, Alan; Greenhalgh, Lynn; Hodgson, Shirley V; Irving, Richard; Lalloo, Fiona; McConachie, Michelle; McConnell, Vivienne P M; Morrison, Patrick J; Murday, Victoria; Park, Soo-Mi; Simpson, Helen L; Snape, Katie; Stewart, Susan; Tomkins, Susan E; Wallis, Yvonne; Izatt, Louise; Goudie, David; Lindsay, Robert S; Perry, Colin G; Woodward, Emma R; Antoniou, Antonis C; Maher, Eamonn R

    2018-06-01

    Germline pathogenic variants in SDHB/SDHC / SDHD are the most frequent causes of inherited phaeochromocytomas/paragangliomas. Insufficient information regarding penetrance and phenotypic variability hinders optimum management of mutation carriers. We estimate penetrance for symptomatic tumours and elucidate genotype-phenotype correlations in a large cohort of SDHB/SDHC / SDHD mutation carriers. A retrospective survey of 1832 individuals referred for genetic testing due to a personal or family history of phaeochromocytoma/paraganglioma. 876 patients (401 previously reported) had a germline mutation in SDHB/SDHC / SDHD (n=673/43/160). Tumour risks were correlated with in silico structural prediction analyses. Tumour risks analysis provided novel penetrance estimates and genotype-phenotype correlations. In addition to tumour type susceptibility differences for individual genes, we confirmed that the SDHD: p.Pro81Leu mutation has a distinct phenotype and identified increased age-related tumour risks with highly destabilising SDHB missense mutations. By Kaplan-Meier analysis, the penetrance (cumulative risk of clinically apparent tumours) in SDHB and (paternally inherited) SDHD mutation-positive non-probands (n=371/67 with detailed clinical information) by age 60 years was 21.8% (95% CI 15.2% to 27.9%) and 43.2% (95% CI 25.4% to 56.7%), respectively. Risk of malignant disease at age 60 years in non-proband SDHB mutation carriers was 4.2%(95% CI 1.1% to 7.2%). With retrospective cohort analysis to adjust for ascertainment, cumulative tumour risks for SDHB mutation carriers at ages 60 years and 80 years were 23.9% (95% CI 20.9% to 27.4%) and 30.6% (95% CI 26.8% to 34.7%). Overall risks of clinically apparent tumours for SDHB mutation carriers are substantially lower than initially estimated and will improve counselling of affected families. Specific genotype-tumour risk associations provides a basis for novel investigative strategies into succinate dehydrogenase

  6. Diagnostic Challenges in Retinitis Pigmentosa: Genotypic Multiplicity and Phenotypic Variability

    PubMed Central

    Chang, Susie; Vaccarella, Leah; Olatunji, Sunday; Cebulla, Colleen; Christoforidis, John

    2011-01-01

    Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a heterogeneous group of inherited retinal disorders. Diagnosis can be challenging as more than 40 genes are known to cause non-syndromic RP and phenotypic expression can differ significantly resulting in variations in disease severity, age of onset, rate of progression, and clinical findings. We describe the clinical manifestations of RP, the more commonly known causative gene mutations, and the genotypic-phenotypic correlation of RP. PMID:22131872

  7. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Becker Muscular Dystrophy Confirmed by Multiplex Ligation-Dependent Probe Amplification: Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in a Large Cohort.

    PubMed

    Vengalil, Seena; Preethish-Kumar, Veeramani; Polavarapu, Kiran; Mahadevappa, Manjunath; Sekar, Deepha; Purushottam, Meera; Thomas, Priya Treesa; Nashi, Saraswathi; Nalini, Atchayaram

    2017-01-01

    Studies of cases of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) confirmed by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) have determined the clinical characteristics, genotype, and relations between the reading frame and phenotype for different countries. This is the first such study from India. A retrospective genotype-phenotype analysis of 317 MLPA-confirmed patients with DMD or BMD who visited the neuromuscular clinic of a quaternary referral center in southern India. The 317 patients comprised 279 cases of DMD (88%), 32 of BMD (10.1%), and 6 of intermediate phenotype (1.9%). Deletions accounted for 91.8% of cases, with duplications causing the remaining 8.2%. There were 254 cases of DMD (91%) with deletions and 25 (9%) due to duplications, and 31 cases (96.8%) of BMD with deletions and 1 (3.2%) due to duplication. All six cases of intermediate type were due to deletions. The most-common mutation was a single-exon deletion. Deletions of six or fewer exons constituted 68.8% of cases. The deletion of exon 50 was the most common. The reading-frame rule held in 90% of DMD and 94% of BMD cases. A tendency toward a lower IQ and earlier wheelchair dependence was observed with distal exon deletions, though a significant correlation was not found. The reading-frame rule held in 90% to 94% of children, which is consistent with reports from other parts of the world. However, testing by MLPA is a limitation, and advanced sequencing methods including analysis of the structure of mutant dystrophin is needed for more-accurate assessments of the genotype-phenotype correlation.

  8. To Genotype or Phenotype for Personalized Medicine? CYP450 Drug Metabolizing Enzyme Genotype-Phenotype Concordance and Discordance in the Ecuadorian Population.

    PubMed

    De Andrés, Fernando; Terán, Santiago; Hernández, Francisco; Terán, Enrique; LLerena, Adrián

    2016-12-01

    Genetic variations within the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) superfamily of drug metabolizing enzymes confer substantial person-to-person and between-population differences in pharmacokinetics, and by extension, highly variable clinical effects of medicines. In this context, "personalized medicine," "precision medicine," and "stratified medicine" are related concepts attributed to what is essentially targeted therapeutics and companion diagnostics, aimed at improving safety and effectiveness of health interventions. We report here, to the best of our knowledge, the first comparative clinical pharmacogenomics study, in an Ecuadorian population sample, of five key CYP450s involved in drug metabolism: CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4. In 139 unrelated, medication-free, and healthy Ecuadorian subjects, we measured the phenotypic activity of these drug metabolism pathways using the CEIBA multiplexed phenotyping cocktail. The subjects were genotyped for each CYP450 enzyme gene as well. Notably, based on the CYP450 metabolic phenotypes estimated by the genotype data, 0.75% and 3.10% of the subjects were genotypic poor metabolizers (gPMs) for CYP2C19 and CYP2D6, respectively. Additionally, on the other extreme, genotype-estimated ultrarapid metabolizer (gUMs) phenotype was represented by 15.79% of CYP2C19, and 5.43% of CYP2D6. There was, however, considerable discordance between directly measured phenotypes (mPMs and mUMs) and the above genotype-estimated enzyme phenotypes. For example, among individuals genotypically carrying enhanced activity alleles (gUMs), many showed a lower actual drug metabolism capacity than expected by their genotypes, even lower than individuals with reduced or no activity alleles. In conclusion, for personalized medicine in the Ecuadorian population, we recommend CYP450 multiplexed phenotyping, or genotyping and phenotyping in tandem, rather than CYP450 genotypic tests alone. Additionally, we recommend, in consideration of equity, ethical

  9. Monogenic Autoinflammatory Diseases with Mendelian Inheritance: Genes, Mutations, and Genotype/Phenotype Correlations

    PubMed Central

    Martorana, Davide; Bonatti, Francesco; Mozzoni, Paola; Vaglio, Augusto; Percesepe, Antonio

    2017-01-01

    Autoinflammatory diseases (AIDs) are a genetically heterogeneous group of diseases caused by mutations of genes encoding proteins, which play a pivotal role in the regulation of the inflammatory response. In the pathogenesis of AIDs, the role of the genetic background is triggered by environmental factors through the modulation of the innate immune system. Monogenic AIDs are characterized by Mendelian inheritance and are caused by highly penetrant genetic variants in single genes. During the last years, remarkable progress has been made in the identification of disease-associated genes by using new technologies, such as next-generation sequencing, which has allowed the genetic characterization in undiagnosed patients and in sporadic cases by means of targeted resequencing of a gene panel and whole exome sequencing. In this review, we delineate the genetics of the monogenic AIDs, report the role of the most common gene mutations, and describe the evidences of the most sound genotype/phenotype correlations in AID. PMID:28421071

  10. Identification of mutations, genotype-phenotype correlation and prenatal diagnosis of maple syrup urine disease in Indian patients.

    PubMed

    Gupta, Deepti; Bijarnia-Mahay, Sunita; Saxena, Renu; Kohli, Sudha; Dua-Puri, Ratna; Verma, Jyotsna; Thomas, E; Shigematsu, Yosuke; Yamaguchi, Seiji; Deb, Roumi; Verma, Ishwar Chander

    2015-09-01

    Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is caused by mutations in genes BCKDHA, BCKDHB, DBT encoding E1α, E1β, and E2 subunits of enzyme complex, branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase (BCKDH). BCKDH participates in catabolism of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) - leucine, isoleucine and valine in the energy production pathway. Deficiency or defect in the enzyme complex causes accumulation of BCAAs and keto-acids leading to toxicity. Twenty-four patients with MSUD were enrolled in the study for molecular characterization and genotype-phenotype correlation. Molecular studies were carried out by sequencing of the 3 genes by Sanger method. Bioinformatics tools were employed to classify novel variations into pathogenic or benign. The predicted effects of novel changes on protein structure were elucidated by 3D modeling. Mutations were detected in 22 of 24 patients (11, 7 and 4 in BCKDHB, BCKDHA and DBT genes, respectively). Twenty mutations including 11 novel mutations were identified. Protein modeling in novel mutations showed alteration of structure and function of these subunits. Mutations, c.1065 delT (BCKDHB gene) and c.939G > C (DBT gene) were noted to be recurrent, identified in 6 of 22 alleles and 5 of 8 alleles, respectively. Two-third patients were of neonatal classical phenotype (16 of 24). BCKDHB gene mutations were present in 10 of these 16 patients. Prenatal diagnoses were performed in 4 families. Consanguinity was noted in 37.5% families. Although no obvious genotype-phenotype correlation could be found in our study, most cases with mutation in BCKDHB gene presented in neonatal period. Large number of novel mutations underlines the heterogeneity and distinctness of gene pool from India. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  11. Tag-mediated cooperation with non-deterministic genotype-phenotype mapping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Hong; Chen, Shu

    2016-01-01

    Tag-mediated cooperation provides a helpful framework for resolving evolutionary social dilemmas. However, most of the previous studies have not taken into account genotype-phenotype distinction in tags, which may play an important role in the process of evolution. To take this into consideration, we introduce non-deterministic genotype-phenotype mapping into a tag-based model with spatial prisoner's dilemma. By our definition, the similarity between genotypic tags does not directly imply the similarity between phenotypic tags. We find that the non-deterministic mapping from genotypic tag to phenotypic tag has non-trivial effects on tag-mediated cooperation. Although we observe that high levels of cooperation can be established under a wide variety of conditions especially when the decisiveness is moderate, the uncertainty in the determination of phenotypic tags may have a detrimental effect on the tag mechanism by disturbing the homophilic interaction structure which can explain the promotion of cooperation in tag systems. Furthermore, the non-deterministic mapping may undermine the robustness of the tag mechanism with respect to various factors such as the structure of the tag space and the tag flexibility. This observation warns us about the danger of applying the classical tag-based models to the analysis of empirical phenomena if genotype-phenotype distinction is significant in real world. Non-deterministic genotype-phenotype mapping thus provides a new perspective to the understanding of tag-mediated cooperation.

  12. [NOD2 gene mutation in Moroccan patients with Crohn's disease: prevalence, genotypic study and correlation of NOD2 gene mutation with the phenotype of Crohn's disease].

    PubMed

    Tamzaourte, Mouna; Errabih, Ikram; Krami, Hayat; Maha, Fadlouallah; Maria, Lahmiri; Benzzoubeir, Nadia; Ouazzani, Laaziza; Sefiani, Ahmed; Ouazzani, Houria

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of NOD2/CARD15 gene mutations in a group of Moroccan patients with Crohn's disease and to study its correlation with genotype-phenotypic expression. We conducted a cross-sectional case-control study over a period of 16 months. 101 patients with Crohn's disease were enrolled between January 2012 and April 2013 as well as a control group of 107 patients. We performed a genetic analysis to identify 3 NOD2 gene variants: p.Arg702Trp, p.Gly908Arg and p.Leu1007fsins. Then we conducted a study of the correlation between genotype and phenotypic expression. The genetic analysis of patients with Crohn's disease highlighted the presence of NOD2 mutation in 14 patients (13.77%) versus 7 patients (6.53%) in the control group. The study of the frequency of different alleles showed p.Gly908Arg mutation in 6.43%, p.Leu1007fsins in 0.99% and p.Arg702Trp in 0.49% versus 2.80%, 0% and 0.46% in the control group respectively. The study of the correlation between genotype and phenotypic expression showed that CARD15 mutation is associated with ileocecal Crohn's disease, with fistulizing and stenosing behavior in Crohn's disease as well as with severe evolution and frequent recourse to surgery and immunosuppressants. The prevalence of NOD2/ CARD15 mutation in our case series is low. This mutation is correlated with severe Crohn's disease.

  13. Ambient temperature and genotype differentially affect developmental and phenotypic plasticity in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    PubMed

    Ibañez, Carla; Poeschl, Yvonne; Peterson, Tom; Bellstädt, Julia; Denk, Kathrin; Gogol-Döring, Andreas; Quint, Marcel; Delker, Carolin

    2017-07-06

    Global increase in ambient temperatures constitute a significant challenge to wild and cultivated plant species. Forward genetic analyses of individual temperature-responsive traits have resulted in the identification of several signaling and response components. However, a comprehensive knowledge about temperature sensitivity of different developmental stages and the contribution of natural variation is still scarce and fragmented at best. Here, we systematically analyze thermomorphogenesis throughout a complete life cycle in ten natural Arabidopsis thaliana accessions grown under long day conditions in four different temperatures ranging from 16 to 28 °C. We used Q 10 , GxE, phenotypic divergence and correlation analyses to assess temperature sensitivity and genotype effects of more than 30 morphometric and developmental traits representing five phenotype classes. We found that genotype and temperature differentially affected plant growth and development with variing strengths. Furthermore, overall correlations among phenotypic temperature responses was relatively low which seems to be caused by differential capacities for temperature adaptations of individual accessions. Genotype-specific temperature responses may be attractive targets for future forward genetic approaches and accession-specific thermomorphogenesis maps may aid the assessment of functional relevance of known and novel regulatory components.

  14. Phenotypes in defined genotypes including siblings with Usher syndrome.

    PubMed

    Malm, Eva; Ponjavic, Vesna; Möller, Claes; Kimberling, William J; Andréasson, Sten

    2011-06-01

    To characterize visual function in defined genotypes including siblings with Usher syndrome. Thirteen patients with phenotypically different subtypes of Usher syndrome, including 3 families with affected siblings, were selected. Genetic analysis and ophthalmological examinations including visual fields, full-field electroretinography (ERG), multifocal electroretinography (mf ERG), and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were assessed. The patients' degree of visual handicap was evaluated by a questionnaire (ADL). Twelve of thirteen patients were genotyped as Usher 1B, 1D, 1F, 2A, 2C or 3A. In 12 of 13 patients examined with ERG the 30 Hz flickering light response revealed remaining cone function. In 3 of the patients with Usher type 1 mf ERG demonstrated a specific pattern, with a sharp distinction between the area with reduced function and the central area with remaining macular function and normal peak time. OCT demonstrated loss of foveal depression with distortion of the foveal architecture in the macula in all patients. The foveal thickness ranged from 159 to 384 µm and was not correlated to retinal function. Three siblings shared the same mutation for Usher 2C but in contrast to previous reports regarding this genotype, 1 of them diverged in phenotype with substantially normal visual fields, almost normal OCT and mf ERG findings, and only moderately reduced rod and cone function according to ERG. Evaluation of visual function comprising both the severity of the rod cone degeneration and the function in the macular region confirm phenotypical heterogeneity within siblings and between different genotypes of Usher syndrome.

  15. Phenotype and genotype in 17 patients with Goltz-Gorlin syndrome.

    PubMed

    Maas, S M; Lombardi, M P; van Essen, A J; Wakeling, E L; Castle, B; Temple, I K; Kumar, V K A; Writzl, K; Hennekam, Raoul C M

    2009-10-01

    Goltz-Gorlin syndrome or focal dermal hypoplasia is a highly variable, X-linked dominant syndrome with abnormalities of ectodermal and mesodermal origin. In 2007, mutations in the PORCN gene were found to be causative in Goltz-Gorlin syndrome. A series of 17 patients with Goltz-Gorlin syndrome is reported on, and their phenotype and genotype are described. In 14 patients (13 females and one male), a PORCN mutation was found. Mutations included nonsense (n = 5), frameshift (n = 2), aberrant splicing (n = 2) and missense (n = 5) mutations. No genotype-phenotype correlation was found. All patients with the classical features of the syndrome had a detectable mutation. In three females with atypical signs, no mutation was found. The male patient had classical features and showed mosaicism for a PORCN nonsense mutation in fibroblasts. Two affected sisters had a mutation not detectable in their parents, supporting germline mosaicism. Their father had undergone radiation for testicular cancer in the past. Two classically affected females had three severely affected female fetuses which all had midline thoracic and abdominal wall defects, resembling the pentalogy of Cantrell and the limb-body wall complex. Thoracic and abdominal wall defects were also present in two surviving patients. PORCN mutations can possibly cause pentalogy of Cantrell and limb-body wall complexes as well. Therefore, particularly in cases with limb defects, it seems useful to search for these. PORCN mutations can be found in all classically affected cases of Goltz-Gorlin syndrome, including males. Somatic and germline mosaicism occur. There is no evident genotype-phenotype correlation.

  16. Evaluation of Lactococcus lactis Isolates from Nondairy Sources with Potential Dairy Applications Reveals Extensive Phenotype-Genotype Disparity and Implications for a Revised Species

    PubMed Central

    Cavanagh, Daniel; Casey, Aidan; Altermann, Eric; Cotter, Paul D.; Fitzgerald, Gerald F.

    2015-01-01

    Lactococcus lactis is predominantly associated with dairy fermentations, but evidence suggests that the domesticated organism originated from a plant niche. L. lactis possesses an unusual taxonomic structure whereby strain phenotypes and genotypes often do not correlate, which in turn has led to confusion in L. lactis classification. A bank of L. lactis strains was isolated from various nondairy niches (grass, vegetables, and bovine rumen) and was further characterized on the basis of key technological traits, including growth in milk and key enzyme activities. Phenotypic analysis revealed all strains from nondairy sources to possess an L. lactis subsp. lactis phenotype (lactis phenotype); however, seven of these strains possessed an L. lactis subsp. cremoris genotype (cremoris genotype), determined by two separate PCR assays. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) showed that strains with lactis and cremoris genotypes clustered together regardless of habitat, but it highlighted the increased diversity that exists among “wild” strains. Calculation of average nucleotide identity (ANI) and tetranucleotide frequency correlation coefficients (TETRA), using the JSpecies software tool, revealed that L. lactis subsp. cremoris and L. lactis subsp. lactis differ in ANI values by ∼14%, below the threshold set for species circumscription. Further analysis of strain TIFN3 and strains from nonindustrial backgrounds revealed TETRA values of <0.99 in addition to ANI values of <95%, implicating that these two groups are separate species. These findings suggest the requirement for a revision of L. lactis taxonomy. PMID:25841018

  17. Hb Adana (HBA2 or HBA1: c.179G > A) and alpha thalassemia: Genotype-phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Singh, Sharon A; Sarangi, Susmita; Appiah-Kubi, Abena; Hsu, Peihong; Smith, W Byron; Gallagher, Patrick G; Glader, Bertil; Chui, David H K

    2018-05-11

    Alpha thalassemia due to nondeletional mutations usually leads to more severe disease than that caused by deletional mutations. Devastating outcomes such as hydrops fetalis can occur with two nondeletional mutations, therefore warranting DNA-based workup for suspected carriers with subtle hematological abnormalities for family counseling purposes. We describe three cases with hemoglobin (Hb) Adana, a nondeletional alpha chain mutation, compounded with an alpha globin gene deletion resulting in thalassemia intermedia. We review the literature, draw genotype-phenotype correlations from published cases of Hb Adana, and propose that this correlation can be used by clinicians to help direct diagnostic studies and urge hematologists to thoroughly workup high-risk patients. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Factor VII deficiency: a novel missense variant and genotype-phenotype correlation in patients from Southern Italy.

    PubMed

    Tiscia, Giovanni; Favuzzi, Giovanni; Chinni, Elena; Colaizzo, Donatella; Fischetti, Lucia; Intrieri, Mariano; Margaglione, Maurizio; Grandone, Elvira

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed at attempting to correlate genotype and phenotype in factor VII deficiency. Here, we present molecular and clinical findings of 10 patients with factor VII deficiency. From 2013 to 2016, 10 subjects were referred to our center because of a prolonged prothrombin time identified during routine or presurgery examinations or after a laboratory assessment of a bleeding episode. Mutation characterization was performed using the bioinformatics applications PROMO, SIFT, and Polyphen-2. Structural changes in the factor VII protein were analyzed using the SPDB viewer tool. Of the 10 variants we identified, 1 was responsible for a novel missense change (c.1199G>C, p.Cys400Ser); in 2 cases we identified the c.-54G>A and c.509G>A (p.Arg170His) polymorphic variants in the 5'-upstream region of the factor VII gene and exon 6, respectively. To our knowledge, neither of these polymorphic variants has been described previously in factor VII-deficient patients. In silico predictions showed differences in binding sites for transcription factors caused by the c.-54G>A variant and a probable damaging effect of the p.Cys400Ser missense change on factor VII active conformation, leading to breaking of the Cys400-Cys428 disulfide bridge. Our findings further suggest that, independently of factor VII levels and of variants potentially affecting factor VII levels, environmental factors, e.g., trauma, could heavily influence the clinical phenotype of factor VII-deficient patients.

  19. The division of labor: genotypic versus phenotypic specialization.

    PubMed

    Wahl, L M

    2002-07-01

    A model of the division of labor in simple evolving systems is explored to compare two strategies evident in natural populations: phenotypic specialization (such as differentiation by regulated gene expression) and genotypic specialization (such as co-infection by complementary covirus populations). While genotypic specialization is vulnerable to the chance extinction of an essential specialist type and to parasitism, phenotypic specialization is able to overcome these hurdles. When simple spatial effects are included, phenotypic specialization has further benefits, protecting against destructive dynamic patterns. Many of the advantages of phenotypic specialization, however, can only be realized when a high degree of relatedness within groups is ensured.

  20. Phenotype/genotype correlation in a case series of Stargardt's patients identifies novel mutations in the ABCA4 gene.

    PubMed

    Gemenetzi, M; Lotery, A J

    2013-11-01

    To investigate phenotypic variability in terms of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in patients with Stargardt disease (STGD) and confirmed ABCA4 mutations. Entire coding region analysis of the ABCA4 gene by direct sequencing of seven patients with clinical findings of STGD seen in the Retina Clinics of Southampton Eye Unit between 2002 and 2011.Phenotypic variables recorded were BCVA, fluorescein angiographic appearance, electrophysiology, and visual fields. All patients had heterozygous amino acid-changing variants (missense mutations) in the ABCA4 gene. A splice sequence change was found in a 30-year-old patient with severly affected vision. Two novel sequence changes were identified: a missense mutation in a mildly affected 44-year-old patient and a frameshift mutation in a severly affected 34-year-old patient. The identified ABCA4 mutations were compatible with the resulting phenotypes in terms of BCVA. Higher BCVAs were recorded in patients with missense mutations. Sequence changes, predicted to have more deleterious effect on protein function, resulted in a more severe phenotype. This case series of STGD patients demonstrates novel genotype/phenotype correlations, which may be useful to counselling of patients. This information may prove useful in selection of candidates for clinical trials in ABCA4 disease.

  1. PURA syndrome: clinical delineation and genotype-phenotype study in 32 individuals with review of published literature

    PubMed Central

    Reijnders, Margot R F; Janowski, Robert; Alvi, Mohsan; Self, Jay E; van Essen, Ton J; Vreeburg, Maaike; Rouhl, Rob P W; Stevens, Servi J C; Stegmann, Alexander P A; Schieving, Jolanda; Pfundt, Rolph; van Dijk, Katinke; Smeets, Eric; Stumpel, Connie T R M; Bok, Levinus A; Cobben, Jan Maarten; Engelen, Marc; Mansour, Sahar; Whiteford, Margo; Chandler, Kate E; Douzgou, Sofia; Cooper, Nicola S; Tan, Ene-Choo; Foo, Roger; Lai, Angeline H M; Rankin, Julia; Green, Andrew; Lönnqvist, Tuula; Isohanni, Pirjo; Williams, Shelley; Ruhoy, Ilene; Carvalho, Karen S; Dowling, James J; Lev, Dorit L; Sterbova, Katalin; Lassuthova, Petra; Neupauerová, Jana; Waugh, Jeff L; Keros, Sotirios; Clayton-Smith, Jill; Smithson, Sarah F; Brunner, Han G; van Hoeckel, Ceciel; Anderson, Mel; Clowes, Virginia E; Siu, Victoria Mok; DDD study, The; Selber, Paulo; Leventer, Richard J; Nellaker, Christoffer; Niessing, Dierk; Hunt, David; Baralle, Diana

    2018-01-01

    Background De novo mutations in PURA have recently been described to cause PURA syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by severe intellectual disability (ID), epilepsy, feeding difficulties and neonatal hypotonia. Objectives To delineate the clinical spectrum of PURA syndrome and study genotype-phenotype correlations. Methods Diagnostic or research-based exome or Sanger sequencing was performed in individuals with ID. We systematically collected clinical and mutation data on newly ascertained PURA syndrome individuals, evaluated data of previously reported individuals and performed a computational analysis of photographs. We classified mutations based on predicted effect using 3D in silico models of crystal structures of Drosophila-derived Pur-alpha homologues. Finally, we explored genotype-phenotype correlations by analysis of both recurrent mutations as well as mutation classes. Results We report mutations in PURA (purine-rich element binding protein A) in 32 individuals, the largest cohort described so far. Evaluation of clinical data, including 22 previously published cases, revealed that all have moderate to severe ID and neonatal-onset symptoms, including hypotonia (96%), respiratory problems (57%), feeding difficulties (77%), exaggerated startle response (44%), hypersomnolence (66%) and hypothermia (35%). Epilepsy (54%) and gastrointestinal (69%), ophthalmological (51%) and endocrine problems (42%) were observed frequently. Computational analysis of facial photographs showed subtle facial dysmorphism. No strong genotype-phenotype correlation was identified by subgrouping mutations into functional classes. Conclusion We delineate the clinical spectrum of PURA syndrome with the identification of 32 additional individuals. The identification of one individual through targeted Sanger sequencing points towards the clinical recognisability of the syndrome. Genotype-phenotype analysis showed no significant correlation between mutation classes and

  2. Phenotype and genotype in 101 males with X-linked creatine transporter deficiency.

    PubMed

    van de Kamp, J M; Betsalel, O T; Mercimek-Mahmutoglu, S; Abulhoul, L; Grünewald, S; Anselm, I; Azzouz, H; Bratkovic, D; de Brouwer, A; Hamel, B; Kleefstra, T; Yntema, H; Campistol, J; Vilaseca, M A; Cheillan, D; D'Hooghe, M; Diogo, L; Garcia, P; Valongo, C; Fonseca, M; Frints, S; Wilcken, B; von der Haar, S; Meijers-Heijboer, H E; Hofstede, F; Johnson, D; Kant, S G; Lion-Francois, L; Pitelet, G; Longo, N; Maat-Kievit, J A; Monteiro, J P; Munnich, A; Muntau, A C; Nassogne, M C; Osaka, H; Ounap, K; Pinard, J M; Quijano-Roy, S; Poggenburg, I; Poplawski, N; Abdul-Rahman, O; Ribes, A; Arias, A; Yaplito-Lee, J; Schulze, A; Schwartz, C E; Schwenger, S; Soares, G; Sznajer, Y; Valayannopoulos, V; Van Esch, H; Waltz, S; Wamelink, M M C; Pouwels, P J W; Errami, A; van der Knaap, M S; Jakobs, C; Mancini, G M; Salomons, G S

    2013-07-01

    Creatine transporter deficiency is a monogenic cause of X-linked intellectual disability. Since its first description in 2001 several case reports have been published but an overview of phenotype, genotype and phenotype--genotype correlation has been lacking. We performed a retrospective study of clinical, biochemical and molecular genetic data of 101 males with X-linked creatine transporter deficiency from 85 families with a pathogenic mutation in the creatine transporter gene (SLC6A8). Most patients developed moderate to severe intellectual disability; mild intellectual disability was rare in adult patients. Speech language development was especially delayed but almost a third of the patients were able to speak in sentences. Besides behavioural problems and seizures, mild to moderate motor dysfunction, including extrapyramidal movement abnormalities, and gastrointestinal problems were frequent clinical features. Urinary creatine to creatinine ratio proved to be a reliable screening method besides MR spectroscopy, molecular genetic testing and creatine uptake studies, allowing definition of diagnostic guidelines. A third of patients had a de novo mutation in the SLC6A8 gene. Mothers with an affected son with a de novo mutation should be counselled about a recurrence risk in further pregnancies due to the possibility of low level somatic or germline mosaicism. Missense mutations with residual activity might be associated with a milder phenotype and large deletions extending beyond the 3' end of the SLC6A8 gene with a more severe phenotype. Evaluation of the biochemical phenotype revealed unexpected high creatine levels in cerebrospinal fluid suggesting that the brain is able to synthesise creatine and that the cerebral creatine deficiency is caused by a defect in the reuptake of creatine within the neurones.

  3. Genotype-Phenotype Relationship in Patients and Relatives with SHOX Region Anomalies in the French Population.

    PubMed

    Auger, Julie; Baptiste, Amandine; Benabbad, Imane; Thierry, Gaëlle; Costa, Jean-Marc; Amouyal, Mélanie; Kottler, Marie-Laure; Leheup, Bruno; Touraine, Renaud; Schmitt, Sébastien; Lebrun, Marine; Cormier Daire, Valérie; Bonnefont, Jean-Paul; de Roux, Nicolas; Elie, Caroline; Rosilio, Myriam

    2016-01-01

    The aim of our study was to describe a large population with anomalies involving the SHOX region, responsible for idiopathic short stature and Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD), and to identify a possible genotype/phenotype correlation. We performed a retrospective multicenter study on French subjects with a SHOX region anomaly diagnosed by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification or Sanger sequencing. Phenotypes were collected in each of the 7 genetic laboratories practicing this technique for SHOX analysis. Among 205 index cases and 100 related cases, 91.3% had LWD. For index cases, median age at evaluation was 11.7 (9.0; 15.9) years and mean height standard deviation score was -2.3 ± 1.1. A deletion of either SHOX or PAR1 or both was found in 74% of patients. Duplications and point mutations/indels affected 8 and 18% of the population, respectively. Genotype-phenotype correlation showed that deletions were more frequently associated with Madelung deformity and mesomelic shortening in girls, as well as with presence of radiologic anomalies, than duplications. Our results highlight genotype-phenotype relationships in the French population with a SHOX defect and provide new information showing that clinical expression is milder in cases of duplication compared to deletions. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  4. Genotype-phenotype associations in obesity dependent on definition of the obesity phenotype.

    PubMed

    Kring, Sofia Inez Iqbal; Larsen, Lesli Hingstrup; Holst, Claus; Toubro, Søren; Hansen, Torben; Astrup, Arne; Pedersen, Oluf; Sørensen, Thorkild I A

    2008-01-01

    In previous studies of associations of variants in the genes UCP2, UCP3, PPARG2, CART, GRL, MC4R, MKKS, SHP, GHRL, and MCHR1 with obesity, we have used a case-control approach with cases defined by a threshold for BMI. In the present study, we assess the association of seven abdominal, peripheral, and overall obesity phenotypes, which were analyzed quantitatively, and thirteen candidate gene polymorphisms in these ten genes in the same cohort. Obese Caucasian men (n = 234, BMI >or= 31.0 kg/m(2)) and a randomly sampled non-obese group (n = 323), originally identified at the draft board examinations, were re-examined at median ages of 47.0 or 49.0 years by anthropometry and DEXA scanning. Obesity phenotypes included BMI, fat body mass index, waist circumference, waist for given BMI, intra-abdominal adipose tissue, hip circumference and lower body fat mass (%). Using logistic regression models, we estimated the odds for defined genotypes (dominant or recessive genetic transmission) in relation to z-scores of the phenotypes. The minor (rare) allele for SHP 512G>C (rs6659176) was associated with increased hip circumference. The minor allele for UCP2 Ins45bp was associated with increased BMI, increased abdominal obesity, and increased hip circumference. The minor allele for UCP2 -866G>A (rs6593669) was associated with borderline increased fat body mass index. The minor allele for MCHR1 100213G>A (rs133072) was associated with reduced abdominal obesity. None of the other genotype-phenotype combinations showed appreciable associations. If replicated in independent studies with focus on the specific phenotypes, our explorative studies suggest significant associations between some candidate gene polymorphisms and distinct obesity phenotypes, predicting beneficial and detrimental effects, depending on compartments for body fat accumulation. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  5. Cookie-Ases: Interactive Models for Teaching Genotype-Phenotype Relationships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seipelt, Rebecca L.

    2006-01-01

    Several hands-on and wet laboratory activities have been proposed to model the genetic concepts of genotypes and phenotypes and their relationship. The exercise presented in this article is a novel, time effective, student-centered, role-playing activity in which students learn about the intricate connection between genotype and phenotype by…

  6. The Monarch Initiative: an integrative data and analytic platform connecting phenotypes to genotypes across species

    DOE PAGES

    Mungall, Christopher J.; McMurry, Julie A.; Köhler, Sebastian; ...

    2016-11-29

    The correlation of phenotypic outcomes with genetic variation and environmental factors is a core pursuit in biology and biomedicine. Numerous challenges impede our progress: patient phenotypes may not match known diseases, candidate variants may be in genes that have not been characterized, model organisms may not recapitulate human or veterinary diseases, filling evolutionary gaps is difficult, and many resources must be queried to find potentially significant genotype-phenotype associations. Nonhuman organisms have proven instrumental in revealing biological mechanisms. Advanced informatics tools can identify phenotypically relevant disease models in research and diagnostic contexts. Large-scale integration of model organism and clinical research datamore » can provide a breadth of knowledge not available from individual sources and can provide contextualization of data back to these sources. The Monarch Initiative (monarchinitiative.org) is a collaborative, open science effort that aims to semantically integrate genotype-phenotype data from many species and sources in order to support precision medicine, disease modeling, and mechanistic exploration. Our integrated knowledge graph, analytic tools, and web services enable diverse users to explore relationships between phenotypes and genotypes across species.« less

  7. Gaucher disease: Pseudoreversion of a disease mutation`s effects--implications for structure/function and genotype/phenotype correlations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ponce, E.; Mear, J; Grabowski, G.A.

    1994-09-01

    Numerous mutations ({approximately}45) of the acid {beta}-glucosidase gene have been identified in patients with Gaucher disease. Many of these have been characterized by partial sequencing of cDNAs derived by RT-PCR or PCR of genomic DNA. In addition, genotype/phenotype correlations have been based on screening for known mutations. Thus, only a part of the gene is characterized in any population of affected patients. Several Gaucher disease alleles contain multiple, authentic point mutations that raises concern about conclusions based on only partial genetic characterization. Several wild-type cDNAs for acid {beta}-glucosidase have been sequenced. One contained a cloning artifact encoding R495H. We expressedmore » this cDNA and showed that the R495H enzyme had normal kinetic and stability properties. A disease-associated allele encoding R496H has been found by several groups. The close association and similarities of these two substitutions led us to question the disease casuality of the R496H allele. To evaluate this, we created and/or expressed cDNAs encoding R495, R496 (wild-type), (R495H, R496), (R495, R496H) and (R495H, R496H). The (wild-type) and (R495H, R496) enzymes had indistinguishable properties whereas the (R495, R496H) enzyme was essentially inactive. The introduction of both mutations (R495H, R496H) produced an enzyme whose activity was 25 to 50% of the wild-type. These results indicate that a pseudoreversion to a functional enzyme can occur by introducing a functionally neutral mutation together with a severe mutation. These results have major implications to structure/function and genotype/phenotype correlations in this disease.« less

  8. Evaluating the quality of Marfan genotype-phenotype correlations in existing FBN1 databases.

    PubMed

    Groth, Kristian A; Von Kodolitsch, Yskert; Kutsche, Kerstin; Gaustadnes, Mette; Thorsen, Kasper; Andersen, Niels H; Gravholt, Claus H

    2017-07-01

    Genetic FBN1 testing is pivotal for confirming the clinical diagnosis of Marfan syndrome. In an effort to evaluate variant causality, FBN1 databases are often used. We evaluated the current databases regarding FBN1 variants and validated associated phenotype records with a new Marfan syndrome geno-phenotyping tool called the Marfan score. We evaluated four databases (UMD-FBN1, ClinVar, the Human Gene Mutation Database (HGMD), and Uniprot) containing 2,250 FBN1 variants supported by 4,904 records presented in 307 references. The Marfan score calculated for phenotype data from the records quantified variant associations with Marfan syndrome phenotype. We calculated a Marfan score for 1,283 variants, of which we confirmed the database diagnosis of Marfan syndrome in 77.1%. This represented only 35.8% of the total registered variants; 18.5-33.3% (UMD-FBN1 versus HGMD) of variants associated with Marfan syndrome in the databases could not be confirmed by the recorded phenotype. FBN1 databases can be imprecise and incomplete. Data should be used with caution when evaluating FBN1 variants. At present, the UMD-FBN1 database seems to be the biggest and best curated; therefore, it is the most comprehensive database. However, the need for better genotype-phenotype curated databases is evident, and we hereby present such a database.Genet Med advance online publication 01 December 2016.

  9. Genotypic and phenotypic diversity of Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius isolates.

    PubMed

    Félix-Valenzuela, L; Guardiola-Avila, I; Burgara-Estrella, A; Ibarra-Zavala, M; Mata-Haro, V

    2015-10-01

    The fruit juice industry recognizes Alicyclobacillus as a major quality control target micro-organism. In this study, we analysed 19 bacterial isolates to identify Alicyclobacillus species by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing analyses. Phenotypic and genomic diversity among isolates were investigated by API 50CHB system and ERIC-PCR (enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR) respectively. All bacterial isolates were identified as Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius, and almost all showed identical DNA sequences according to their 16S rRNA (rDNA) gene partial sequences. Only few carbohydrates were fermented by A. acidocaldarius isolates, and there was little variability in the biochemical profile. Genotypic fingerprinting of the A. acidocaldarius isolates showed high diversity, and clusters by ERIC-PCR were distinct to those obtained from the 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic tree. There was no correlation between phenotypic and genotypic variability in the A. acidocaldarius isolates analysed in this study. Detection of Alicyclobacillus strains is imperative in fruit concentrates and juices due to the production of guaiacol. Identification of the genera originates rejection of the product by processing industry. However, not all the Alicyclobacillus species are deteriorative and hence the importance to differentiate among them. In this study, partial 16S ribosomal RNA sequence alignment allowed the differentiation of species. In addition, ERIC-PCR was introduced for the genotypic characterization of Alicyclobacillus, as an alternative for differentiation among isolates from the same species. © 2015 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  10. Genotypic and phenotypic predictors of inflammation in patients with chronic kidney disease.

    PubMed

    Luttropp, Karin; Debowska, Malgorzata; Lukaszuk, Tomasz; Bobrowski, Leon; Carrero, Juan Jesus; Qureshi, Abdul Rashid; Stenvinkel, Peter; Lindholm, Bengt; Waniewski, Jacek; Nordfors, Louise

    2016-12-01

    In complex diseases such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), the risk of clinical complications is determined by interactions between phenotypic and genotypic factors. However, clinical epidemiological studies rarely attempt to analyse the combined effect of large numbers of phenotype and genotype features. We have recently shown that the relaxed linear separability (RLS) model of feature selection can address such complex issues. Here, it is applied to identify risk factors for inflammation in CKD. The RLS model was applied in 225 CKD stage 5 patients sampled in conjunction with dialysis initiation. Fifty-seven anthropometric or biochemical measurements and 79 genetic polymorphisms were entered into the model. The model was asked to identify phenotypes and genotypes that, when combined, could separate inflamed from non-inflamed patients. Inflammation was defined as a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentration above the median (5 mg/L). Among the 60 genotypic and phenotypic features predicting inflammation, 31 were genetic. Among the 10 strongest predictors of inflammation, 8 were single nucleotide polymorphisms located in the NAMPT, CIITA, BMP2 and PIK3CB genes, whereas fibrinogen and bone mineral density were the only phenotypic biomarkers. These results indicate a larger involvement of hereditary factors in inflammation than might have been expected and suggest that inclusion of genotype features in risk assessment studies is critical. The RLS model demonstrates that inflammation in CKD is determined by an extensive panel of factors and may prove to be a suitable tool that could enable a much-needed multifactorial approach as opposed to the commonly utilized single-factor analysis. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

  11. Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy: correlation of phenotype by electroretinography with sites of dystrophin mutations.

    PubMed

    Pillers, D A; Fitzgerald, K M; Duncan, N M; Rash, S M; White, R A; Dwinnell, S J; Powell, B R; Schnur, R E; Ray, P N; Cibis, G W; Weleber, R G

    1999-01-01

    The dark-adapted electroretinogram (ERG) of patients with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) shows a marked reduction in b-wave amplitude. Genotype-phenotype studies of mouse models for DMD show position-specific effects of the mutations upon the phenotype: mice with 5' defects of dystrophin have normal ERGs, those with defects in the central region have a normal b-wave amplitude associated with prolonged implicit times for both the b-wave and oscillatory potentials, and mice with 3' defects have a phenotype similar to that seen in DMD/BMD patients. The mouse studies suggest a key role for the carboxyl terminal dystrophin isoform, Dp260, in retinal electrophysiology. We have undertaken a systematic evaluation of DMD/BMD patients through clinical examination and review of the literature in order to determine whether the position-specific effects of mutations noted in the mouse are present in man. We have found that, in man, a wider variation of DMD defects correlate with reductions in the b-wave amplitude. Individuals with normal ERGs have mutations predominantly located 5' of the transcript initiation site of Dp260. Our results suggest that the most important determinant in the ERG b-wave phenotype is the mutation position, rather than muscle disease severity. Forty-six per cent of patients with mutations 5' of the Dp260 transcript start site have abnormal ERGs, as opposed to 94% with more distal mutations. The human genotype-phenotype correlations are consistent with a role for Dp260 in normal retinal electrophysiology and may also reflect the expression of other C-terminal dystrophin isoforms and their contributions to retinal signal transmission.

  12. Phenotype, biochemical features, genotype and treatment outcome of pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy.

    PubMed

    Al Teneiji, Amal; Bruun, Theodora U J; Cordeiro, Dawn; Patel, Jaina; Inbar-Feigenberg, Michal; Weiss, Shelly; Struys, Eduard; Mercimek-Mahmutoglu, Saadet

    2017-04-01

    We report treatment outcome of eleven patients with pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy caused by pathogenic variants in ALDH7A1 (PDE-ALDH7A1). We developed a clinical severity score to compare phenotype with biochemical features, genotype and delays in the initiation of pyridoxine. Clinical severity score included 1) global developmental delay/ intellectual disability; 2) age of seizure onset prior to pyridoxine; 3) current seizures on treatment. Phenotype scored 1-3 = mild; 4-6 = moderate; and 7-9 = severe. Five patients had mild, four patients had moderate, and two patients had severe phenotype. Phenotype ranged from mild to severe in eight patients (no lysine-restricted diet in the infantile period) with more than 10-fold elevated urine or plasma α-AASA levels. Phenotype ranged from mild to moderate in patients with homozygous truncating variants and from moderate to severe in patients with homozygous missense variants. There was no correlation between severity of the phenotype and the degree of α-AASA elevation in urine or genotype. All patients were on pyridoxine, nine patients were on arginine and five patients were on the lysine-restricted diet. 73% of the patients became seizure free on pyridoxine. 25% of the patients had a mild phenotype on pyridoxine monotherapy. Whereas, 100% of the patients, on the lysine-restricted diet initiated within their first 7 months of life, had a mild phenotype. Early initiation of lysine-restricted diet and/or arginine therapy likely improved neurodevelopmental outcome in young patients with PDE-ALDH7A1.

  13. Predicted Mutation Strength of Nontruncating PKD1 Mutations Aids Genotype-Phenotype Correlations in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease.

    PubMed

    Heyer, Christina M; Sundsbak, Jamie L; Abebe, Kaleab Z; Chapman, Arlene B; Torres, Vicente E; Grantham, Jared J; Bae, Kyongtae T; Schrier, Robert W; Perrone, Ronald D; Braun, William E; Steinman, Theodore I; Mrug, Michal; Yu, Alan S L; Brosnahan, Godela; Hopp, Katharina; Irazabal, Maria V; Bennett, William M; Flessner, Michael F; Moore, Charity G; Landsittel, Douglas; Harris, Peter C

    2016-09-01

    Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) often results in ESRD but with a highly variable course. Mutations to PKD1 or PKD2 cause ADPKD; both loci have high levels of allelic heterogeneity. We evaluated genotype-phenotype correlations in 1119 patients (945 families) from the HALT Progression of PKD Study and the Consortium of Radiologic Imaging Study of PKD Study. The population was defined as: 77.7% PKD1, 14.7% PKD2, and 7.6% with no mutation detected (NMD). Phenotypic end points were sex, eGFR, height-adjusted total kidney volume (htTKV), and liver cyst volume. Analysis of the eGFR and htTKV measures showed that the PKD1 group had more severe disease than the PKD2 group, whereas the NMD group had a PKD2-like phenotype. In both the PKD1 and PKD2 populations, men had more severe renal disease, but women had larger liver cyst volumes. Compared with nontruncating PKD1 mutations, truncating PKD1 mutations associated with lower eGFR, but the mutation groups were not differentiated by htTKV. PKD1 nontruncating mutations were evaluated for conservation and chemical change and subdivided into strong (mutation strength group 2 [MSG2]) and weak (MSG3) mutation groups. Analysis of eGFR and htTKV measures showed that patients with MSG3 but not MSG2 mutations had significantly milder disease than patients with truncating cases (MSG1), an association especially evident in extreme decile populations. Overall, we have quantified the contribution of genic and PKD1 allelic effects and sex to the ADPKD phenotype. Intrafamilial correlation analysis showed that other factors shared by families influence htTKV, with these additional genetic/environmental factors significantly affecting the ADPKD phenotype. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Nephrology.

  14. Gaucher disease: molecular heterogeneity and phenotype-genotype correlations.

    PubMed

    Theophilus, B; Latham, T; Grabowski, G A; Smith, F I

    1989-08-01

    Gaucher disease (GD) is the most prevalent lysosomal storage disease. This autosomal recessive trait results from the defective activity of acid beta-glucosidase (beta-Glc). Four different exonic point mutations have been identified as causal alleles for GD. To facilitate screening for these alleles, assays were developed using allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization to amplified genomic DNA sequences. Specifically, intron bases flanking exons 5, 9, and 10 were determined, and conditions for PCR amplification of these exons were obtained. Two different procedures were developed to distinguish signals obtained from the structural beta-Glc gene exons and those from the pseudogene. These procedures were used to determine the distribution of all known GD alleles in a population of 44 affected patients of varying phenotypes and ethnicity. The high frequency of one of the exon 9 mutations in Ashkenazi Jewish GD type 1 patients was confirmed, and, in addition, this mutation was present in ethnically diverse non-Jewish type 1 GD patients. Homozygotes (N = 5) for this allele were midly affected older individuals, and this mutant allele was not found in any patient with neuronopathic disease. The exon 10 mutation was confirmed as the predominant allele in types 2 and 3 GD. However, several type 1 GD patients, including one of Ashkenazi-Jewish heritage, also were heterozygous for this allele. The presence of this allele in type 1 patients did not correlate with the severity of clinical symptoms. The second exon 9 mutation and the exon 5 mutation were rare, since they occurred only heterozygously either in one type 2 GD patient or in two related Ashkenazi-Jewish GD patients, respectively. Although most GD patients (38 of 44) had at least one of the known mutant alleles, 57% were heterozygotes for only one of these mutations. Fourteen percent of patients were negative for all mutations. A total of 73% of GD patients had at least one unknown allele. The varying clinical

  15. Endocrine profile and phenotype-(epi)genotype correlation in Spanish patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism.

    PubMed

    Fernández-Rebollo, Eduardo; Lecumberri, Beatriz; Gaztambide, Sonia; Martinez-Indart, Lorea; Perez de Nanclares, Guiomar; Castaño, Luis

    2013-05-01

    Recent advances in genetics and epigenetics have revealed an overlap between molecular and clinical features of pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) subtypes, broadening the previous spectrum of PHP genotype-phenotype correlations and indicating limitations of the current classification of the disease. The aim of the study was to screen patients with clinical diagnoses of PHP type I or pseudo-PHP for underlying molecular defects and explore possible correlations between molecular findings and clinical features. We investigated the GNAS locus at the molecular level in 72 affected patients (46 women and 26 men) from 56 nonrelated families. Clinical data were obtained for 63 of these patients (38 women and 25 men). The molecular analysis showed that 35 patients carried structural mutations, 32 had loss of methylation, and 2 had a 2q37 deletion but did not reveal any (epi)mutation for 3 patients. Comparing these results and the clinical data, we observed that a younger age at diagnosis was associated with structural defects at the GNAS gene and epigenetic defects with a diagnosis later in life (9.19 ± 1.64 vs 24.57 ± 2.28 years, P < .0001). This first global review of PHP in Spain highlights the importance of a detailed clinical and genetic study of each patient and the integrated analysis of the findings from the two approaches. It may also help geneticists and clinicians to raise the suspicion of PHP earlier, reach more accurate diagnoses, and provide patients with PHP and their families with useful genetic information and counseling, thereby improving outcomes and quality of life.

  16. Primer in Genetics and Genomics, Article 5-Further Defining the Concepts of Genotype and Phenotype and Exploring Genotype-Phenotype Associations.

    PubMed

    Wright, Fay; Fessele, Kristen

    2017-10-01

    As nurses begin to incorporate genetic and genomic sciences into clinical practice, education, and research, it is essential that they have a working knowledge of the terms foundational to the science. The first article in this primer series provided brief definitions of the basic terms (e.g., genetics and genomics) and introduced the concept of phenotype during the discussion of Mendelian inheritance. These terms, however, are inconsistently used in publications and conversations, and the linkage between genotype and phenotype requires clarification. The goal of this fifth article in the series is to elucidate these terms, provide an overview of the research methods used to determine genotype-phenotype associations, and discuss their significance to nursing through examples from the current nursing literature.

  17. Connectome-Wide Phenotypical and Genotypical Associations in Focal Dystonia

    PubMed Central

    Fuertinger, Stefan

    2017-01-01

    Isolated focal dystonia is a debilitating movement disorder of unknown pathophysiology. Early studies in focal dystonias have pointed to segregated changes in brain activity and connectivity. Only recently has the notion that dystonia pathophysiology may lie in abnormalities of large-scale brain networks appeared in the literature. Here, we outline a novel concept of functional connectome-wide alterations that are linked to dystonia phenotype and genotype. Using a neural community detection strategy and graph theoretical analysis of functional MRI data in human patients with the laryngeal form of dystonia (LD) and healthy controls (both males and females), we identified an abnormally widespread hub formation in LD, which particularly affected the primary sensorimotor and parietal cortices and thalamus. Left thalamic regions formed a delineated functional community that highlighted differences in network topology between LD patients with and without family history of dystonia. Conversely, marked differences in the topological organization of parietal regions were found between phenotypically different forms of LD. The interface between sporadic genotype and adductor phenotype of LD yielded four functional communities that were primarily governed by intramodular hub regions. Conversely, the interface between familial genotype and abductor phenotype was associated with numerous long-range hub nodes and an abnormal integration of left thalamus and basal ganglia. Our findings provide the first comprehensive atlas of functional topology across different phenotypes and genotypes of focal dystonia. As such, this study constitutes an important step toward defining dystonia as a large-scale network disorder, understanding its causative pathophysiology, and identifying disorder-specific markers. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The architecture of the functional connectome in focal dystonia was analyzed in a large population of patients with laryngeal dystonia. Breaking with the

  18. Coffin-Siris syndrome and the BAF complex: genotype-phenotype study in 63 patients.

    PubMed

    Santen, Gijs W E; Aten, Emmelien; Vulto-van Silfhout, Anneke T; Pottinger, Caroline; van Bon, Bregje W M; van Minderhout, Ivonne J H M; Snowdowne, Ronelle; van der Lans, Christian A C; Boogaard, Merel; Linssen, Margot M L; Vijfhuizen, Linda; van der Wielen, Michiel J R; Vollebregt, M J Ellen; Breuning, Martijn H; Kriek, Marjolein; van Haeringen, Arie; den Dunnen, Johan T; Hoischen, Alexander; Clayton-Smith, Jill; de Vries, Bert B A; Hennekam, Raoul C M; van Belzen, Martine J

    2013-11-01

    De novo germline variants in several components of the SWI/SNF-like BAF complex can cause Coffin-Siris syndrome (CSS), Nicolaides-Baraitser syndrome (NCBRS), and nonsyndromic intellectual disability. We screened 63 patients with a clinical diagnosis of CSS for these genes (ARID1A, ARID1B, SMARCA2, SMARCA4, SMARCB1, and SMARCE1) and identified pathogenic variants in 45 (71%) patients. We found a high proportion of variants in ARID1B (68%). All four pathogenic variants in ARID1A appeared to be mosaic. By using all variants from the Exome Variant Server as test data, we were able to classify variants in ARID1A, ARID1B, and SMARCB1 reliably as being pathogenic or nonpathogenic. For SMARCA2, SMARCA4, and SMARCE1 several variants in the EVS remained unclassified, underlining the importance of parental testing. We have entered all variant and clinical information in LOVD-powered databases to facilitate further genotype-phenotype correlations, as these will become increasingly important because of the uptake of targeted and untargeted next generation sequencing in diagnostics. The emerging phenotype-genotype correlation is that SMARCB1 patients have the most marked physical phenotype and severe cognitive and growth delay. The variability in phenotype seems most marked in ARID1A and ARID1B patients. Distal limbs anomalies are most marked in ARID1A patients and least in SMARCB1 patients. Numbers are small however, and larger series are needed to confirm this correlation. © 2013 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

  19. The Discriminatory Value of CYP2D6 Genotyping in Predicting the Dextromethorphan/Dextrorphan Phenotype in Women with Breast Cancer

    PubMed Central

    Trojan, Andreas; Vergopoulos, Athanasios; Breitenstein, Urs; Seifert, Burkhardt; Rageth, Christoph; Joechle, Wolfgang

    2012-01-01

    Background The growth inhibitory effect of tamoxifen is used for the treatment of breast cancer. Tamoxifen efficacy is mediated by its biotransformation, predominantly via the cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) isoenzyme, to the active metabolite endoxifen. We investigated the relationship of CYP2D6 genotypes to the metabolism of dextromethorphan (DM), which is frequently used as a surrogate marker for the formation of endoxifen. Methods The CYP2D6 genotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in previously untreated patients with hormone receptor-positive invasive breast cancer considered to receive antihormonal therapy. The DM/dextrorphan (DX) urinary excretion ratios were obtained in a subset of patients by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC)-mediated urine analysis after intake of 25 mg DM. The relationships of genotype and corresponding phenotype were statistically analyzed for association. Results From 151 patients predicted based on their genotype data for the ‘traditional’ CYP2D6 phenotype classes poor, intermediate, extensive and ultrarapid, 83 patients were examined for their DM/DX urinary ratios. The genotype-based poor metabolizer status correlated with the DM/DX ratios, whereas the intermediate, extensive and ultrarapid genotypes could not be distinguished based on their phenotype. Citalopram intake did not significantly influence the phenotype. Conclusions The DM metabolism can be reliably used to assess the CYP2D6 enzyme activity. The correlation with the genotype can be incomplete and the metabolic ratios do not seem to be compromised by citalopram. DM phenotyping may provide a standardized tool to better assess the CYP2D6 metabolic capacity. PMID:22553469

  20. A multifamily study on the relationship between CYP2C19 genotype and s-mephenytoin oxidation phenotype.

    PubMed

    Brøsen, K; de Morais, S M; Meyer, U A; Goldstein, J A

    1995-10-01

    It has recently been shown that the most common mutation (named m1) in both Caucasian and Japanese poor metabolizers (PM) of S-mephenytoin is a single base pair mutation (G-->A) in exon 5 of the CYP2C19 gene. In Japanese, a second defective allele of CYP2C19 named m2 consists of a G-->A mutation in exon 4. In the present study, we have investigated the inheritance of the CYP2C19 wild type allele (wt) and the two defective alleles (m1 and m2) in families of 11 Danish PM probands. The study was carried out for two principal reasons. First, we wanted to confirm the autosomal recessive inheritance of the defective alleles, and second, we wanted to examine the specificity and sensitivity of the CYP2C19 genotyping test. Individuals were phenotyped by measuring the ratio of S/R mephenytoin excreted in the urine after administration of mephenytoin, and genotyping was carried out by a PCR-based DNA amplification procedure. The genotypes of nine of the 11 probands were consistent with their phenotypes. Eight were homozygous m1/m1, and one was heterozygous m1/m2. The genotypes of two putative PM probands (wt/m1) were not consistent with their phenotypes. On the basis of extended phenotyping (additional late urine collections (24-36 h) and acidification of urine), one of these could probably be reclassified as an extensive metabolizer (EM) while the other was considered to be a true PM. This suggests the presence of an additional unknown mutant allele in the latter. Seven of the 41 phenotyped relatives in the 11 families were phenotyped as PMs, and with the exception of the father of family 10, their genotypes (m1/m1) were consistent with their phenotypes. Extended phenotyping (acidification of urine) suggested that the father of family 10 in fact is an EM and hence that his genotype (wt/m1) is concordant with his phenotype. Thus, the specificity of genotyping tests for PM was 100%, while the sensitivity was 15/16 or 94%. Our study provides unequivocal evidence for autosomal

  1. Correlations of Genotype with Climate Parameters Suggest Caenorhabditis elegans Niche Adaptations

    PubMed Central

    Evans, Kathryn S.; Zhao, Yuehui; Brady, Shannon C.; Long, Lijiang; McGrath, Patrick T.; Andersen, Erik C.

    2016-01-01

    Species inhabit a variety of environmental niches, and the adaptation to a particular niche is often controlled by genetic factors, including gene-by-environment interactions. The genes that vary in order to regulate the ability to colonize a niche are often difficult to identify, especially in the context of complex ecological systems and in experimentally uncontrolled natural environments. Quantitative genetic approaches provide an opportunity to investigate correlations between genetic factors and environmental parameters that might define a niche. Previously, we have shown how a collection of 208 whole-genome sequenced wild Caenorhabditis elegans can facilitate association mapping approaches. To correlate climate parameters with the variation found in this collection of wild strains, we used geographic data to exhaustively curate daily weather measurements in short-term (3 month), middle-term (one year), and long-term (three year) durations surrounding the date of strain isolation. These climate parameters were used as quantitative traits in association mapping approaches, where we identified 11 quantitative trait loci (QTL) for three climatic variables: elevation, relative humidity, and average temperature. We then narrowed the genomic interval of interest to identify gene candidates with variants potentially underlying phenotypic differences. Additionally, we performed two-strain competition assays at high and low temperatures to validate a QTL that could underlie adaptation to temperature and found suggestive evidence supporting that hypothesis. PMID:27866149

  2. Phenotypic and genotypic data integration and exploration through a web-service architecture.

    PubMed

    Nuzzo, Angelo; Riva, Alberto; Bellazzi, Riccardo

    2009-10-15

    Linking genotypic and phenotypic information is one of the greatest challenges of current genetics research. The definition of an Information Technology infrastructure to support this kind of studies, and in particular studies aimed at the analysis of complex traits, which require the definition of multifaceted phenotypes and the integration genotypic information to discover the most prevalent diseases, is a paradigmatic goal of Biomedical Informatics. This paper describes the use of Information Technology methods and tools to develop a system for the management, inspection and integration of phenotypic and genotypic data. We present the design and architecture of the Phenotype Miner, a software system able to flexibly manage phenotypic information, and its extended functionalities to retrieve genotype information from external repositories and to relate it to phenotypic data. For this purpose we developed a module to allow customized data upload by the user and a SOAP-based communications layer to retrieve data from existing biomedical knowledge management tools. In this paper we also demonstrate the system functionality by an example application of the system in which we analyze two related genomic datasets. In this paper we show how a comprehensive, integrated and automated workbench for genotype and phenotype integration can facilitate and improve the hypothesis generation process underlying modern genetic studies.

  3. Genotype and phenotype correlation in von Hippel-Lindau disease based on alteration of the HIF-α binding site in VHL protein.

    PubMed

    Liu, Sheng-Jie; Wang, Jiang-Yi; Peng, Shuang-He; Li, Teng; Ning, Xiang-Hui; Hong, Bao-An; Liu, Jia-Yuan; Wu, Peng-Jie; Zhou, Bo-Wen; Zhou, Jing-Cheng; Qi, Nie-Nie; Peng, Xiang; Zhang, Jiu-Feng; Ma, Kai-Fang; Cai, Lin; Gong, Kan

    2018-03-29

    PurposeVon Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a rare hereditary cancer syndrome that reduces life expectancy. We aimed to construct a more valuable genotype-phenotype correlation based on alterations in VHL protein (pVHL).MethodsVHL patients (n = 339) were recruited and grouped based on mutation types: HIF-α binding site missense (HM) mutations, non-HIF-α binding site missense (nHM) mutations, and truncating (TR) mutations. Age-related risks of VHL-associated tumors and patient survival were compared.ResultsMissense mutations conferred an increased risk of pheochromocytoma (HR = 1.854, p = 0.047) compared with truncating mutations. The risk of pheochromocytoma was lower in the HM group than in the nHM group (HR = 0.298, p = 0.003) but was similar between HM and TR groups (HR = 0.901, p = 0.810). Patients in the nHM group had a higher risk of pheochromocytoma (HR = 3.447, p < 0.001) and lower risks of central nervous system hemangioblastoma (CHB) (HR = 0.700, p = 0.045), renal cell carcinoma (HR = 0.610, p = 0.024), and pancreatic tumor (HR = 0.382, p < 0.001) than those in the combined HM and TR (HMTR) group. Moreover, nHM mutations were independently associated with better overall survival (HR = 0.345, p = 0.005) and CHB-specific survival (HR = 0.129, p = 0.005) than HMTR mutations.ConclusionThe modified genotype-phenotype correlation links VHL gene mutation, substrate binding site, and phenotypic diversity (penetrance and survival), and provides more accurate information for genetic counseling and pathogenesis studies.Genetics in Medicine advance online publication, 29 March 2018; doi:10.1038/gim.2017.261.

  4. High Incidence of Noonan Syndrome Features Including Short Stature and Pulmonic Stenosis in Patients carrying NF1 Missense Mutations Affecting p.Arg1809: Genotype-Phenotype Correlation.

    PubMed

    Rojnueangnit, Kitiwan; Xie, Jing; Gomes, Alicia; Sharp, Angela; Callens, Tom; Chen, Yunjia; Liu, Ying; Cochran, Meagan; Abbott, Mary-Alice; Atkin, Joan; Babovic-Vuksanovic, Dusica; Barnett, Christopher P; Crenshaw, Melissa; Bartholomew, Dennis W; Basel, Lina; Bellus, Gary; Ben-Shachar, Shay; Bialer, Martin G; Bick, David; Blumberg, Bruce; Cortes, Fanny; David, Karen L; Destree, Anne; Duat-Rodriguez, Anna; Earl, Dawn; Escobar, Luis; Eswara, Marthanda; Ezquieta, Begona; Frayling, Ian M; Frydman, Moshe; Gardner, Kathy; Gripp, Karen W; Hernández-Chico, Concepcion; Heyrman, Kurt; Ibrahim, Jennifer; Janssens, Sandra; Keena, Beth A; Llano-Rivas, Isabel; Leppig, Kathy; McDonald, Marie; Misra, Vinod K; Mulbury, Jennifer; Narayanan, Vinodh; Orenstein, Naama; Galvin-Parton, Patricia; Pedro, Helio; Pivnick, Eniko K; Powell, Cynthia M; Randolph, Linda; Raskin, Salmo; Rosell, Jordi; Rubin, Karol; Seashore, Margretta; Schaaf, Christian P; Scheuerle, Angela; Schultz, Meredith; Schorry, Elizabeth; Schnur, Rhonda; Siqveland, Elizabeth; Tkachuk, Amanda; Tonsgard, James; Upadhyaya, Meena; Verma, Ishwar C; Wallace, Stephanie; Williams, Charles; Zackai, Elaine; Zonana, Jonathan; Lazaro, Conxi; Claes, Kathleen; Korf, Bruce; Martin, Yolanda; Legius, Eric; Messiaen, Ludwine

    2015-11-01

    Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most frequent genetic disorders, affecting 1:3,000 worldwide. Identification of genotype-phenotype correlations is challenging because of the wide range clinical variability, the progressive nature of the disorder, and extreme diversity of the mutational spectrum. We report 136 individuals with a distinct phenotype carrying one of five different NF1 missense mutations affecting p.Arg1809. Patients presented with multiple café-au-lait macules (CALM) with or without freckling and Lisch nodules, but no externally visible plexiform neurofibromas or clear cutaneous neurofibromas were found. About 25% of the individuals had Noonan-like features. Pulmonic stenosis and short stature were significantly more prevalent compared with classic cohorts (P < 0.0001). Developmental delays and/or learning disabilities were reported in over 50% of patients. Melanocytes cultured from a CALM in a segmental NF1-patient showed two different somatic NF1 mutations, p.Arg1809Cys and a multi-exon deletion, providing genetic evidence that p.Arg1809Cys is a loss-of-function mutation in the melanocytes and causes a pigmentary phenotype. Constitutional missense mutations at p.Arg1809 affect 1.23% of unrelated NF1 probands in the UAB cohort, therefore this specific NF1 genotype-phenotype correlation will affect counseling and management of a significant number of patients. © 2015 The Authors. **Human Mutation published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Unravelling the pathogenic role and genotype-phenotype correlation of the USH2A p.(Cys759Phe) variant among Spanish families.

    PubMed

    Pérez-Carro, Raquel; Blanco-Kelly, Fiona; Galbis-Martínez, Lilián; García-García, Gema; Aller, Elena; García-Sandoval, Blanca; Mínguez, Pablo; Corton, Marta; Mahíllo-Fernández, Ignacio; Martín-Mérida, Inmaculada; Avila-Fernández, Almudena; Millán, José M; Ayuso, Carmen

    2018-01-01

    Mutations in USH2A cause both isolated Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and Usher syndrome (that implies RP and hearing impairment). One of the most frequent variants identified in this gene and among these patients is the p.(Cys759Phe) change. However, the pathogenic role of this allele has been questioned since it was found in homozygosity in two healthy siblings of a Spanish family. To assess the causative role of USH2A p.(Cys759Phe) in autosomal recessive RP (ARRP) and Usher syndrome type II (USH2) and to establish possible genotype-phenotype correlations associated with p.(Cys759Phe), we performed a comprehensive genetic and clinical study in patients suffering from any of the two above-mentioned diseases and carrying at least one p.(Cys759Phe) allele. Diagnosis was set according to previously reported protocols. Genetic analyses were performed by using classical molecular and Next-Generation Sequencing approaches. Probands of 57 unrelated families were molecularly studied and 63 patients belonging to these families were phenotypically evaluated. Molecular analysis characterized 100% of the cases, identifying: 11 homozygous patients for USH2A p.(Cys759Phe), 42 compound heterozygous patients (12 of them with another missense USH2A pathogenic variant and 30 with a truncating USH2A variant), and 4 patients carrying the p.(Cys759Phe) allele and a pathogenic variant in another RP gene (PROM1, CNGB1 or RP1). No additional causative variants were identified in symptomatic homozygous patients. Statistical analysis of clinical differences between zygosity states yielded differences (p≤0.05) in age at diagnosis of RP and hypoacusis, and progression of visual field loss. Homozygosity of p.(Cys759Phe) and compound heterozygosity with another USH2A missense variant is associated with ARRP or ARRP plus late onset hypoacusis (OR = 20.62, CI = 95%, p = 0.041). The present study supports the role of USH2A p.(Cys759Phe) in ARRP and USH2 pathogenesis, and demonstrates the clinical

  6. Translation of Genotype to Phenotype by a Hierarchy of Cell Subsystems.

    PubMed

    Yu, Michael Ku; Kramer, Michael; Dutkowski, Janusz; Srivas, Rohith; Licon, Katherine; Kreisberg, Jason; Ng, Cherie T; Krogan, Nevan; Sharan, Roded; Ideker, Trey

    2016-02-24

    Accurately translating genotype to phenotype requires accounting for the functional impact of genetic variation at many biological scales. Here we present a strategy for genotype-phenotype reasoning based on existing knowledge of cellular subsystems. These subsystems and their hierarchical organization are defined by the Gene Ontology or a complementary ontology inferred directly from previously published datasets. Guided by the ontology's hierarchical structure, we organize genotype data into an "ontotype," that is, a hierarchy of perturbations representing the effects of genetic variation at multiple cellular scales. The ontotype is then interpreted using logical rules generated by machine learning to predict phenotype. This approach substantially outperforms previous, non-hierarchical methods for translating yeast genotype to cell growth phenotype, and it accurately predicts the growth outcomes of two new screens of 2,503 double gene knockouts impacting DNA repair or nuclear lumen. Ontotypes also generalize to larger knockout combinations, setting the stage for interpreting the complex genetics of disease.

  7. Clustering high-dimensional mixed data to uncover sub-phenotypes: joint analysis of phenotypic and genotypic data.

    PubMed

    McParland, D; Phillips, C M; Brennan, L; Roche, H M; Gormley, I C

    2017-12-10

    The LIPGENE-SU.VI.MAX study, like many others, recorded high-dimensional continuous phenotypic data and categorical genotypic data. LIPGENE-SU.VI.MAX focuses on the need to account for both phenotypic and genetic factors when studying the metabolic syndrome (MetS), a complex disorder that can lead to higher risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Interest lies in clustering the LIPGENE-SU.VI.MAX participants into homogeneous groups or sub-phenotypes, by jointly considering their phenotypic and genotypic data, and in determining which variables are discriminatory. A novel latent variable model that elegantly accommodates high dimensional, mixed data is developed to cluster LIPGENE-SU.VI.MAX participants using a Bayesian finite mixture model. A computationally efficient variable selection algorithm is incorporated, estimation is via a Gibbs sampling algorithm and an approximate BIC-MCMC criterion is developed to select the optimal model. Two clusters or sub-phenotypes ('healthy' and 'at risk') are uncovered. A small subset of variables is deemed discriminatory, which notably includes phenotypic and genotypic variables, highlighting the need to jointly consider both factors. Further, 7 years after the LIPGENE-SU.VI.MAX data were collected, participants underwent further analysis to diagnose presence or absence of the MetS. The two uncovered sub-phenotypes strongly correspond to the 7-year follow-up disease classification, highlighting the role of phenotypic and genotypic factors in the MetS and emphasising the potential utility of the clustering approach in early screening. Additionally, the ability of the proposed approach to define the uncertainty in sub-phenotype membership at the participant level is synonymous with the concepts of precision medicine and nutrition. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of genetic differentiation and diversity in the USDA rice mini-core collection.

    PubMed

    Li, Xiaobai; Yan, Wengui; Agrama, Hesham; Hu, Biaolin; Jia, Limeng; Jia, Melissa; Jackson, Aaron; Moldenhauer, Karen; McClung, Anna; Wu, Dianxing

    2010-12-01

    A rice mini-core collection consisting of 217 accessions has been developed to represent the USDA core and whole collections that include 1,794 and 18,709 accessions, respectively. To improve the efficiency of mining valuable genes and broadening the genetic diversity in breeding, genetic structure and diversity were analyzed using both genotypic (128 molecular markers) and phenotypic (14 numerical traits) data. This mini-core had 13.5 alleles per locus, which is the most among the reported germplasm collections of rice. Similarly, polymorphic information content (PIC) value was 0.71 in the mini-core which is the highest with one exception. The high genetic diversity in the mini-core suggests there is a good possibility of mining genes of interest and selecting parents which will improve food production and quality. A model-based clustering analysis resulted in lowland rice including three groups, aus (39 accessions), indica (71) and their admixtures (5), upland rice including temperate japonica (32), tropical japonica (40), aromatic (6) and their admixtures (12) and wild rice (12) including glaberrima and four other species of Oryza. Group differentiation was analyzed using both genotypic distance Fst from 128 molecular markers and phenotypic (Mahalanobis) distance D(2) from 14 traits. Both dendrograms built by Fst and D(2) reached similar-differentiative relationship among these genetic groups, and the correlation coefficient showed high value 0.85 between Fst matrix and D(2) matrix. The information of genetic and phenotypic differentiation could be helpful for the association mapping of genes of interest. Analysis of genotypic and phenotypic diversity based on genetic structure would facilitate parent selection for broadening genetic base of modern rice cultivars via breeding effort.

  9. Correlation between Relatives given Complete Genotypes: from Identity by Descent to Identity by Function

    PubMed Central

    Sverdlov, Serge; Thompson, Elizabeth A.

    2013-01-01

    In classical quantitative genetics, the correlation between the phenotypes of individuals with unknown genotypes and a known pedigree relationship is expressed in terms of probabilities of IBD states. In existing approaches to the inverse problem where genotypes are observed but pedigree relationships are not, dependence between phenotypes is either modeled as Bayesian uncertainty or mapped to an IBD model via inferred relatedness parameters. Neither approach yields a relationship between genotypic similarity and phenotypic similarity with a probabilistic interpretation corresponding to a generative model. We introduce a generative model for diploid allele effect based on the classic infinite allele mutation process. This approach motivates the concept of IBF (Identity by Function). The phenotypic covariance between two individuals given their diploid genotypes is expressed in terms of functional identity states. The IBF parameters define a genetic architecture for a trait without reference to specific alleles or population. Given full genome sequences, we treat a gene-scale functional region, rather than a SNP, as a QTL, modeling patterns of dominance for multiple alleles. Applications demonstrated by simulation include phenotype and effect prediction and association, and estimation of heritability and classical variance components. A simulation case study of the Missing Heritability problem illustrates a decomposition of heritability under the IBF framework into Explained and Unexplained components. PMID:23851163

  10. Recurrent mutations in the CDKL5 gene: genotype-phenotype relationships.

    PubMed

    Bahi-Buisson, Nadia; Villeneuve, Nathalie; Caietta, Emilie; Jacquette, Aurélia; Maurey, Helene; Matthijs, Gert; Van Esch, Hilde; Delahaye, Andrée; Moncla, Anne; Milh, Mathieu; Zufferey, Flore; Diebold, Bertrand; Bienvenu, Thierry

    2012-07-01

    Mutations in the cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 gene (CDKL5) have been described in epileptic encephalopathies in females with infantile spasms with features that overlap with Rett syndrome. With more than 80 reported patients, the phenotype of CDKL5-related encephalopathy is well-defined. The main features consist of seizures starting before 6 months of age, severe intellectual disability with absent speech and hand stereotypies and deceleration of head growth, which resembles Rett syndrome. However, some clinical discrepancies suggested the influence of genetics and/or environmental factors. No genotype-phenotype correlation has been defined and thus there is a need to examine individual mutations. In this study, we analyzed eight recurrent CDKL5 mutations to test whether the clinical phenotype of patients with the same mutation is similar and whether patients with specific CDKL5 mutations have a milder phenotype than those with other CDKL5 mutations. Patients bearing missense mutations in the ATP binding site such as the p.Ala40Val mutation typically walked unaided, had normocephaly, better hand use ability, and less frequent refractory epilepsy when compared to girls with other CDKL5 mutations. In contrast, patients with mutations in the kinase domain (such as p.Arg59X, p.Arg134X, p.Arg178Trp/Pro/Gln, or c.145 + 2T > C) and frameshift mutations in the C-terminal region (such as c.2635_2636delCT) had a more severe phenotype with infantile spasms, refractory epileptic encephalopathy, absolute microcephaly, and inability to walk. It is important for clinicians to have this information when such patients are diagnosed. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. On the nosology and pathogenesis of Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome: genotype-phenotype correlation analysis of 80 patients and literature review.

    PubMed

    Zollino, Marcella; Murdolo, Marina; Marangi, Giuseppe; Pecile, Vanna; Galasso, Cinzia; Mazzanti, Laura; Neri, Giovanni

    2008-11-15

    Based on genotype-phenotype correlation analysis of 80 Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) patients, as well as on review of relevant literature, we add further insights to the following aspects of WHS: (1) clinical delineation and phenotypic categories; (2) characterization of the basic genomic defect, mechanisms of origin and familiarity; (3) identification of prognostic factors for mental retardation; (4) chromosome mapping of the distinctive clinical signs, in an effort to identify pathogenic genes. Clinically, we consider that minimal diagnostic criteria for WHS, defining a "core" phenotype, are typical facial appearance, mental retardation, growth delay and seizures (or EEG anomalies). Three different categories of the WHS phenotype were defined, generally correlating with the extent of the 4p deletion. The first one comprises a small deletion not exceeding 3.5 Mb, that is usually associated with a mild phenotype, lacking major malformations. This category is likely under-diagnosed. The second and by far the more frequent category is identified by large deletions, averaging between 5 and 18 Mb, and causes the widely recognizable WHS phenotype. The third clinical category results from a very large deletion exceeding 22-25 Mb causing a severe phenotype, that can hardly be defined as typical WHS. Genetically, de novo chromosome abnormalities in WHS include pure deletions but also complex rearrangements, mainly unbalanced translocations. With the exception of t(4p;8p), WHS-associated chromosome abnormalities are neither mediated by segmental duplications, nor associated with a parental inversion polymorphism on 4p16.3. Factors involved in prediction of prognosis include the extent of the deletion, the occurrence of complex chromosome anomalies, and the severity of seizures. We found that the core phenotype maps within the terminal 1.9 Mb region of chromosome 4p. Therefore, WHSCR-2 should be considered the critical region for this condition. We also confirmed that the

  12. The genotype-phenotype landscape of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Australia.

    PubMed

    McCann, E P; Williams, K L; Fifita, J A; Tarr, I S; O'Connor, J; Rowe, D B; Nicholson, G A; Blair, I P

    2017-09-01

    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous fatal neurodegenerative disease. Around 10% of ALS cases are hereditary. ALS gene discoveries have provided most of our understanding of disease pathogenesis. We aimed to describe the genetic landscape of ALS in Australia by assessing 1013 Australian ALS patients for known ALS mutations by direct sequencing, whole exome sequencing or repeat primed polymerase chain reaction. Age of disease onset and disease duration were used for genotype-phenotype correlations. We report 60.8% of Australian ALS families in this cohort harbour a known ALS mutation. Hexanucleotide repeat expansions in C9orf72 accounted for 40.6% of families and 2.9% of sporadic patients. We also report ALS families with mutations in SOD1 (13.7%), FUS (2.4%), TARDBP (1.9%), UBQLN2 (.9%), OPTN (.5%), TBK1 (.5%) and CCNF (.5%). We present genotype-phenotype correlations between these genes as well as between gene mutations. Notably, C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion positive patients experienced significantly later disease onset than ALS mutation patients. Among SOD1 families, p.I114T positive patients had significantly later onset and longer survival. Our report highlights a unique spectrum of ALS gene frequencies among patients from the Australian population, and further, provides correlations between specific ALS mutations with disease onset and/or duration. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Delineation of C12orf65-related phenotypes: a genotype-phenotype relationship.

    PubMed

    Spiegel, Ronen; Mandel, Hanna; Saada, Ann; Lerer, Issy; Burger, Ayala; Shaag, Avraham; Shalev, Stavit A; Jabaly-Habib, Haneen; Goldsher, Dorit; Gomori, John M; Lossos, Alex; Elpeleg, Orly; Meiner, Vardiella

    2014-08-01

    C12orf65 participates in the process of mitochondrial translation and has been shown to be associated with a spectrum of phenotypes, including early onset optic atrophy, progressive encephalomyopathy, peripheral neuropathy, and spastic paraparesis.We used whole-genome homozygosity mapping as well as exome sequencing and targeted gene sequencing to identify novel C12orf65 disease-causing mutations in seven affected individuals originating from two consanguineous families. In four family members affected with childhood-onset optic atrophy accompanied by slowly progressive peripheral neuropathy and spastic paraparesis, we identified a homozygous frame shift mutation c.413_417 delAACAA, which predicts a truncated protein lacking the C-terminal portion. In the second family, we studied three affected individuals who presented with early onset optic atrophy, peripheral neuropathy, and spastic gait in addition to moderate intellectual disability. Muscle biopsy in two of the patients revealed decreased activities of the mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes I and IV. In these patients, we identified a homozygous splice mutation, g.21043 T>A (c.282+2 T>A) which leads to skipping of exon 2. Our study broadens the phenotypic spectrum of C12orf65 defects and highlights the triad of optic atrophy, axonal neuropathy and spastic paraparesis as its key clinical features. In addition, a clear genotype-phenotype correlation is anticipated in which deleterious mutations which disrupt the GGQ-containing domain in the first coding exon are expected to result in a more severe phenotype, whereas down-stream C-terminal mutations may result in a more favorable phenotype, typically lacking cognitive impairment.

  14. Phenotype, Genotype, and Drug Resistance in Subtype C HIV-1 Infection.

    PubMed

    Derache, Anne; Wallis, Carole L; Vardhanabhuti, Saran; Bartlett, John; Kumarasamy, Nagalingeswaran; Katzenstein, David

    2016-01-15

    Virologic failure in subtype C is characterized by high resistance to first-line antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, including efavirenz, nevirapine, and lamivudine, with nucleoside resistance including type 2 thymidine analog mutations, K65R, a T69del, and M184V. However, genotypic algorithms predicting resistance are mainly based on subtype B viruses and may under- or overestimate drug resistance in non-B subtypes. To explore potential treatment strategies after first-line failure, we compared genotypic and phenotypic susceptibility of subtype C human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) following first-line ARV failure. AIDS Clinical Trials Group 5230 evaluated patients failing an initial nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) regimen in Africa and Asia, comparing the genotypic drug resistance and phenotypic profile from the PhenoSense (Monogram). Site-directed mutagenesis studies of K65R and T69del assessed the phenotypic impact of these mutations. Genotypic algorithms overestimated resistance to etravirine and rilpivirine, misclassifying 28% and 32%, respectively. Despite K65R with the T69del in 9 samples, tenofovir retained activity in >60%. Reversion of the K65R increased susceptibility to tenofovir and other nucleosides, while reversion of the T69del showed increased resistance to zidovudine, with little impact on other NRTI. Although genotype and phenotype were largely concordant for first-line drugs, estimates of genotypic resistance to etravirine and rilpivirine may misclassify subtype C isolates compared to phenotype. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome: does genotype predict phenotype?

    PubMed

    Allanson, Judith E; Annerén, Göran; Aoki, Yoki; Armour, Christine M; Bondeson, Marie-Louise; Cave, Helene; Gripp, Karen W; Kerr, Bronwyn; Nystrom, Anna-Maja; Sol-Church, Katia; Verloes, Alain; Zenker, Martin

    2011-05-15

    Cardio-facio-cutaneous (CFC) syndrome is a sporadic multiple congenital anomalies/mental retardation condition principally caused by mutations in BRAF, MEK1, and MEK2. Mutations in KRAS and SHOC2 lead to a phenotype with overlapping features. In approximately 10–30% of individuals with a clinical diagnosis of CFC, a mutation in one of these causative genes is not found. Cardinal features of CFC include congenital heart defects, a characteristic facial appearance, and ectodermal abnormalities. Additional features include failure to thrive with severe feeding problems, moderate to severe intellectual disability and short stature with relative macrocephaly. First described in 1986, more than 100 affected individuals are reported. Following the discovery of the causative genes, more information has emerged on the breadth of clinical features. Little, however, has been published on genotype–phenotype correlations. This clinical study of 186 children and young adults with mutation-proven CFC syndrome is the largest reported to date. BRAF mutations are documented in 140 individuals (approximately 75%), while 46 (approximately 25%) have a mutation in MEK 1 or MEK 2. The age range is 6 months to 32 years, the oldest individual being a female from the original report [Reynolds et al. (1986); Am J Med Genet 25:413–427]. While some clinical data on 136 are in the literature, 50 are not previously published. We provide new details of the breadth of phenotype and discuss the frequency of particular features in each genotypic group. Pulmonary stenosis is the only anomaly that demonstrates a statistically significant genotype–phenotype correlation, being more common in individuals with a BRAF mutation.

  16. Relevance and costs of RHD genotyping in women with a weak D phenotype.

    PubMed

    Laget, L; Izard, C; Durieux-Roussel, E; Gouvitsos, J; Dettori, I; Chiaroni, J; Ferrera-Tourenc, V

    2018-06-01

    For pregnant women, the serologic test results of D antigen will determine the frequency of RBC antibody detection as well as the indication for RhIG prophylaxis. RHD genotyping is the only method that may provide clear guidance on prophylaxis for women with a weak D phenotype. This analysis evaluated the economical implications of using RHD genotyping to guide RhIG prophylaxis among pregnant women with a serological weak D phenotype. We compared the costs of 2 strategies in a cohort of 273 women with weak D phenotype. In the first strategy, we did not perform genotyping and all women with weak D phenotypes were treated as if they were D-, thus considered to be a risk of RhD alloimmunization. These women all received the prophylactic follow up. In the second strategy, RHD genotyping was performed on all women with a serologic weak D phenotype. Then, the follow-up will be determined by phenotype deduced from genotype. On the studied cohort, the additional expense occurred by genotyping is 26,536 €. RHD Genotyping has highlighted 162 weak D Type 1, 2 3, that could safely be managed as D+ and 111 partial D to consider as D-. By comparing the 2 strategies, the savings generated by genotyping the patients of our cohort are € 12,046 for the follow up of one pregnancy. Knowing that in France, a woman has on average 2 pregnancies and that the genotyping is carried out only once, the savings generated for the following pregnancies would be € 38,581. Performing RHD genotyping for pregnant women with a weak D phenotype enables to clearly identify weak D type 1, 2 or 3 from the other variants at risk of alloimmunization. This analysis generates savings in terms of follow-up schedule of pregnant women and RhIG prophylaxis. It also allows saving of D- products for patient with a weak D type 1, 2 or 3 in case of a transfusion need. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  17. Whole genome sequencing of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: from genotype to phenotype for improved metabolic engineering applications.

    PubMed

    Otero, José Manuel; Vongsangnak, Wanwipa; Asadollahi, Mohammad A; Olivares-Hernandes, Roberto; Maury, Jérôme; Farinelli, Laurent; Barlocher, Loïc; Osterås, Magne; Schalk, Michel; Clark, Anthony; Nielsen, Jens

    2010-12-22

    The need for rapid and efficient microbial cell factory design and construction are possible through the enabling technology, metabolic engineering, which is now being facilitated by systems biology approaches. Metabolic engineering is often complimented by directed evolution, where selective pressure is applied to a partially genetically engineered strain to confer a desirable phenotype. The exact genetic modification or resulting genotype that leads to the improved phenotype is often not identified or understood to enable further metabolic engineering. In this work we performed whole genome high-throughput sequencing and annotation can be used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains S288c and CEN.PK113-7D. The yeast strain S288c was the first eukaryote sequenced, serving as the reference genome for the Saccharomyces Genome Database, while CEN.PK113-7D is a preferred laboratory strain for industrial biotechnology research. A total of 13,787 high-quality SNPs were detected between both strains (reference strain: S288c). Considering only metabolic genes (782 of 5,596 annotated genes), a total of 219 metabolism specific SNPs are distributed across 158 metabolic genes, with 85 of the SNPs being nonsynonymous (e.g., encoding amino acid modifications). Amongst metabolic SNPs detected, there was pathway enrichment in the galactose uptake pathway (GAL1, GAL10) and ergosterol biosynthetic pathway (ERG8, ERG9). Physiological characterization confirmed a strong deficiency in galactose uptake and metabolism in S288c compared to CEN.PK113-7D, and similarly, ergosterol content in CEN.PK113-7D was significantly higher in both glucose and galactose supplemented cultivations compared to S288c. Furthermore, DNA microarray profiling of S288c and CEN.PK113-7D in both glucose and galactose batch cultures did not provide a clear hypothesis for major phenotypes observed, suggesting that genotype to phenotype correlations are manifested

  18. Whole genome sequencing of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: from genotype to phenotype for improved metabolic engineering applications

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background The need for rapid and efficient microbial cell factory design and construction are possible through the enabling technology, metabolic engineering, which is now being facilitated by systems biology approaches. Metabolic engineering is often complimented by directed evolution, where selective pressure is applied to a partially genetically engineered strain to confer a desirable phenotype. The exact genetic modification or resulting genotype that leads to the improved phenotype is often not identified or understood to enable further metabolic engineering. Results In this work we performed whole genome high-throughput sequencing and annotation can be used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains S288c and CEN.PK113-7D. The yeast strain S288c was the first eukaryote sequenced, serving as the reference genome for the Saccharomyces Genome Database, while CEN.PK113-7D is a preferred laboratory strain for industrial biotechnology research. A total of 13,787 high-quality SNPs were detected between both strains (reference strain: S288c). Considering only metabolic genes (782 of 5,596 annotated genes), a total of 219 metabolism specific SNPs are distributed across 158 metabolic genes, with 85 of the SNPs being nonsynonymous (e.g., encoding amino acid modifications). Amongst metabolic SNPs detected, there was pathway enrichment in the galactose uptake pathway (GAL1, GAL10) and ergosterol biosynthetic pathway (ERG8, ERG9). Physiological characterization confirmed a strong deficiency in galactose uptake and metabolism in S288c compared to CEN.PK113-7D, and similarly, ergosterol content in CEN.PK113-7D was significantly higher in both glucose and galactose supplemented cultivations compared to S288c. Furthermore, DNA microarray profiling of S288c and CEN.PK113-7D in both glucose and galactose batch cultures did not provide a clear hypothesis for major phenotypes observed, suggesting that genotype to phenotype

  19. Investigating genotype-phenotype relationships in Rett syndrome using an international data set.

    PubMed

    Bebbington, A; Anderson, A; Ravine, D; Fyfe, S; Pineda, M; de Klerk, N; Ben-Zeev, B; Yatawara, N; Percy, A; Kaufmann, W E; Leonard, H

    2008-03-11

    Rett syndrome is an uncommon neurodevelopmental disorder with an incidence of 1:9,000 live female births. The principal genetic cause was first reported in 1999 when the association with mutations in the methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (or MECP2) gene was identified. This study uses data from a large international database, InterRett, to examine genotype-phenotype relationships and compares these with previous findings in a population-based cohort. The data set for these analyses was derived from a subset of InterRett cases with subject information collected from the family, the clinician, or both. Individual phenotypic characteristics and clinical severity using three scales were compared among those with eight known recurrent pathogenic MECP2 mutations as well as those with C-terminal deletions (n = 272). Overall, p.R270X and p.R255X were the most severe and p.R133C and p.R294X were the mildest mutations. Significant differences by mutation were seen for individual phenotypic characteristics such as hand use, ambulation, and language. This multicenter investigation into the phenotypic correlates of MECP2 mutations in Rett syndrome has provided a greater depth of understanding than hitherto available about the specific phenotypic characteristics associated with commonly occurring mutations. Although the modifying influence of X inactivation on clinical severity could not be included in the analysis, the findings confirm clear genotype-phenotype relationships in Rett syndrome and show the benefits of collaboration crucial to effective research in rare disorders.

  20. Retrospective genotype-phenotype analysis in a 305 patient cohort referred for testing of a targeted epilepsy panel.

    PubMed

    Hesse, Andrew N; Bevilacqua, Jennifer; Shankar, Kritika; Reddi, Honey V

    2018-05-16

    Epilepsy is a diverse neurological condition with extreme genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity. The introduction of next-generation sequencing into the clinical laboratory has made it possible to investigate hundreds of associated genes simultaneously for a patient, even in the absence of a clearly defined syndrome. This has resulted in the detection of rare and novel mutations at a rate well beyond our ability to characterize their effects. This retrospective study reviews genotype data in the context of available phenotypic information on 305 patients spanning the epileptic spectrum to identify established and novel patterns of correlation. Our epilepsy panel comprising 377 genes was used to sequence 305 patients referred for genetic testing. Qualifying variants were annotated with phenotypic data obtained from either the test requisition form or supporting clinical documentation. Observed phenotypes were compared with established phenotypes in OMIM, published literature and the ILAEs 2010 report on genetic testing to assess congruity with known gene aberrations. We identified a number of novel and recognized genetic variants consistent with established epileptic phenotypes. Forty-one pathogenic or predicted deleterious variants were detected in 39 patients with accompanying clinical documentation. Twenty-five of these variants across 15 genes were novel. Furthermore, evaluation of phenotype data for 194 patients with variants of unknown significance in genes with autosomal dominant and X-linked disease inheritance elucidated potentially disease-causing variants that were not currently characterized in the literature. Assessment of key genotype-phenotype correlations from our cohort provide insight into variant classification, as well as the importance of including ILAE recommended genes as part of minimum panel content for comprehensive epilepsy tests. Many of the reported VUSs are likely genuine pathogenic variants driving the observed phenotypes, but not

  1. Genotype-phenotype correlations in THAP1 dystonia: molecular foundations and description of new cases

    PubMed Central

    LeDoux, Mark S.; Xiao, Jianfeng; Rudzińska, Monika; Bastian, Robert W.; Wszolek, Zbigniew K.; Van Gerpen, Jay A.; Puschmann, Andreas; Momčilović, Dragana; Vemula, Satya R.; Zhao, Yu

    2012-01-01

    An extensive variety of THAP1 sequence variants have been associated with focal, segmental and generalized dystonia with age of onset ranging from 3 to over 60 years. In previous work, we screened 1,114 subjects with mainly adult-onset primary dystonia (Neurology 2010;74:229-238) and identified 6 missense mutations in THAP1. For this report, we screened 750 additional subjects for mutations in coding regions of THAP1 and interrogated all published descriptions of THAP1 phenotypes (gender, age of onset, anatomical distribution of dystonia, family history and site of onset) to explore the possibility of THAP1 genotype-phenotype correlations and facilitate a deeper understanding of THAP1 pathobiology. We identified 5 additional missense mutations in THAP1 (p.A7D, p.K16E, p.S21C, p.R29Q, and p.I80V). Three of these variants are associated with appendicular tremors, which were an isolated or presenting sign in some of the affected subjects. Abductor laryngeal dystonia and mild blepharospasm can be manifestations of THAP1 mutations in some individuals. Overall, mean age of onset for THAP1 dystonia is 16.8 years and the most common sites of onset are the arm and neck, and the most frequently affected anatomical site is the neck. In addition, over half of patients exhibit either cranial or laryngeal involvement. Protein truncating mutations and missense mutations within the THAP domain of THAP1 tend to manifest at an earlier age and exhibit more extensive anatomical distributions than mutations localized to other regions of THAP1. PMID:22377579

  2. Genotype-phenotype association study via new multi-task learning model

    PubMed Central

    Huo, Zhouyuan; Shen, Dinggang

    2018-01-01

    Research on the associations between genetic variations and imaging phenotypes is developing with the advance in high-throughput genotype and brain image techniques. Regression analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and imaging measures as quantitative traits (QTs) has been proposed to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTL) via multi-task learning models. Recent studies consider the interlinked structures within SNPs and imaging QTs through group lasso, e.g. ℓ2,1-norm, leading to better predictive results and insights of SNPs. However, group sparsity is not enough for representing the correlation between multiple tasks and ℓ2,1-norm regularization is not robust either. In this paper, we propose a new multi-task learning model to analyze the associations between SNPs and QTs. We suppose that low-rank structure is also beneficial to uncover the correlation between genetic variations and imaging phenotypes. Finally, we conduct regression analysis of SNPs and QTs. Experimental results show that our model is more accurate in prediction than compared methods and presents new insights of SNPs. PMID:29218896

  3. Highly Prevalent LIPH Founder Mutations Causing Autosomal Recessive Woolly Hair/Hypotrichosis in Japan and the Genotype/Phenotype Correlations

    PubMed Central

    Kono, Michihiro; Takama, Hiromichi; Hamajima, Nobuyuki; Akiyama, Masashi

    2014-01-01

    Mutations in LIPH cause of autosomal recessive woolly hair/hypotrichosis (ARWH), and the 2 missense mutations c.736T>A (p.Cys246Ser) and c.742C>A (p.His248Asn) are considered prevalent founder mutations for ARWH in the Japanese population. To reveal genotype/phenotype correlations in ARWH cases in Japan and the haplotypes in 14 Japanese patients from 14 unrelated Japanese families. 13 patients had woolly hair, and 1 patient had complete baldness since birth. An LIPH mutation search revealed homozygous c.736T>A mutations in 10 of the patients. Compound heterozygous c.736T>A and c.742C>A mutations were found in 3 of the patients, and homozygous c.742C>A mutation in 1 patient. The phenotype of mild hypotrichosis with woolly hair was restricted to the patients with the homozygous c.736T>A mutation. The severe phenotype of complete baldness was seen in only 1 patient with homozygous c.742C>A. Haplotype analysis revealed that the alleles containing the LIPH c.736T>A mutation had a haplotype identical to that reported previously, although 4 alleles out of 5 chromosomes containing the LIPH c.742C>A mutation had a different haplotype from the previously reported founder allele. These alleles with c.742C>A are thought to be the third founder LIPH mutation causing ARWH. To accurately determine the prevalence of the founder mutations, we investigated allele frequencies of those mutations in 819 Japanese controls. Heterozygous c.736T>A mutations were found in 13 controls (allele frequency: 0.0079; carrier rate: 0.016), and heterozygous c.742C>A mutations were found in 2 controls (allele frequency: 0.0012; carrier rate: 0.0024). In conclusion, this study confirms the more accurate allele frequencies of the pathogenic founder mutations of LIPH and shows that there is a third founder mutation in Japan. In addition, the present findings suggest that the mutation patterns of LIPH might be associated with hypotrichosis severity in ARWH. PMID:24586639

  4. Differences in hepatic phenotype between hemochromatosis patients with HFE C282Y homozygosity and other HFE genotypes.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Raymond; Barton, James C; Morrison, Elizabeth D; Phatak, Pradyumna D; Krawitt, Edward L; Gordon, Stuart C; Kowdley, Kris V

    2009-07-01

    There are limited data comparing hepatic phenotype among hemochromatosis patients with different HFE genotypes. The goal of this study was to compare hepatic histopathologic features and hepatic iron concentration (HIC) among patients with phenotypic hemochromatosis and different HFE genotypes. We studied 182 US patients with phenotypic hemochromatosis. Degree of hepatic fibrosis, pattern of iron deposition, presence of steatosis or necroinflammation, and HIC were compared among different HFE genotypes. C282Y/H63D compound heterozygotes and patients with HFE genotypes other than C282Y/C282Y were more likely to have stainable Kupffer cell iron (31.1% vs. 9.5%; P=0.02), portal or lobular inflammation (28.9% vs. 15.6%; P=0.03), and steatosis (33.3% vs. 10.2%; P<0.01) on liver biopsy than C282Y homozygotes. Mean log10 HIC (P<0.05) and log10 ferritin (P<0.05) were higher among C282Y homozygotes than in patients with other HFE genotypes. In a logistic regression analysis using age, sex, HFE genotype, log10 ferritin, and log10 HIC as independent variables, log10 serum ferritin (P=0.0008), male sex (P=0.0086), and log10 HIC (P=0.047), but not HFE genotype (P=0.0554) were independently associated with presence or absence of advanced hepatic fibrosis. C282Y/H63D compound heterozygotes and other non-C282Y homozygotes which express the hepatic hemochromatosis phenotype frequently have evidence of steatosis or chronic hepatitis and lower body iron stores than C282Y homozygotes. These data suggest that presence of concomitant liver disease may explain expression of the hemochromatosis phenotype among non-C282Y homozygotes. Increased age, HIC, and ferritin are associated with advanced hepatic fibrosis, regardless of HFE genotype.

  5. Functional analysis of mutations in SLC7A9, and genotype-phenotype correlation in non-Type I cystinuria.

    PubMed

    Font, M A; Feliubadaló, L; Estivill, X; Nunes, V; Golomb, E; Kreiss, Y; Pras, E; Bisceglia, L; d'Adamo, A P; Zelante, L; Gasparini, P; Bassi, M T; George , A L; Manzoni, M; Riboni, M; Ballabio, A; Borsani, G; Reig, N; Fernández, E; Zorzano, A; Bertran, J; Palacín, M

    2001-02-15

    Cystinuria (OMIM 220100) is a common recessive disorder of renal reabsorption of cystine and dibasic amino acids that results in nephrolithiasis of cystine. Mutations in SLC3A1, which encodes rBAT, cause Type I cystinuria, and mutations in SLC7A9, which encodes a putative subunit of rBAT (b(o,+)AT), cause non-Type I cystinuria. Here we describe the genomic structure of SLC7A9 (13 exons) and 28 new mutations in this gene that, together with the seven previously reported, explain 79% of the alleles in 61 non-Type I cystinuria patients. These data demonstrate that SLC7A9 is the main non-Type I cystinuria gene. Mutations G105R, V170M, A182T and R333W are the most frequent SLC7A9 missense mutations found. Among heterozygotes carrying these mutations, A182T heterozygotes showed the lowest urinary excretion values of cystine and dibasic amino acids. Functional analysis of mutation A182T after co-expression with rBAT in HeLa cells revealed significant residual transport activity. In contrast, mutations G105R, V170M and R333W are associated to a complete or almost complete loss of transport activity, leading to a more severe urinary phenotype in heterozygotes. SLC7A9 mutations located in the putative transmembrane domains of b(o,+)AT and affecting conserved amino acid residues with a small side chain generate a severe phenotype, while mutations in non-conserved residues give rise to a mild phenotype. These data provide the first genotype-phenotype correlation in non-Type I cystinuria, and show that a mild urinary phenotype in heterozygotes may associate with mutations with significant residual transport activity.

  6. A comprehensive global genotype-phenotype database for rare diseases.

    PubMed

    Trujillano, Daniel; Oprea, Gabriela-Elena; Schmitz, Yvonne; Bertoli-Avella, Aida M; Abou Jamra, Rami; Rolfs, Arndt

    2017-01-01

    The ability to discover genetic variants in a patient runs far ahead of the ability to interpret them. Databases with accurate descriptions of the causal relationship between the variants and the phenotype are valuable since these are critical tools in clinical genetic diagnostics. Here, we introduce a comprehensive and global genotype-phenotype database focusing on rare diseases. This database (CentoMD ® ) is a browser-based tool that enables access to a comprehensive, independently curated system utilizing stringent high-quality criteria and a quickly growing repository of genetic and human phenotype ontology (HPO)-based clinical information. Its main goals are to aid the evaluation of genetic variants, to enhance the validity of the genetic analytical workflow, to increase the quality of genetic diagnoses, and to improve evaluation of treatment options for patients with hereditary diseases. The database software correlates clinical information from consented patients and probands of different geographical backgrounds with a large dataset of genetic variants and, when available, biomarker information. An automated follow-up tool is incorporated that informs all users whenever a variant classification has changed. These unique features fully embedded in a CLIA/CAP-accredited quality management system allow appropriate data quality and enhanced patient safety. More than 100,000 genetically screened individuals are documented in the database, resulting in more than 470 million variant detections. Approximately, 57% of the clinically relevant and uncertain variants in the database are novel. Notably, 3% of the genetic variants identified and previously reported in the literature as being associated with a particular rare disease were reclassified, based on internal evidence, as clinically irrelevant. The database offers a comprehensive summary of the clinical validity and causality of detected gene variants with their associated phenotypes, and is a valuable tool

  7. eCOMPAGT – efficient Combination and Management of Phenotypes and Genotypes for Genetic Epidemiology

    PubMed Central

    Schönherr, Sebastian; Weißensteiner, Hansi; Coassin, Stefan; Specht, Günther; Kronenberg, Florian; Brandstätter, Anita

    2009-01-01

    Background High-throughput genotyping and phenotyping projects of large epidemiological study populations require sophisticated laboratory information management systems. Most epidemiological studies include subject-related personal information, which needs to be handled with care by following data privacy protection guidelines. In addition, genotyping core facilities handling cooperative projects require a straightforward solution to monitor the status and financial resources of the different projects. Description We developed a database system for an efficient combination and management of phenotypes and genotypes (eCOMPAGT) deriving from genetic epidemiological studies. eCOMPAGT securely stores and manages genotype and phenotype data and enables different user modes with different rights. Special attention was drawn on the import of data deriving from TaqMan and SNPlex genotyping assays. However, the database solution is adjustable to other genotyping systems by programming additional interfaces. Further important features are the scalability of the database and an export interface to statistical software. Conclusion eCOMPAGT can store, administer and connect phenotype data with all kinds of genotype data and is available as a downloadable version at . PMID:19432954

  8. Evaluation of the genotypic prediction of HIV-1 coreceptor use versus a phenotypic assay and correlation with the virological response to maraviroc: the ANRS GenoTropism study.

    PubMed

    Recordon-Pinson, Patricia; Soulié, Cathia; Flandre, Philippe; Descamps, Diane; Lazrek, Mouna; Charpentier, Charlotte; Montes, Brigitte; Trabaud, Mary-Anne; Cottalorda, Jacqueline; Schneider, Véronique; Morand-Joubert, Laurence; Tamalet, Catherine; Desbois, Delphine; Macé, Muriel; Ferré, Virginie; Vabret, Astrid; Ruffault, Annick; Pallier, Coralie; Raymond, Stéphanie; Izopet, Jacques; Reynes, Jacques; Marcelin, Anne-Geneviève; Masquelier, Bernard

    2010-08-01

    Genotypic algorithms for prediction of HIV-1 coreceptor usage need to be evaluated in a clinical setting. We aimed at studying (i) the correlation of genotypic prediction of coreceptor use in comparison with a phenotypic assay and (ii) the relationship between genotypic prediction of coreceptor use at baseline and the virological response (VR) to a therapy including maraviroc (MVC). Antiretroviral-experienced patients were included in the MVC Expanded Access Program if they had an R5 screening result with Trofile (Monogram Biosciences). V3 loop sequences were determined at screening, and coreceptor use was predicted using 13 genotypic algorithms or combinations of algorithms. Genotypic predictions were compared to Trofile; dual or mixed (D/M) variants were considered as X4 variants. Both genotypic and phenotypic results were obtained for 189 patients at screening, with 54 isolates scored as X4 or D/M and 135 scored as R5 with Trofile. The highest sensitivity (59.3%) for detection of X4 was obtained with the Geno2pheno algorithm, with a false-positive rate set up at 10% (Geno2pheno10). In the 112 patients receiving MVC, a plasma viral RNA load of <50 copies/ml was obtained in 68% of cases at month 6. In multivariate analysis, the prediction of the X4 genotype at baseline with the Geno2pheno10 algorithm including baseline viral load and CD4 nadir was independently associated with a worse VR at months 1 and 3. The baseline weighted genotypic sensitivity score was associated with VR at month 6. There were strong arguments in favor of using genotypic coreceptor use assays for determining which patients would respond to CCR5 antagonist.

  9. Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of Trueperella pyogenes isolated from ruminants.

    PubMed

    Rogovskyy, Artem S; Lawhon, Sara; Kuczmanski, Kathryn; Gillis, David C; Wu, Jing; Hurley, Helen; Rogovska, Yuliya V; Konganti, Kranti; Yang, Ching-Yuan; Duncan, Kay

    2018-05-01

    Trueperella pyogenes is an opportunistic pathogen that causes suppurative infections in animals including humans. Data on phenotypic and genotypic properties of T. pyogenes isolated from ruminants, particularly goats and sheep, are lacking. We characterized, by phenotypic and genotypic means, T. pyogenes of caprine and ovine origin, and established their phylogenetic relationship with isolates from other ruminants. T. pyogenes isolates ( n = 50) from diagnostic specimens of bovine ( n = 25), caprine ( n = 19), and ovine ( n = 6) origin were analyzed. Overall, variable biochemical activities were observed among the T. pyogenes isolates. The fimbriae-encoding gene, fimE, and neuraminidase-encoding gene, nanH, were, respectively, more frequently detected in the large ( p = 0.0006) and small ( p = 0.0001) ruminant isolates. Moreover, genotype V ( plo/ nanH/ nanP/ fimA/ fimC) was only detected in the caprine and ovine isolates, whereas genotype IX ( plo/ nanP/ fimA/ fimC/ fimE) was solely present in the isolates of bovine origin ( p = 0.0223). The 16S rRNA gene sequences of all T. pyogenes isolates were clustered with the reference T. pyogenes strain ATCC 19411 and displayed a high degree of identity to each other. Our results highlight phenotypic and genotypic diversity among ruminant isolates of T. pyogenes and reinforce the importance of characterization of more clinical isolates to better understand the pathogenesis of this bacterium in different animal species.

  10. Genotype-property patient-phenotype relations suggest that proteome exhaustion can cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

    PubMed

    Kepp, Kasper P

    2015-01-01

    Late-onset neurodegenerative diseases remain poorly understood as search continues for the perceived pathogenic protein species. Previously, variants in Superoxide Dismutase 1 (SOD1) causing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) were found to destabilize and reduce net charge, suggesting a pathogenic aggregation mechanism. This paper reports analysis of compiled patient data and experimental and computed protein properties for variants of human SOD1, a major risk factor of ALS. Both stability and reduced net charge correlate significantly with disease, with larger significance than previously observed. Using two independent methods and two data sets, a probability < 3% (t-statistical test) is found that ALS-causing mutations share average stability with all possible 2907 SOD1 mutations. Most importantly, un-weighted patient survival times correlate strongly with the misfolded/unfolded protein copy number, expressed as an exponential function of the experimental stabilities (R2 = 0.31, p = 0.002), and this phenotype is further aggravated by charge (R2 = 0.51, p = 1.8 x 10-5). This finding suggests that disease relates to the copy number of misfolded proteins. Exhaustion of motor neurons due to expensive protein turnover of misfolded protein copies is consistent with the data but can further explain e.g. the expression-dependence of SOD1 pathogenicity, the lack of identification of a molecular toxic mode, elevated SOD1 mRNA levels in sporadic ALS, bioenergetic effects and increased resting energy expenditure in ALS patients, genetic risk factors affecting RNA metabolism, and recent findings that a SOD1 mutant becomes toxic when proteasome activity is recovered after washout of a proteasome inhibitor. Proteome exhaustion is also consistent with energy-producing mitochondria accumulating at the neuromuscular junctions where ALS often initiates. If true, this exhaustion mechanism implies a complete change of focus in treatment of ALS towards actively nursing the energy

  11. An XML-based interchange format for genotype-phenotype data.

    PubMed

    Whirl-Carrillo, M; Woon, M; Thorn, C F; Klein, T E; Altman, R B

    2008-02-01

    Recent advances in high-throughput genotyping and phenotyping have accelerated the creation of pharmacogenomic data. Consequently, the community requires standard formats to exchange large amounts of diverse information. To facilitate the transfer of pharmacogenomics data between databases and analysis packages, we have created a standard XML (eXtensible Markup Language) schema that describes both genotype and phenotype data as well as associated metadata. The schema accommodates information regarding genes, drugs, diseases, experimental methods, genomic/RNA/protein sequences, subjects, subject groups, and literature. The Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics Knowledge Base (PharmGKB; www.pharmgkb.org) has used this XML schema for more than 5 years to accept and process submissions containing more than 1,814,139 SNPs on 20,797 subjects using 8,975 assays. Although developed in the context of pharmacogenomics, the schema is of general utility for exchange of genotype and phenotype data. We have written syntactic and semantic validators to check documents using this format. The schema and code for validation is available to the community at http://www.pharmgkb.org/schema/index.html (last accessed: 8 October 2007). (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  12. Fabry disease in children: correlation between ocular manifestations, genotype and systemic clinical severity.

    PubMed

    Allen, L E; Cosgrave, E M; Kersey, J P; Ramaswami, U

    2010-12-01

    Fabry disease is an X linked lysosomal disorder associated with severe multiorgan failure and premature death. This study aims to determine the prevalence of ophthalmic manifestations in children with the condition and investigate the correlation with genotype and systemic disease severity. The records of 26 children from 18 pedigrees with Fabry disease undergoing regular ophthalmic and systemic examination were reviewed. All pedigrees underwent GLA gene sequencing to determine genotype. Correlations between ocular and systemic phenotype and genotype were investigated. Corneal verticillata occurred in 50% of the children in this study (95% CI, 29% to 79%). Children with ophthalmic manifestations were more likely to have loss-of-function GLA mutations (p=0.003). Retinal vascular tortuosity was seen in seven children (27%), all of whom had systemic symptoms suggestive of autonomic neuropathy, such as diarrhoea and syncope. These symptoms seemed less prevalent in children without retinal vascular changes, although this did not reach statistical significance (p=0.134). Ophthalmic manifestations of Fabry disease are common even in young children with loss-of-function GLA gene mutations. Although the limited sample size possibly prevented statistical significance, systemic symptoms of autonomic neuropathy often coexist with retinal vascular changes and may share the same pathogenesis.

  13. Audiological and vestibular features in affected subjects with USH3: a genotype/phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Sadeghi, Mehdi; Cohn, Edward S; Kimberling, William J; Tranebjaerg, Lisbeth; Möller, Claes

    2005-05-01

    The aims were to compare the genotype/phenotype relationship between USH3 mutations and the consequent hearing and vestibular phenotype; and to compare hearing loss (HL) progression between Usher syndrome types IB, IIA and USH3. Genetic, audiometric and vestibular examinations were performed in 28 subjects with USH3. Five different mutations in USH3 were identified. Severe HL was present from an early age (4 to 6 years) in 35% of subjects with USH3. Progression of HL begins in the first decade, and approximately 50% of subjects with USH3 become profoundly deaf by age 40. Various vestibular abnormalities were found in about half (10/22) of the tested subjects with USH3. Depending on the severity of HL, subjects with USH3 might be misdiagnosed as either Usher type IB or IIA. The results from this study can be used as discriminatory features in differential diagnosis of this syndrome.

  14. Assessing sex assignment concordance with genotype and phenotype.

    PubMed

    Suresh, Deepa; Crawford, Jessica; Axelrad, Marni E; Gunn, Sheila K; McCullough, Laurence; Smith, O' Brian; Sutton, Vernon R; Roth, David; Karaviti, Lefkothea P; Dietrich, Jennifer E

    2013-03-14

    To catalogue patients with DSD and to assess the concordance of genotype and phenotype with sex assignment at birth compared to sex assignment before and following assessment by a Gender Medicine Team (GMT) at one institution, as an initial step in formulating standardized guidelines for management of these conditions. After obtaining IRB approval, a retrospective chart review was conducted patients seen in the Gender Medicine Clinic (GMC) between 2006-2009 at Texas Children's Hospital (TCH), Houston, Texas. McNemar's test and Kappa agreement provided associations of various factors with sex assignment at birth prior to GMT assessment and after GMT assessment. Forty-seven patients seen in the GMC with confirmed DSD. Forty-seven patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age of the patients at the time of GMT evaluation was 9.1+/-6.1 years; 61.7% had male karyotype, and 38.3% had female karyotype; 51.1% had a male external phenotype, 42.6% had a female external phenotype, and 6.4% had phenotypic ambiguity. Sex assignment was concordant with genotype and phenotype in 63.8% and 86.4%, respectively of cases at the time of birth and in 76.6% and 97.7%, respectively, of cases after assessment by GMT. Long-term outcomes are needed to establish standardized practice guidelines for decision-making.

  15. [Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of Mycobacterium kansasii strains isolated in Spain (2000-2003)].

    PubMed

    Jiménez-Pajares, María Soledad; Herrera, Laura; Valverde, Azucena; Saiz, Pilar; Sáez-Nieto, Juan Antonio

    2005-05-01

    Mycobacterium kansasii is an opportunistic pathogen that mainly causes pulmonary infections. This species accounted for 9.7% of Mycobacteria other than tuberculosis complex identified in the reference laboratory of the Spanish Centro Nacional de Microbiologia during the period of 2000-2003. In this study we analyzed the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of 298 M. kansasii strains isolated over this 4-year period. The phenotypic characteristics were determined by conventional methods: biochemical testing, culture and morphological study. Genotypic characteristics were studied using PCR restriction fragment analysis of a fragment of the hsp65 gene and digestion with BstEII and HaeIII, according to the method of Telenti. Among the total of tested strains, 57.4% had the typical phenotypic characteristics described for M. kansasii. The rest had atypical patterns that we grouped into 17 biotypes. Strains belonging to six of the seven described genotypes were identified, with 86.6% of the strains falling into genotype I. Analysis of the phenotypic characteristics of M. kansasii showed a higher discrimination index for intraspecific differentiation than genotypic methods. Nevertheless, the high variability of phenotypic characteristics, some of which were very specific for the species (e.g., photochromogenicity), could complicate their identification. Hence both conventional and molecular methods should be used to accurately identify the atypical isolates.

  16. Genotype-Phenotype Correlation of SCN5A Mutation for the Clinical and Electrocardiographic Characteristics of Probands With Brugada Syndrome: A Japanese Multicenter Registry.

    PubMed

    Yamagata, Kenichiro; Horie, Minoru; Aiba, Takeshi; Ogawa, Satoshi; Aizawa, Yoshifusa; Ohe, Tohru; Yamagishi, Masakazu; Makita, Naomasa; Sakurada, Harumizu; Tanaka, Toshihiro; Shimizu, Akihiko; Hagiwara, Nobuhisa; Kishi, Ryoji; Nakano, Yukiko; Takagi, Masahiko; Makiyama, Takeru; Ohno, Seiko; Fukuda, Keiichi; Watanabe, Hiroshi; Morita, Hiroshi; Hayashi, Kenshi; Kusano, Kengo; Kamakura, Shiro; Yasuda, Satoshi; Ogawa, Hisao; Miyamoto, Yoshihiro; Kapplinger, Jamie D; Ackerman, Michael J; Shimizu, Wataru

    2017-06-06

    The genotype-phenotype correlation of SCN5A mutations as a predictor of cardiac events in Brugada syndrome remains controversial. We aimed to establish a registry limited to probands, with a long follow-up period, so that the genotype-phenotype correlation of SCN5A mutations in Brugada syndrome can be examined without patient selection bias. This multicenter registry enrolled 415 probands (n=403; men, 97%; age, 46±14 years) diagnosed with Brugada syndrome whose SCN5A gene was analyzed for mutations. During a mean follow-up period of 72 months, the overall cardiac event rate was 2.5%/y. In comparison with probands without mutations ( SCN5A (-), n=355), probands with SCN5A mutations ( SCN5A (+), n=60) experienced their first cardiac event at a younger age (34 versus 42 years, P =0.013), had a higher positive rate of late potentials (89% versus 73%, P =0.016), exhibited longer P-wave, PQ, and QRS durations, and had a higher rate of cardiac events ( P =0.017 by log-rank). Multivariate analysis indicated that only SCN5A mutation and history of aborted cardiac arrest were significant predictors of cardiac events ( SCN5A (+) versus SCN5A (-): hazard ratio, 2.0 and P =0.045; history of aborted cardiac arrest versus no such history: hazard ratio, 6.5 and P <0.001). Brugada syndrome patients with SCN5A mutations exhibit more conduction abnormalities on ECG and have higher risk for cardiac events. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  17. Centronuclear myopathies: genotype-phenotype correlation and frequency of defined genetic forms in an Italian cohort.

    PubMed

    Fattori, Fabiana; Maggi, Lorenzo; Bruno, Claudio; Cassandrini, Denise; Codemo, Valentina; Catteruccia, Michela; Tasca, Giorgio; Berardinelli, Angela; Magri, Francesca; Pane, Marika; Rubegni, Anna; Santoro, Lucio; Ruggiero, Lucia; Fiorini, Patrizio; Pini, Antonella; Mongini, Tiziana; Messina, Sonia; Brisca, Giacomo; Colombo, Irene; Astrea, Guja; Fiorillo, Chiara; Bragato, Cinzia; Moroni, Isabella; Pegoraro, Elena; D'Apice, Maria Rosaria; Alfei, Enrico; Mora, Marina; Morandi, Lucia; Donati, Alice; Evilä, Anni; Vihola, Anna; Udd, Bjarne; Bernansconi, Pia; Mercuri, Eugenio; Santorelli, Filippo Maria; Bertini, Enrico; D'Amico, Adele

    2015-07-01

    Centronuclear myopathies (CNMs) are a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous muscle disorders. To date, mutation in 7 different genes has been reported to cause CNMs but 30 % of cases still remain genetically undefined. Genetic investigations are often expensive and time consuming. Clinical and morphological clues are needed to facilitate genetic tests and to choose the best approach for genetic screening. We aimed to describe genotype-phenotype correlation in an Italian cohort of patients affected by CNMs, to define the relative frequencies of its defined genetic forms and to draw a diagnostic algorithm to address genetic investigations. We recruited patients with CNMs from all the Italian tertiary neuromuscular centers following clinical and histological criteria. All selected patients were screened for the four 'canonical' genes related to CNMs: MTM1, DNM2, RYR1 and BIN1. Pathogenetic mutations were found in 38 of the 54 screened patients (70 %), mostly in patients with congenital onset (25 of 30 patients, 83 %): 15 in MTM1, 6 in DNM2, 3 in RYR1 and one in TTN. Among the 13 patients with a childhood-adolescence onset, mutations were found in 6 patients (46 %), all in DNM2. In the group of the 11 patients with adult onset, mutations were identified in 7 patients (63 %), again in DNM2, confirming that variants in this gene are relatively more common in late-onset phenotypes. The present study provides the relative molecular frequency of centronuclear myopathy and of its genetically defined forms in Italy and also proposes a diagnostic algorithm to be used in clinical practice to address genetic investigations.

  18. Genotyping in 46 patients with tentative diagnosis of Treacher Collins syndrome revealed unexpected phenotypic variation.

    PubMed

    Teber, Ozge Altug; Gillessen-Kaesbach, Gabriele; Fischer, Sven; Böhringer, Stefan; Albrecht, Beate; Albert, Angelika; Arslan-Kirchner, Mine; Haan, Eric; Hagedorn-Greiwe, Monika; Hammans, Christof; Henn, Wolfram; Hinkel, Georg Klaus; König, Rainer; Kunstmann, Erdmute; Kunze, Jürgen; Neumann, Luitgard M; Prott, Eva-Christina; Rauch, Anita; Rott, Hans-Dieter; Seidel, Heide; Spranger, Stephanie; Sprengel, Martin; Zoll, Barbara; Lohmann, Dietmar R; Wieczorek, Dagmar

    2004-11-01

    To define the range of phenotypic expression in Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS; Franceschetti-Klein syndrome), we performed mutation analysis in the TCOF1 gene in 46 patients with tentative diagnosis of TCS and evaluated the clinical data, including a scoring system. A total of 27 coding exons of TCOF1 and adjacent splice junctions were analysed by direct sequencing. In 36 patients with a clinically unequivocal diagnosis of TCS, we detected 28 pathogenic mutations, including 25 novel alterations. No mutation was identified in the remaining eight patients with unequivocal diagnosis of TCS and 10 further patients, in whom the referring diagnosis of TCS was clinically doubtful. There is no overt genotype-phenotype correlation except that conductive deafness is significantly less frequent in patients with mutations in the 3' part of the open reading frame. Inter- and intrafamilial variation is wide. Some mutation carriers, parents of typically affected patients, are so mildly affected that the diagnosis might be overlooked clinically. This suggests that modifying factors are important for phenotypic expression. Based on these findings, minimal diagnostic criteria were defined: downward slanting palpebral fissures and hypoplasia of the zygomatic arch. The difficulties in genetic counselling, especially diagnosis of family members with a mild phenotype, are described.

  19. Phenotypic and genome-wide association analysis of spike ethylene in diverse wheat genotypes under heat stress.

    PubMed

    Valluru, Ravi; Reynolds, Matthew P; Davies, William J; Sukumaran, Sivakumar

    2017-04-01

    The gaseous phytohormone ethylene plays an important role in spike development in wheat (Triticum aestivum). However, the genotypic variation and the genomic regions governing spike ethylene (SET) production in wheat under long-term heat stress remain unexplored. We investigated genotypic variation in the production of SET and its relationship with spike dry weight (SDW) in 130 diverse wheat elite lines and landraces under heat-stressed field conditions. We employed an Illumina iSelect 90K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping array to identify the genetic loci for SET and SDW through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a subset of the Wheat Association Mapping Initiative (WAMI) panel. The SET and SDW exhibited appreciable genotypic variation among wheat genotypes at the anthesis stage. There was a strong negative correlation between SET and SDW. The GWAS uncovered five and 32 significant SNPs for SET, and 22 and 142 significant SNPs for SDW, in glasshouse and field conditions, respectively. Some of these SNPs closely localized to the SNPs for plant height, suggesting close associations between plant height and spike-related traits. The phenotypic and genetic elucidation of SET and its relationship with SDW supports future efforts toward gene discovery and breeding wheat cultivars with reduced ethylene effects on yield under heat stress. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

  20. Physical Model of the Genotype-to-Phenotype Map of Proteins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tlusty, Tsvi; Libchaber, Albert; Eckmann, Jean-Pierre

    2017-04-01

    How DNA is mapped to functional proteins is a basic question of living matter. We introduce and study a physical model of protein evolution which suggests a mechanical basis for this map. Many proteins rely on large-scale motion to function. We therefore treat protein as learning amorphous matter that evolves towards such a mechanical function: Genes are binary sequences that encode the connectivity of the amino acid network that makes a protein. The gene is evolved until the network forms a shear band across the protein, which allows for long-range, soft modes required for protein function. The evolution reduces the high-dimensional sequence space to a low-dimensional space of mechanical modes, in accord with the observed dimensional reduction between genotype and phenotype of proteins. Spectral analysis of the space of 1 06 solutions shows a strong correspondence between localization around the shear band of both mechanical modes and the sequence structure. Specifically, our model shows how mutations are correlated among amino acids whose interactions determine the functional mode.

  1. The Face of Noonan Syndrome: Does Phenotype Predict Genotype

    PubMed Central

    Allanson, Judith E.; Bohring, Axel; Dorr, Helmuth-Guenther; Dufke, Andreas; Gillessen-Kaesbach, Gabrielle; Horn, Denise; König, Rainer; Kratz, Christian P.; Kutsche, Kerstin; Pauli, Silke; Raskin, Salmo; Rauch, Anita; Turner, Anne; Wieczorek, Dagmar; Zenker, Martin

    2011-01-01

    The facial photographs of 81 individuals with Noonan syndrome, from infancy to adulthood, have been evaluated by two dysmorphologists (JA and MZ), each of whom has considerable experience with disorders of the Ras/MAPK pathway. Thirty-two of this cohort have PTPN11 mutations, 21 SOS1 mutations, 11 RAF1 mutations, and 17 KRAS mutations. The facial appearance of each person was judged to be typical of Noonan syndrome or atypical. In each gene category both typical and unusual faces were found. We determined that some individuals with mutations in the most commonly affected gene, PTPN11, which is correlated with the cardinal physical features, may have a quite atypical face. Conversely, some individuals with KRAS mutations, which may be associated with a less characteristic intellectual phenotype and a resemblance to Costello and cardio-facio-cutaneous syndromes, can have a very typical face. Thus, the facial phenotype, alone, is insufficient to predict the genotype, but certain facial features may facilitate an educated guess in some cases. PMID:20602484

  2. Correlation between Waardenburg syndrome phenotype and genotype in a population of individuals with identified PAX3 mutations.

    PubMed

    DeStefano, A L; Cupples, L A; Arnos, K S; Asher, J H; Baldwin, C T; Blanton, S; Carey, M L; da Silva, E O; Friedman, T B; Greenberg, J; Lalwani, A K; Milunsky, A; Nance, W E; Pandya, A; Ramesar, R S; Read, A P; Tassabejhi, M; Wilcox, E R; Farrer, L A

    1998-05-01

    Waardenburg syndrome (WS) type 1 is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by sensorineural hearing loss, pigmentary abnormalities of the eye, hair, and skin, and dystopia canthorum. The phenotype is variable and affected individuals may exhibit only one or a combination of several of the associated features. To assess the relationship between phenotype and gene defect, clinical and genotype data on 48 families (271 WS individuals) collected by members of the Waardenburg Consortium were pooled. Forty-two unique mutations in the PAX3 gene, previously identified in these families, were grouped in five mutation categories: amino acid (AA) substitution in the paired domain, AA substitution in the homeodomain, deletion of the Ser-Thr-Pro-rich region, deletion of the homeodomain and the Ser-Thr-Pro-rich region, and deletion of the entire gene. These mutation classes are based on the structure of the PAX3 gene and were chosen to group mutations predicted to have similar defects in the gene product. Association between mutation class and the presence of hearing loss, eye pigment abnormality, skin hypopigmentation, or white forelock was evaluated using generalized estimating equations, which allowed for incorporation of a correlation structure that accounts for potential similarity among members of the same family. Odds for the presence of eye pigment abnormality, white forelock, and skin hypopigmentation were 2, 8, and 5 times greater, respectively, for individuals with deletions of the homeodomain and the Pro-Ser-Thr-rich region compared to individuals with an AA substitution in the homeodomain. Odds ratios that differ significantly from 1.0 for these traits may indicate that the gene products resulting from different classes of mutations act differently in the expression of WS. Although a suggestive association was detected for hearing loss with an odds ratio of 2.6 for AA substitution in the paired domain compared with AA substitution in the homeodomain, this odds

  3. Molecular etiology and genotype-phenotype correlation of Chinese Han deaf patients with type I and type II Waardenburg Syndrome.

    PubMed

    Sun, Lianhua; Li, Xiaohua; Shi, Jun; Pang, Xiuhong; Hu, Yechen; Wang, Xiaowen; Wu, Hao; Yang, Tao

    2016-10-19

    Waardenburg syndrome (WS) characterized by sensorineural hearing loss and pigmentary abnormalities is genetically heterogeneous and phenotypically variable. This study investigated the molecular etiology and genotype-phenotype correlation of WS in 36 Chinese Han deaf probands and 16 additional family members that were clinically diagnosed with WS type I (WS1, n = 8) and type II (WS2, n = 42). Mutation screening of six WS-associated genes detected PAX3 mutations in 6 (86%) of the 7 WS1 probands. Among the 29 WS2 probands, 13 (45%) and 10 (34%) were identified with SOX10 and MITF mutations, respectively. Nineteen of the 26 detected mutations were novel. In WS2 probands whose parental DNA samples were available, de novo mutations were frequently seen for SOX10 mutations (7/8) but not for MITF mutations (0/5, P = 0.005). Excessive freckle, a common feature of WS2 in Chinese Hans, was frequent in WS2 probands with MITF mutations (7/10) but not in those with SOX10 mutations (0/13, P = 4.9 × 10 -4 ). Our results showed that mutations in SOX10 and MITF are two major causes for deafness associated with WS2. These two subtypes of WS2 can be distinguished by the high de novo rate of the SOX10 mutations and the excessive freckle phenotype exclusively associated with the MITF mutations.

  4. Molecular etiology and genotype-phenotype correlation of Chinese Han deaf patients with type I and type II Waardenburg Syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Lianhua; Li, Xiaohua; Shi, Jun; Pang, Xiuhong; Hu, Yechen; Wang, Xiaowen; Wu, Hao; Yang, Tao

    2016-01-01

    Waardenburg syndrome (WS) characterized by sensorineural hearing loss and pigmentary abnormalities is genetically heterogeneous and phenotypically variable. This study investigated the molecular etiology and genotype-phenotype correlation of WS in 36 Chinese Han deaf probands and 16 additional family members that were clinically diagnosed with WS type I (WS1, n = 8) and type II (WS2, n = 42). Mutation screening of six WS-associated genes detected PAX3 mutations in 6 (86%) of the 7 WS1 probands. Among the 29 WS2 probands, 13 (45%) and 10 (34%) were identified with SOX10 and MITF mutations, respectively. Nineteen of the 26 detected mutations were novel. In WS2 probands whose parental DNA samples were available, de novo mutations were frequently seen for SOX10 mutations (7/8) but not for MITF mutations (0/5, P = 0.005). Excessive freckle, a common feature of WS2 in Chinese Hans, was frequent in WS2 probands with MITF mutations (7/10) but not in those with SOX10 mutations (0/13, P = 4.9 × 10−4). Our results showed that mutations in SOX10 and MITF are two major causes for deafness associated with WS2. These two subtypes of WS2 can be distinguished by the high de novo rate of the SOX10 mutations and the excessive freckle phenotype exclusively associated with the MITF mutations. PMID:27759048

  5. Medulloblastoma genotype dictates blood brain barrier phenotype

    PubMed Central

    Phoenix, Timothy N.; Patmore, Deanna M.; Boop, Scott; Boulos, Nidal; Jacus, Megan O.; Patel, Yogesh T.; Roussel, Martine F; Finkelstein, David; Goumnerova, Lilian; Perreault, Sebastien; Wadhwa, Elizabeth; Cho, Yoon-Jae; Stewart, Clinton F.; Gilbertson, Richard J.

    2016-01-01

    SUMMARY The childhood brain tumour medulloblastoma includes four subtypes with very different prognoses. Here, we show that paracrine signals driven by mutant Beta-Catenin in WNT-medulloblastoma – an essentially curable form of the disease – induce an aberrant fenestrated vasculature that permits the accumulation of high levels of intra-tumoural chemotherapy and a robust therapeutic response. In contrast, SHH-medulloblastoma – a less curable disease subtype – contains an intact blood brain barrier, rendering this tumour impermeable and resistant to chemotherapy. The medulloblastoma-endothelial cell paracrine axis can be manipulated in vivo, altering chemotherapy permeability and clinical response. Thus, medulloblastoma genotype dictates tumour vessel phenotype, explaining in part the disparate prognoses among medulloblastoma subtypes and suggesting an approach to enhance the chemoresponsiveness of other brain tumours. PMID:27050100

  6. Medulloblastoma Genotype Dictates Blood Brain Barrier Phenotype.

    PubMed

    Phoenix, Timothy N; Patmore, Deanna M; Boop, Scott; Boulos, Nidal; Jacus, Megan O; Patel, Yogesh T; Roussel, Martine F; Finkelstein, David; Goumnerova, Liliana; Perreault, Sebastien; Wadhwa, Elizabeth; Cho, Yoon-Jae; Stewart, Clinton F; Gilbertson, Richard J

    2016-04-11

    The childhood brain tumor, medulloblastoma, includes four subtypes with very different prognoses. Here, we show that paracrine signals driven by mutant β-catenin in WNT-medulloblastoma, an essentially curable form of the disease, induce an aberrant fenestrated vasculature that permits the accumulation of high levels of intra-tumoral chemotherapy and a robust therapeutic response. In contrast, SHH-medulloblastoma, a less curable disease subtype, contains an intact blood brain barrier, rendering this tumor impermeable and resistant to chemotherapy. The medulloblastoma-endothelial cell paracrine axis can be manipulated in vivo, altering chemotherapy permeability and clinical response. Thus, medulloblastoma genotype dictates tumor vessel phenotype, explaining in part the disparate prognoses among medulloblastoma subtypes and suggesting an approach to enhance the chemoresponsiveness of other brain tumors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in 153 Adult Patients With Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia due to 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency: Analysis of the United Kingdom Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Adult Study Executive (CaHASE) Cohort

    PubMed Central

    Krone, Nils; Rose, Ian T.; Willis, Debbie S.; Hodson, James; Wild, Sarah H.; Doherty, Emma J.; Hahner, Stefanie; Parajes, Silvia; Stimson, Roland H.; Han, Thang S.; Carroll, Paul V.; Conway, Gerry S.; Walker, Brian R.; MacDonald, Fiona; Arlt, Wiebke

    2013-01-01

    Context: In congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency, a strong genotype-phenotype correlation exists in childhood. However, similar data in adults are lacking. Objective: The objective of the study was to test whether the severity of disease-causing CYP21A2 mutations influences the treatment and health status in adults with CAH. Research Design and Methods: We analyzed the genotype in correlation with treatment and health status in 153 adults with CAH from the United Kingdom Congenital adrenal Hyperplasia Adult Study Executive cohort. Results: CYP21A2 mutations were distributed similarly to previously reported case series. In 7 patients a mutation was identified on only 1 allele. Novel mutations were detected on 1.7% of alleles (5 of 306). Rare mutations were found on 2.3% of alleles (7 of 306). For further analysis, patients were categorized into CYP21A2 mutation groups according to predicted residual enzyme function: null (n = 34), A (n = 42), B (n = 36), C (n = 34), and D (n = 7). Daily glucocorticoid dose was highest in group null and lowest in group C. Fludrocortisone was used more frequently in patients with more severe genotypes. Except for lower female height in group B, no statistically significant associations between genotype and clinical parameters were found. Androgens, blood pressure, lipids, blood glucose, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance were not different between groups. Subjective health status was similarly impaired across groups. Conclusions: In adults with classic CAH and women with nonclassic CAH, there was a weak association between genotype and treatment, but health outcomes were not associated with genotype. The underrepresentation of males with nonclassic CAH may reflect that milder genotypes result in a milder condition that is neither diagnosed nor followed up in adulthood. Overall, our results suggest that the impaired health status of adults with CAH coming to medical attention is

  8. A novel KCNQ4 one-base deletion in a large pedigree with hearing loss: implication for the genotype-phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Kamada, Fumiaki; Kure, Shigeo; Kudo, Takayuki; Suzuki, Yoichi; Oshima, Takeshi; Ichinohe, Akiko; Kojima, Kanako; Niihori, Tetsuya; Kanno, Junko; Narumi, Yoko; Narisawa, Ayumi; Kato, Kumi; Aoki, Yoko; Ikeda, Katsuhisa; Kobayashi, Toshimitsu; Matsubara, Yoichi

    2006-01-01

    Autosomal-dominant, nonsyndromic hearing impairment is clinically and genetically heterogeneous. We encountered a large Japanese pedigree in which nonsyndromic hearing loss was inherited in an autosomal-dominant fashion. A genome-wide linkage study indicated linkage to the DFNA2 locus on chromosome 1p34. Mutational analysis of KCNQ4 encoding a potassium channel revealed a novel one-base deletion in exon 1, c.211delC, which generated a profoundly truncated protein without transmembrane domains (p.Q71fsX138). Previously, six missense mutations and one 13-base deletion, c.211_223del, had been reported in KCNQ4. Patients with the KCNQ4 missense mutations had younger-onset and more profound hearing loss than patients with the 211_223del mutation. In our current study, 12 individuals with the c.211delC mutation manifested late-onset and pure high-frequency hearing loss. Our results support the genotype-phenotype correlation that the KCNQ4 deletions are associated with later-onset and milder hearing impairment than the missense mutations. The phenotypic difference may be caused by the difference in pathogenic mechanisms: haploinsufficiency in deletions and dominant-negative effect in missense mutations.

  9. Combining Genotype, Phenotype, and Environment to Infer Potential Candidate Genes.

    PubMed

    Talbot, Benoit; Chen, Ting-Wen; Zimmerman, Shawna; Joost, Stéphane; Eckert, Andrew J; Crow, Taylor M; Semizer-Cuming, Devrim; Seshadri, Chitra; Manel, Stéphanie

    2017-03-01

    Population genomic analysis can be an important tool in understanding local adaptation. Identification of potential adaptive loci in such analyses is usually based on the survey of a large genomic dataset in combination with environmental variables. Phenotypic data are less commonly incorporated into such studies, although combining a genome scan analysis with a phenotypic trait analysis can greatly improve the insights obtained from each analysis individually. Here, we aimed to identify loci potentially involved in adaptation to climate in 283 Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) samples from throughout the species' range in the southeastern United States. We analyzed associations between phenotypic, molecular, and environmental variables from datasets of 3082 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci and 3 categories of phenotypic traits (gene expression, metabolites, and whole-plant traits). We found only 6 SNP loci that displayed potential signals of local adaptation. Five of the 6 identified SNPs are linked to gene expression traits for lignin development, and 1 is linked with whole-plant traits. We subsequently compared the 6 candidate genes with environmental variables and found a high correlation in only 3 of them (R2 > 0.2). Our study highlights the need for a combination of genotypes, phenotypes, and environmental variables, and for an appropriate sampling scheme and study design, to improve confidence in the identification of potential candidate genes. © The American Genetic Association 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. Observation of c.260A > G mutation in superoxide dismutase 1 that causes p.Asn86Ser in Iranian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patient and absence of genotype/phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Khani, Marzieh; Alavi, Afagh; Nafissi, Shahriar; Elahi, Elahe

    2015-07-06

    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common motor neuron disorder in European populations. ALS can be sporadic ALS (SALS) or familial ALS (FALS). Among 20 known ALS genes, mutations in C9orf72 and superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) are the most common genetic causes of the disease. Whereas C9orf72 mutations are more common in Western populations, the contribution of SOD1 to ALS in Iran is more than C9orf72. At present, a clear genotype/phenotype correlation for ALS has not been identified. We aimed to perform mutation screening of SOD1 in a newly identified Iranian FALS patient and to assess whether a genotype/phenotype correlation for the identified mutation exists. The five exons of SOD1 and flanking intronic sequences of a FALS proband were screened for mutations by direct sequencing. The clinical features of the proband were assessed by a neuromuscular specialist (SN). The phenotypic presentations were compared to previously reported patients with the same mutation. Heterozygous c.260A > G mutation in SOD1 that causes Asn86Ser was identified in the proband. Age at onset was 34 years and site of the first presentation was in the lower extremities. Comparisons of clinical features of different ALS patients with the same mutation evidenced variable presentations. The c.260A > G mutation in SOD1 that causes Asn86Ser appears to cause ALS with variable clinical presentations.

  11. Recognition of the polycistronic nature of human genes is critical to understanding the genotype-phenotype relationship.

    PubMed

    Brunet, Marie A; Levesque, Sébastien A; Hunting, Darel J; Cohen, Alan A; Roucou, Xavier

    2018-05-01

    Technological advances promise unprecedented opportunities for whole exome sequencing and proteomic analyses of populations. Currently, data from genome and exome sequencing or proteomic studies are searched against reference genome annotations. This provides the foundation for research and clinical screening for genetic causes of pathologies. However, current genome annotations substantially underestimate the proteomic information encoded within a gene. Numerous studies have now demonstrated the expression and function of alternative (mainly small, sometimes overlapping) ORFs within mature gene transcripts. This has important consequences for the correlation of phenotypes and genotypes. Most alternative ORFs are not yet annotated because of a lack of evidence, and this absence from databases precludes their detection by standard proteomic methods, such as mass spectrometry. Here, we demonstrate how current approaches tend to overlook alternative ORFs, hindering the discovery of new genetic drivers and fundamental research. We discuss available tools and techniques to improve identification of proteins from alternative ORFs and finally suggest a novel annotation system to permit a more complete representation of the transcriptomic and proteomic information contained within a gene. Given the crucial challenge of distinguishing functional ORFs from random ones, the suggested pipeline emphasizes both experimental data and conservation signatures. The addition of alternative ORFs in databases will render identification less serendipitous and advance the pace of research and genomic knowledge. This review highlights the urgent medical and research need to incorporate alternative ORFs in current genome annotations and thus permit their inclusion in hypotheses and models, which relate phenotypes and genotypes. © 2018 Brunet et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

  12. A latent modeling approach to genotype-phenotype relationships: maternal problem behavior clusters, prenatal smoking, and MAOA genotype.

    PubMed

    McGrath, L M; Mustanski, B; Metzger, A; Pine, D S; Kistner-Griffin, E; Cook, E; Wakschlag, L S

    2012-08-01

    This study illustrates the application of a latent modeling approach to genotype-phenotype relationships and gene × environment interactions, using a novel, multidimensional model of adult female problem behavior, including maternal prenatal smoking. The gene of interest is the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene which has been well studied in relation to antisocial behavior. Participants were adult women (N = 192) who were sampled from a prospective pregnancy cohort of non-Hispanic, white individuals recruited from a neighborhood health clinic. Structural equation modeling was used to model a female problem behavior phenotype, which included conduct problems, substance use, impulsive-sensation seeking, interpersonal aggression, and prenatal smoking. All of the female problem behavior dimensions clustered together strongly, with the exception of prenatal smoking. A main effect of MAOA genotype and a MAOA × physical maltreatment interaction were detected with the Conduct Problems factor. Our phenotypic model showed that prenatal smoking is not simply a marker of other maternal problem behaviors. The risk variant in the MAOA main effect and interaction analyses was the high activity MAOA genotype, which is discrepant from consensus findings in male samples. This result contributes to an emerging literature on sex-specific interaction effects for MAOA.

  13. Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood: Retrospective Genetic Study and Genotype-Phenotype Correlations in 187 Subjects from the US AHCF Registry

    PubMed Central

    Viollet, Louis; Glusman, Gustavo; Murphy, Kelley J.; Newcomb, Tara M.; Reyna, Sandra P.; Sweney, Matthew; Nelson, Benjamin; Andermann, Frederick; Andermann, Eva; Acsadi, Gyula; Barbano, Richard L.; Brown, Candida; Brunkow, Mary E.; Chugani, Harry T.; Cheyette, Sarah R.; Collins, Abigail; DeBrosse, Suzanne D.; Galas, David; Friedman, Jennifer; Hood, Lee; Huff, Chad; Jorde, Lynn B.; King, Mary D.; LaSalle, Bernie; Leventer, Richard J.; Lewelt, Aga J.; Massart, Mylynda B.; Mérida, Mario R.; Ptáček, Louis J.; Roach, Jared C.; Rust, Robert S.; Renault, Francis; Sanger, Terry D.; Sotero de Menezes, Marcio A.; Tennyson, Rachel; Uldall, Peter; Zhang, Yue; Zupanc, Mary; Xin, Winnie; Silver, Kenneth; Swoboda, Kathryn J.

    2015-01-01

    Mutations in ATP1A3 cause Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (AHC) by disrupting function of the neuronal Na+/K+ ATPase. Published studies to date indicate 2 recurrent mutations, D801N and E815K, and a more severe phenotype in the E815K cohort. We performed mutation analysis and retrospective genotype-phenotype correlations in all eligible patients with AHC enrolled in the US AHC Foundation registry from 1997-2012. Clinical data were abstracted from standardized caregivers’ questionnaires and medical records and confirmed by expert clinicians. We identified ATP1A3 mutations by Sanger and whole genome sequencing, and compared phenotypes within and between 4 groups of subjects, those with D801N, E815K, other ATP1A3 or no ATP1A3 mutations. We identified heterozygous ATP1A3 mutations in 154 of 187 (82%) AHC patients. Of 34 unique mutations, 31 (91%) are missense, and 16 (47%) had not been previously reported. Concordant with prior studies, more than 2/3 of all mutations are clustered in exons 17 and 18. Of 143 simplex occurrences, 58 had D801N (40%), 38 had E815K (26%) and 11 had G937R (8%) mutations. Patients with an E815K mutation demonstrate an earlier age of onset, more severe motor impairment and a higher prevalence of status epilepticus. This study further expands the number and spectrum of ATP1A3 mutations associated with AHC and confirms a more deleterious effect of the E815K mutation on selected neurologic outcomes. However, the complexity of the disorder and the extensive phenotypic variability among subgroups merits caution and emphasizes the need for further studies. PMID:25996915

  14. Genotype-Phenotype Correlation of Hereditary Erythrocytosis Mutations, a single center experience.

    PubMed

    Oliveira, Jennifer L; Coon, Lea M; Frederick, Lori A; Hein, Molly; Swanson, Kenneth C; Savedra, Michelle E; Porter, Tavanna R; Patnaik, Mrinal M; Tefferi, Ayalew; Pardanani, Animesh; Grebe, Stefan K; Viswanatha, David S; Hoyer, James D

    2018-05-23

    Hereditary erythrocytosis is associated with high oxygen affinity hemoglobin variants (HOAs), 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate deficiency and abnormalities in EPOR and the oxygen-sensing pathway proteins PHD, HIF2α, and VHL. Our laboratory has 40 years of experience with hemoglobin disorder testing and we have characterized HOAs using varied protein and molecular techniques including functional assessment by p50 analysis. In addition, we have more recently commenced adding the assessment of clinically relevant regions of the VHL, BPGM, EPOR, EGLN1 (PHD2), and EPAS1 (HIF2A) genes in a more comprehensive hereditary erythrocytosis panel of tests. Review of our experience confirms a wide spectrum of alterations associated with erythrocytosis which we have correlated with phenotypic and clinical features. Through generic hemoglobinopathy testing we have identified 762 patients with 81 distinct HOA Hb variants (61 β, 20 α), including 12 that were first identified by our laboratory. Of the 1192 cases received for an evaluation specific for hereditary erythrocytosis, approximately 12% had reportable alterations: 85 pathogenic/likely pathogenic mutations and 58 variants of unknown significance. Many have not been previously reported. Correlation with clinical and phenotypic data supports an algorithmic approach to guide economical evaluation; although, testing is expanded if the suspected causes are negative or of uncertain significance. Clinical features are similar and range from asymptomatic to recurrent headaches, fatigue, restless legs, chest pain, exertional dyspnea and thrombotic episodes. Many patients were chronically phlebotomized with reported relief of symptoms. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Genotype and cardiovascular phenotype correlations with TBX1 in 1,022 velo-cardio- facial/DiGeorge/22q11.2 deletion syndrome patients

    PubMed Central

    Guo, Tingwei; McGinn, Donna McDonald; Blonska, Anna; Shanske, Alan; Bassett, Anne; Chow, Eva; Bowser, Mark; Sheridan, Molly; Beemer, Frits; Devriendt, Koen; Swillen, Ann; Breckpot, Jeroen; Digilio, M. Cristina; Marino, Bruno; Dallapiccola, Bruno; Carpenter, Courtney; Zheng, Xin; Johnson, Jacob; Chung, Jonathan; Higgins, Anne Marie; Philip, Nicole; Simon, Tony J.; Coleman, Karlene; Heine-Suner, Damian; Rosell, Jordi; Kates, Wendy; Devoto, Marcella; Goldmuntz, Elizabeth; Zackai, Elaine; Wang, Tao; Shprintzen, Robert; Emanuel, Beverly; Morrow, Bernice

    2011-01-01

    Haploinsufficiency of TBX1, encoding a T-box transcription factor, is largely responsible for the physical malformations in velo-cardio-facial/DiGeorge/22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) patients. Cardiovascular malformations in these patients are highly variable, raising the question as to whether DNA variations in the TBX1 locus on the remaining allele of 22q11.2, could be responsible. To test this, a large sample size is needed. The TBX1 gene was sequenced in 360 consecutive 22q11DS patients. Rare and common variations were identified. We did not detect enrichment in rare SNP number in those with or without a congenital heart defect. One exception was that there was increased number of very rare SNPs between those with normal heart anatomy compared to those with right-sided aortic arch or persistent truncus arteriosus, suggesting potentially protective roles in the SNPs for these phenotype enrichment groups. Nine common SNPs (MAF >0.05) were chosen and used to genotype the entire cohort of 1,022 22q11DS subjects. We did not find a correlation between common SNPs or haplotypes and cardiovascular phenotype. This work demonstrates that common DNA variations in TBX1 do not explain variable cardiovascular expression in 22q11DS patients, implicating existence of modifiers in other genes on 22q11.2 or elsewhere in the genome. PMID:21796729

  16. MYH9-related disease: a novel prognostic model to predict the clinical evolution of the disease based on genotype-phenotype correlations.

    PubMed

    Pecci, Alessandro; Klersy, Catherine; Gresele, Paolo; Lee, Kieran J D; De Rocco, Daniela; Bozzi, Valeria; Russo, Giovanna; Heller, Paula G; Loffredo, Giuseppe; Ballmaier, Matthias; Fabris, Fabrizio; Beggiato, Eloise; Kahr, Walter H A; Pujol-Moix, Nuria; Platokouki, Helen; Van Geet, Christel; Noris, Patrizia; Yerram, Preethi; Hermans, Cedric; Gerber, Bernhard; Economou, Marina; De Groot, Marco; Zieger, Barbara; De Candia, Erica; Fraticelli, Vincenzo; Kersseboom, Rogier; Piccoli, Giorgina B; Zimmermann, Stefanie; Fierro, Tiziana; Glembotsky, Ana C; Vianello, Fabrizio; Zaninetti, Carlo; Nicchia, Elena; Güthner, Christiane; Baronci, Carlo; Seri, Marco; Knight, Peter J; Balduini, Carlo L; Savoia, Anna

    2014-02-01

    MYH9-related disease (MYH9-RD) is a rare autosomal-dominant disorder caused by mutations in the gene for nonmuscle myosin heavy chain IIA (NMMHC-IIA). MYH9-RD is characterized by a considerable variability in clinical evolution: patients present at birth with only thrombocytopenia, but some of them subsequently develop sensorineural deafness, cataract, and/or nephropathy often leading to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). We searched for genotype-phenotype correlations in the largest series of consecutive MYH9-RD patients collected so far (255 cases from 121 families). Association of genotypes with noncongenital features was assessed by a generalized linear regression model. The analysis defined disease evolution associated to seven different MYH9 genotypes that are responsible for 85% of MYH9-RD cases. Mutations hitting residue R702 demonstrated a complete penetrance for early-onset ESRD and deafness. The p.D1424H substitution associated with high risk of developing all the noncongenital manifestations of disease. Mutations hitting a distinct hydrophobic seam in the NMMHC-IIA head domain or substitutions at R1165 associated with high risk of deafness but low risk of nephropathy or cataract. Patients with p.E1841K, p.D1424N, and C-terminal deletions had low risk of noncongenital defects. These findings are essential to patients' clinical management and genetic counseling and are discussed in view of molecular pathogenesis of MYH9-RD. © 2013 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

  17. The Monarch Initiative: an integrative data and analytic platform connecting phenotypes to genotypes across species

    PubMed Central

    Mungall, Christopher J.; McMurry, Julie A.; Köhler, Sebastian; Balhoff, James P.; Borromeo, Charles; Brush, Matthew; Carbon, Seth; Conlin, Tom; Dunn, Nathan; Engelstad, Mark; Foster, Erin; Gourdine, J.P.; Jacobsen, Julius O.B.; Keith, Dan; Laraway, Bryan; Lewis, Suzanna E.; NguyenXuan, Jeremy; Shefchek, Kent; Vasilevsky, Nicole; Yuan, Zhou; Washington, Nicole; Hochheiser, Harry; Groza, Tudor; Smedley, Damian; Robinson, Peter N.; Haendel, Melissa A.

    2017-01-01

    The correlation of phenotypic outcomes with genetic variation and environmental factors is a core pursuit in biology and biomedicine. Numerous challenges impede our progress: patient phenotypes may not match known diseases, candidate variants may be in genes that have not been characterized, model organisms may not recapitulate human or veterinary diseases, filling evolutionary gaps is difficult, and many resources must be queried to find potentially significant genotype–phenotype associations. Non-human organisms have proven instrumental in revealing biological mechanisms. Advanced informatics tools can identify phenotypically relevant disease models in research and diagnostic contexts. Large-scale integration of model organism and clinical research data can provide a breadth of knowledge not available from individual sources and can provide contextualization of data back to these sources. The Monarch Initiative (monarchinitiative.org) is a collaborative, open science effort that aims to semantically integrate genotype–phenotype data from many species and sources in order to support precision medicine, disease modeling, and mechanistic exploration. Our integrated knowledge graph, analytic tools, and web services enable diverse users to explore relationships between phenotypes and genotypes across species. PMID:27899636

  18. (Epi)genotype–phenotype correlations in Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Mussa, Alessandro; Russo, Silvia; De Crescenzo, Agostina; Freschi, Andrea; Calzari, Luciano; Maitz, Silvia; Macchiaiolo, Marina; Molinatto, Cristina; Baldassarre, Giuseppina; Mariani, Milena; Tarani, Luigi; Bedeschi, Maria Francesca; Milani, Donatella; Melis, Daniela; Bartuli, Andrea; Cubellis, Maria Vittoria; Selicorni, Angelo; Cirillo Silengo, Margherita; Larizza, Lidia; Riccio, Andrea; Ferrero, Giovanni Battista

    2016-01-01

    Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is characterized by cancer predisposition, overgrowth and highly variable association of macroglossia, abdominal wall defects, nephrourological anomalies, nevus flammeus, ear malformations, hypoglycemia, hemihyperplasia, and organomegaly. BWS molecular defects, causing alteration of expression or activity of the genes regulated by two imprinting centres (IC) in the 11p15 chromosomal region, are also heterogeneous. In this paper we define (epi)genotype–phenotype correlations in molecularly confirmed BWS patients. The characteristics of 318 BWS patients with proven molecular defect were compared among the main four molecular subclasses: IC2 loss of methylation (IC2-LoM, n=190), IC1 gain of methylation (IC1-GoM, n=31), chromosome 11p15 paternal uniparental disomy (UPD, n=87), and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1C gene (CDKN1C) variants (n=10). A characteristic growth pattern was found in each group; neonatal macrosomia was almost constant in IC1-GoM, postnatal overgrowth in IC2-LoM, and hemihyperplasia more common in UPD (P<0.001). Exomphalos was more common in IC2/CDKN1C patients (P<0.001). Renal defects were typical of UPD/IC1 patients, uretheral malformations of IC1-GoM cases (P<0.001). Ear anomalies and nevus flammeus were associated with IC2/CDKN1C genotype (P<0.001). Macroglossia was less common among UPD patients (P<0.001). Wilms' tumor was associated with IC1-GoM or UPD and never observed in IC2-LoM patients (P<0.001). Hepatoblastoma occurred only in UPD cases. Cancer risk was lower in IC2/CDKN1C, intermediate in UPD, and very high in IC1 cases (P=0.009). In conclusion, (epi)genotype–phenotype correlations define four different phenotypic BWS profiles with some degree of clinical overlap. These observations impact clinical care allowing to move toward (epi) genotype-based follow-up and cancer screening. PMID:25898929

  19. Phenotype-genotype discordance in congenital malformations with communication disorders resembling trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome)

    PubMed Central

    Pruszewicz, Antoni; Wiskirska-Woźnica, Bożena; Wojnowski, Waldemar; Czerniejewska, Hanna; Jackowska, Joanna; Jarmuż, Małgorzata; Szyfter, Krzysztof; Leszczyńska, Małgorzata

    2014-01-01

    Patient: Female, 6 Final Diagnosis: Phenotype-genotype discordance in congenital malformations with communication disorders resembling trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) Symptoms: — Medication: — Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Otolaryngology Objective: Congenital defects Background: Communication process disorders are very frequent in rare cases of chromosomal aberrations (deletions, insertions, and trisomies) such as Down syndrome (trisomy 21), Turner syndrome, Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18), or Patau syndrome (trisomy 13). Sometimes phenotype may delusively correspond to the characteristic features of a given syndrome, but genotype tests do not confirm its presence. Case Report: We present the case of a 6-year-old girl admitted to the Clinic of Phoniatrics and Audiology for the assessment of communication in the course of congenital malformations with phenotype characteristic for trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome). Immediately upon birth, dysmorphic changes suggesting trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) were observed, but trisomy 18 was excluded after karyotype test results were normal (46, XX). Conclusions: Disturbed articulation was diagnosed: deformed linguo-dental and palatal sounds, interdental realization with flat tongue of the /s/, /z/, /c/, /dz/, /ś/, /ź/, /ć/, /dz/ sounds (sigmatismus interdentalis). Hearing loss was confirmed. PMID:24478819

  20. MinION Nanopore Sequencing Enables Correlation between Resistome Phenotype and Genotype of Coliform Bacteria in Municipal Sewage.

    PubMed

    Xia, Yu; Li, An-Dong; Deng, Yu; Jiang, Xiao-Tao; Li, Li-Guan; Zhang, Tong

    2017-01-01

    Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) functioned as the intersection between the human society and nature environment, are receiving increasingly more attention on risk assessment of the acquisition of environmental antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by pathogenetic populations during treatment. However, because of the general lack of robust resistome profiling methods, genotype, and resistance phenotype is still poorly correlated in human pathogens of sewage samples. Here we applied MinION sequencing to quantify the resistance genes of multiple antibiotic resistant (MAR) coliform bacteria, a common indicator for human enteric pathogens in sewage samples. Our pipeline could deliver the results within 30 h from sample collection and the resistome quantification was consistent to that based on the Illumina platform. Additionally, the long nanopore reads not only enabled a simultaneous identification of the carrier populations of ARGs detected, but also facilitated the genome reconstruction of a representative MAR strain, from which we identified an instance of chromosomal integration of environmental resistance gene obtained by plasmid exchange with a porcine pathogen. This study demonstrated the utilization of MinION sequencing in quick monitoring and simultaneous phylogenetic tracking of environmental ARGs to address potential health risk associated with them.

  1. MinION Nanopore Sequencing Enables Correlation between Resistome Phenotype and Genotype of Coliform Bacteria in Municipal Sewage

    PubMed Central

    Xia, Yu; Li, An-Dong; Deng, Yu; Jiang, Xiao-Tao; Li, Li-Guan; Zhang, Tong

    2017-01-01

    Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) functioned as the intersection between the human society and nature environment, are receiving increasingly more attention on risk assessment of the acquisition of environmental antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by pathogenetic populations during treatment. However, because of the general lack of robust resistome profiling methods, genotype, and resistance phenotype is still poorly correlated in human pathogens of sewage samples. Here we applied MinION sequencing to quantify the resistance genes of multiple antibiotic resistant (MAR) coliform bacteria, a common indicator for human enteric pathogens in sewage samples. Our pipeline could deliver the results within 30 h from sample collection and the resistome quantification was consistent to that based on the Illumina platform. Additionally, the long nanopore reads not only enabled a simultaneous identification of the carrier populations of ARGs detected, but also facilitated the genome reconstruction of a representative MAR strain, from which we identified an instance of chromosomal integration of environmental resistance gene obtained by plasmid exchange with a porcine pathogen. This study demonstrated the utilization of MinION sequencing in quick monitoring and simultaneous phylogenetic tracking of environmental ARGs to address potential health risk associated with them. PMID:29163399

  2. [Mexican phenotype and genotype Vibrio cholerae 01].

    PubMed

    Giono, S; Gutiérrez Cogno, L; Rodríguez Angeles, G; del Rio Zolezzi, A; Valdespino González, J L; Sepúlveda Amor, J

    1995-01-01

    This paper presents the phenotypical and genotypical characterization of 26922 Vibrio cholerae 01 strains isolated in Mexico from 1991 to 1993. All strains isolated were El Tor biovar. Strains were sensitive to antibiotics excluding furazolidone, streptomycin and sulfisoxasole to which we found resistance in 97% and we are using this characteristic as epidemiological markers. We detected a marked change in frequency of Inaba serotype from 1991, when it was dominant, with 99.5%, until 1992 when Ogawa serotype turned to be dominant with 95% of isolates. All Vibrio cholerae 01 strains, except one Ogawa strain, were to igenic, and V. choleraeno 01 were not toxigenic by ELISA, PCR and cell culture tests. Dominant ribotype was 5, but we found some strains with 6a pattern and two with ribotype 12. We are searching for ribotype 2 among hemolytic strains in order to learn if there is any relation to Gulf Coast strains prevalent in the USA, but until now we have not found any V. cholerae ribotype 2 in our isolates. Even if rapid tests are recommended for immediate diagnosis of cholera, it is necessary to continue bacterial isolation in order to have strains for phenotyping and genotyping studies that may support epidemiological analysis.

  3. Novel types of COMP mutations and genotype-phenotype association in pseudoachondroplasia and multiple epiphyseal dysplasia.

    PubMed

    Mabuchi, Akihiko; Manabe, Noriyo; Haga, Nobuhiko; Kitoh, Hiroshi; Ikeda, Toshiyuki; Kawaji, Hiroyuki; Tamai, Kazuya; Hamada, Junichiro; Nakamura, Shigeru; Brunetti-Pierri, Nicola; Kimizuka, Mamori; Takatori, Yoshio; Nakamura, Kozo; Nishimura, Gen; Ohashi, Hirofumi; Ikegawa, Shiro

    2003-01-01

    Mutations in the gene encoding cartilage oligomeric matrix protein ( COMP) cause two skeletal dysplasias, pseudoachondroplasia (PSACH) and multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED). More than 40 mutations have been identified; however, genotype-phenotype relationships are not well delineated. Further, mutations other than in-frame insertion/deletions and substitutions have not been found, and currently known mutations are clustered within relatively small regions. Here we report the identification of nine novel and three recurrent COMP mutations in PSACH and MED patients. These include two novel types of mutations; the first, a gross deletion spanning an exon-intron junction, causes an exon deletion. The second, a frameshift mutation that results in a truncation of the C-terminal domain, is the first known truncating mutation in the COMP gene. The remaining mutations, other than a novel exon 18 mutation, affected highly conserved aspartate or cysteine residues in the calmodulin-like repeat (CLR) region. Genotype-phenotype analysis revealed a correlation between the position and type of mutations and the severity of short stature. Mutations in the seventh CLR produced more severe short stature compared with mutations elsewhere in the CLRs ( P=0.0003) and elsewhere in the COMP gene ( P=0.0007). Patients carrying mutations within the five-aspartates repeat (aa 469-473) in the seventh CLR were extremely short (below -6 SD). Patients with deletion mutations were significantly shorter than those with substitution mutations ( P=0.0024). These findings expand the mutation spectrum of the COMP gene and highlight genotype-phenotype relationships, facilitating improved genetic diagnosis and analysis of COMP function in humans.

  4. Vegetable Intake in College-Aged Adults Is Explained by Oral Sensory Phenotypes and TAS2R38 Genotype

    PubMed Central

    Hayes, John E.; Davidson, Andrew C.; Kidd, Judith R.; Kidd, Kenneth K.; Bartoshuk, Linda M.

    2010-01-01

    Taste and oral sensations vary in humans. Some of this variation has a genetic basis, and two commonly measured phenotypes are the bitterness of propylthiouracil (PROP) and the number of fungiform papillae on the anterior tongue. While the genetic control of fungiform papilla is unclear, PROP bitterness associates with allelic variation in the taste receptor gene, TAS2R38. The two common alleles are AVI and PAV (proline, alanine, valine, and isoleucine); AVI/AVI homozygotes taste PROP as less bitter than heterozygous or homozygous PAV carriers. In this laboratory-based study, we determined whether taste of a bitter probe (quinine) and vegetable intake varied by taste phenotypes and TAS2R38 genotype in healthy adults (mean age=26 years). Vegetable intake was assessed via two validated, complementary methods: food records (Food Pyramid servings standardized to energy intake) and food frequency questionnaire (general intake question and composite vegetable groups). Quinine bitterness varied with phenotypes but not TAS2R38; quinine was more bitter to those who tasted PROP as more bitter or had more papillae. Nontasters by phenotype or genotype reported greater consumption of vegetables, regardless of type (i.e., the effect generalized to all vegetables and was not restricted to those typically thought of as being bitter). Furthermore, nontasters with more papillae reported greater vegetable consumption than nontasters with fewer papillae, suggesting that when bitterness does not predominate, more papillae enhance vegetable liking. These findings suggest that genetic variation in taste, measured by multiple phenotypes or TAS2R38 genotype, can explain differences in overall consumption of vegetables, and this was not restricted to vegetables that are predominantly bitter. PMID:21157576

  5. NCI Workshop Report: Clinical and Computational Requirements for Correlating Imaging Phenotypes with Genomics Signatures.

    PubMed

    Colen, Rivka; Foster, Ian; Gatenby, Robert; Giger, Mary Ellen; Gillies, Robert; Gutman, David; Heller, Matthew; Jain, Rajan; Madabhushi, Anant; Madhavan, Subha; Napel, Sandy; Rao, Arvind; Saltz, Joel; Tatum, James; Verhaak, Roeland; Whitman, Gary

    2014-10-01

    The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Imaging Program organized two related workshops on June 26-27, 2013, entitled "Correlating Imaging Phenotypes with Genomics Signatures Research" and "Scalable Computational Resources as Required for Imaging-Genomics Decision Support Systems." The first workshop focused on clinical and scientific requirements, exploring our knowledge of phenotypic characteristics of cancer biological properties to determine whether the field is sufficiently advanced to correlate with imaging phenotypes that underpin genomics and clinical outcomes, and exploring new scientific methods to extract phenotypic features from medical images and relate them to genomics analyses. The second workshop focused on computational methods that explore informatics and computational requirements to extract phenotypic features from medical images and relate them to genomics analyses and improve the accessibility and speed of dissemination of existing NIH resources. These workshops linked clinical and scientific requirements of currently known phenotypic and genotypic cancer biology characteristics with imaging phenotypes that underpin genomics and clinical outcomes. The group generated a set of recommendations to NCI leadership and the research community that encourage and support development of the emerging radiogenomics research field to address short-and longer-term goals in cancer research.

  6. Genotype-Phenotype Correlations in Multiple Sclerosis: "HLA" Genes Influence Disease Severity Inferred by [superscript 1]HMR Spectroscopy and MRI Measures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Okuda, D. T.; Srinivasan, R.; Oksenberg, J. R.; Goodin, D. S.; Baranzini, S. E.; Beheshtian, A.; Waubant, E.; Zamvil, S. S.; Leppert, D.; Qualley, P.; Lincoln, R.; Gomez, R.; Caillier, S.; George, M.; Wang, J.; Nelson, S. J.; Cree, B. A. C.; Hauser, S. L.; Pelletier, D.

    2009-01-01

    Genetic susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) "DRB1*1501" allele. Here we show a clear association between DRB1*1501 carrier status and four domains of disease severity in an investigation of genotype-phenotype associations in 505 robust, clinically well characterized MS patients evaluated…

  7. Cortical sensorimotor alterations classify clinical phenotype and putative genotype of spasmodic dysphonia.

    PubMed

    Battistella, G; Fuertinger, S; Fleysher, L; Ozelius, L J; Simonyan, K

    2016-10-01

    Spasmodic dysphonia (SD), or laryngeal dystonia, is a task-specific isolated focal dystonia of unknown causes and pathophysiology. Although functional and structural abnormalities have been described in this disorder, the influence of its different clinical phenotypes and genotypes remains scant, making it difficult to explain SD pathophysiology and to identify potential biomarkers. We used a combination of independent component analysis and linear discriminant analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data to investigate brain organization in different SD phenotypes (abductor versus adductor type) and putative genotypes (familial versus sporadic cases) and to characterize neural markers for genotype/phenotype categorization. We found abnormal functional connectivity within sensorimotor and frontoparietal networks in patients with SD compared with healthy individuals as well as phenotype- and genotype-distinct alterations of these networks, involving primary somatosensory, premotor and parietal cortices. The linear discriminant analysis achieved 71% accuracy classifying SD and healthy individuals using connectivity measures in the left inferior parietal and sensorimotor cortices. When categorizing between different forms of SD, the combination of measures from the left inferior parietal, premotor and right sensorimotor cortices achieved 81% discriminatory power between familial and sporadic SD cases, whereas the combination of measures from the right superior parietal, primary somatosensory and premotor cortices led to 71% accuracy in the classification of adductor and abductor SD forms. Our findings present the first effort to identify and categorize isolated focal dystonia based on its brain functional connectivity profile, which may have a potential impact on the future development of biomarkers for this rare disorder. © 2016 EAN.

  8. Cortical sensorimotor alterations classify clinical phenotype and putative genotype of spasmodic dysphonia

    PubMed Central

    Battistella, Giovanni; Fuertinger, Stefan; Fleysher, Lazar; Ozelius, Laurie J.; Simonyan, Kristina

    2017-01-01

    Background Spasmodic dysphonia (SD), or laryngeal dystonia, is a task-specific isolated focal dystonia of unknown causes and pathophysiology. Although functional and structural abnormalities have been described in this disorder, the influence of its different clinical phenotypes and genotypes remains scant, making it difficult to explain SD pathophysiology and to identify potential biomarkers. Methods We used a combination of independent component analysis and linear discriminant analysis of resting-state functional MRI data to investigate brain organization in different SD phenotypes (abductor vs. adductor type) and putative genotypes (familial vs. sporadic cases) and to characterize neural markers for genotype/phenotype categorization. Results We found abnormal functional connectivity within sensorimotor and frontoparietal networks in SD patients compared to healthy individuals as well as phenotype- and genotype-distinct alterations of these networks, involving primary somatosensory, premotor and parietal cortices. The linear discriminant analysis achieved 71% accuracy classifying SD and healthy individuals using connectivity measures in the left inferior parietal and sensorimotor cortex. When categorizing between different forms of SD, the combination of measures from left inferior parietal, premotor and right sensorimotor cortices achieved 81% discriminatory power between familial and sporadic SD cases, whereas the combination of measures from the right superior parietal, primary somatosensory and premotor cortices led to 71% accuracy in the classification of adductor and abductor SD forms. Conclusions Our findings present the first effort to identify and categorize isolated focal dystonia based on its brain functional connectivity profile, which may have a potential impact on the future development of biomarkers for this rare disorder. PMID:27346568

  9. Gravimetric phenotyping of whole plant transpiration responses to atmospheric vapour pressure deficit identifies genotypic variation in water use efficiency.

    PubMed

    Ryan, Annette C; Dodd, Ian C; Rothwell, Shane A; Jones, Ros; Tardieu, Francois; Draye, Xavier; Davies, William J

    2016-10-01

    There is increasing interest in rapidly identifying genotypes with improved water use efficiency, exemplified by the development of whole plant phenotyping platforms that automatically measure plant growth and water use. Transpirational responses to atmospheric vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and whole plant water use efficiency (WUE, defined as the accumulation of above ground biomass per unit of water used) were measured in 100 maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes. Using a glasshouse based phenotyping platform with naturally varying VPD (1.5-3.8kPa), a 2-fold variation in WUE was identified in well-watered plants. Regression analysis of transpiration versus VPD under these conditions, and subsequent whole plant gas exchange at imposed VPDs (0.8-3.4kPa) showed identical responses in specific genotypes. Genotype response of transpiration versus VPD fell into two categories: 1) a linear increase in transpiration rate with VPD with low (high WUE) or high (low WUE) transpiration rate at all VPDs, 2) a non-linear response with a pronounced change point at low VPD (high WUE) or high VPD (low WUE). In the latter group, high WUE genotypes required a significantly lower VPD before transpiration was restricted, and had a significantly lower rate of transpiration in response to VPD after this point, when compared to low WUE genotypes. Change point values were significantly positively correlated with stomatal sensitivity to VPD. A change point in stomatal response to VPD may explain why some genotypes show contradictory WUE rankings according to whether they are measured under glasshouse or field conditions. Furthermore, this novel use of a high throughput phenotyping platform successfully reproduced the gas exchange responses of individuals measured in whole plant chambers, accelerating the identification of plants with high WUE. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. AB014. Beta-ketothiolase deficiency: phenotype, genotype and outcome of 48 Vietnamese patients

    PubMed Central

    Nguyen, Khanh Ngoc; Nguyen, Hoan Thi; Can, Ngoc Thi Bich; Do, Mai Thi Thanh; Bui, Thao Phuong; Fukao, Toshiyuki; Vu, Dung Chi

    2017-01-01

    Background Beta-ketothiolase deficiency (BKT) is an inherited metabolic disease of isoleucine and ketone body caused by mutations in the T2 gene. It is a rare disease with over 100 patients reported worldwide. We aimed to describe phenotypes and genotypes and to evaluate outcomes of Vietnamese patients with BKT. Methods Patients who were diagnosed with BKT, and followed up at National Children Hospital from January 2015 to June 2017 were enrolled. Results Forty-eight patients from 40 different and unrelated families were diagnosed through high risk screening in Vietnam. Forty-six patients (96%) presented with acute episodes of intermittent ketotic acidosis (pH <7.1, increased anion gap), and were asymptomatic between episodes. Ages of onset were between 6 and 18 months. Characteristics of metabolic chemistry revealed elevated urinary 2-methylacetoacetate, 2-methyl-3-hydroxybutyrate, tiglylglycine, and plasma C5:1 and C5:OH carnitines. We identified 8 different mutations with 9 kinds of genotypes. The common mutations of T2 gene were p.R208X and IVS10-1g>c (85%). Five novel mutations were identified (IVS10-1g>c, c.1032_1033insA, p.S284N, exon 6 -11del, and c.163_167delinsAA). Eight out of nine genotypes were null mutations. There was no correlation between genotypes and phenotypes. The outcome was good in most patients with 83% had complete recovery, 7% mental consequences, and 12% death. All patients had normal growth rate according to growth chart by World Health Organization (WHO) 2007. Conclusions BKT is a common inborn error of metabolism in Vietnam with good outcome in most patients. A newborn screening program for BKT may have a high detection rate in Vietnam.

  11. Epidermolysis bullosa with congenital pyloric atresia: novel mutations in the beta 4 integrin gene (ITGB4) and genotype/phenotype correlations.

    PubMed

    Nakano, A; Pulkkinen, L; Murrell, D; Rico, J; Lucky, A W; Garzon, M; Stevens, C A; Robertson, S; Pfendner, E; Uitto, J

    2001-05-01

    Epidermolysis bullosa with pyloric atresia (EB-PA: OMIM 226730), also known as Carmi syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive genodermatosis that manifests with neonatal mucocutaneous fragility associated with congenital pyloric atresia. The disease is frequently lethal within the first year, but nonlethal cases have been reported. Mutations in the genes encoding subunit polypeptides of the alpha 6 beta 4 integrin (ITGA6 and ITGB4) have been demonstrated in EB-PA patients. To extend the repertoire of mutations and to identify genotype-phenotype correlations, we examined seven new EB-PA families, four with lethal and three with nonlethal disease variants. DNA from patients was screened for mutations using heteroduplex analysis followed by nucleotide sequencing of PCR products spanning all beta 4 integrin-coding sequences. Mutation analysis disclosed 12 distinct mutations, 11 of them novel. Four mutations predicted a premature termination codon as a result of nonsense mutations or small out-of-frame insertions or deletions, whereas seven were missense mutations. This brings the total number of distinct ITGB4 mutations to 33. The mutation database indicates that premature termination codons are associated predominantly with the lethal EB-PA variants, whereas missense mutations are more prevalent in nonlethal forms. However, the consequences of the missense mutations are position dependent, and substitutions of highly conserved amino acids may have lethal consequences. In general, indirect immunofluorescence studies of affected skin revealed negative staining for beta 4 integrin in lethal cases and positive, but attenuated, staining in nonlethal cases and correlated with clinical phenotype. The data on specific mutations in EB-PA patients allows prenatal testing and preimplantation genetic diagnosis in families at risk.

  12. Temporal variation in phenotypic and genotypic traits in two sockeye salmon populations, Tustumena Lake, Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Woody, Carol Ann; Olsen, Jeffrey B.; Reynolds, Joel H.; Bentzen, Paul

    2000-01-01

    Sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka in two tributary streams (about 20 km apart) of the same lake were compared for temporal variation in phenotypic (length, depth adjusted for length) and genotypic (six microsatellite loci) traits. Peak run time (July 16 versus 11 August) and run duration (43 versus 26 d) differed between streams. Populations were sampled twice, including an overlapping point in time. Divergence at microsatellite loci followed a temporal cline: Population sample groups collected at the same time were not different (F ST = 0), whereas those most separated in time were different (F ST = 0.011, P = 0.001). Although contemporaneous sample groups did not differ significantly in microsatellite genotypes (F ST = 0), phenotypic traits did differ significantly (MANOVA, P < 0.001). Fish from the larger stream were larger; fish from the smaller stream were smaller, suggesting differential fitness related to size. Results indicate run time differences among and within sockeye salmon populations may strongly influence levels of gene flow.

  13. Phenotype and genotype in 52 patients with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome caused by EP300 mutations.

    PubMed

    Fergelot, Patricia; Van Belzen, Martine; Van Gils, Julien; Afenjar, Alexandra; Armour, Christine M; Arveiler, Benoit; Beets, Lex; Burglen, Lydie; Busa, Tiffany; Collet, Marie; Deforges, Julie; de Vries, Bert B A; Dominguez Garrido, Elena; Dorison, Nathalie; Dupont, Juliette; Francannet, Christine; Garciá-Minaúr, Sixto; Gabau Vila, Elisabeth; Gebre-Medhin, Samuel; Gener Querol, Blanca; Geneviève, David; Gérard, Marion; Gervasini, Cristina Giovanna; Goldenberg, Alice; Josifova, Dragana; Lachlan, Katherine; Maas, Saskia; Maranda, Bruno; Moilanen, Jukka S; Nordgren, Ann; Parent, Philippe; Rankin, Julia; Reardon, Willie; Rio, Marlène; Roume, Joëlle; Shaw, Adam; Smigiel, Robert; Sojo, Amaia; Solomon, Benjamin; Stembalska, Agnieszka; Stumpel, Constance; Suarez, Francisco; Terhal, Paulien; Thomas, Simon; Touraine, Renaud; Verloes, Alain; Vincent-Delorme, Catherine; Wincent, Josephine; Peters, Dorien J M; Bartsch, Oliver; Larizza, Lidia; Lacombe, Didier; Hennekam, Raoul C

    2016-12-01

    Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RSTS) is a developmental disorder characterized by a typical face and distal limbs abnormalities, intellectual disability, and a vast number of other features. Two genes are known to cause RSTS, CREBBP in 60% and EP300 in 8-10% of clinically diagnosed cases. Both paralogs act in chromatin remodeling and encode for transcriptional co-activators interacting with >400 proteins. Up to now 26 individuals with an EP300 mutation have been published. Here, we describe the phenotype and genotype of 42 unpublished RSTS patients carrying EP300 mutations and intragenic deletions and offer an update on another 10 patients. We compare the data to 308 individuals with CREBBP mutations. We demonstrate that EP300 mutations cause a phenotype that typically resembles the classical RSTS phenotype due to CREBBP mutations to a great extent, although most facial signs are less marked with the exception of a low-hanging columella. The limb anomalies are more similar to those in CREBBP mutated individuals except for angulation of thumbs and halluces which is very uncommon in EP300 mutated individuals. The intellectual disability is variable but typically less marked whereas the microcephaly is more common. All types of mutations occur but truncating mutations and small rearrangements are most common (86%). Missense mutations in the HAT domain are associated with a classical RSTS phenotype but otherwise no genotype-phenotype correlation is detected. Pre-eclampsia occurs in 12/52 mothers of EP300 mutated individuals versus in 2/59 mothers of CREBBP mutated individuals, making pregnancy with an EP300 mutated fetus the strongest known predictor for pre-eclampsia. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Genotypic and Phenotypic Correlations of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii-A. calcoaceticus Complex Strains Isolated from Patients at the National Naval Medical Center

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex (ABC) infections have complicated the care of U.S. combat casualties. In this study, 102 ABC isolates from wounded soldiers treated at National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) were characterized by phenotype and genotype to identify clones in this population...

  15. X-linked juvenile retinoschisis (XLRS): a review of genotype-phenotype relationships.

    PubMed

    Kim, David Y; Mukai, Shizuo

    2013-01-01

    X-linked juvenile retinoschisis (XLRS) is one of the most common genetic causes of juvenile progressive retinal-vitreal degeneration in males. To date, more than 196 different mutations of the RS1 gene have been associated with XLRS. The mutation spectrum is large and the phenotype variable. This review will focus on the clinical features of XLRS and examine the relationship between phenotype and genotype.

  16. Inactivating mutations in ESCO2 cause SC phocomelia and Roberts syndrome: no phenotype-genotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Schüle, Birgitt; Oviedo, Angelica; Johnston, Kathreen; Pai, Shashidhar; Francke, Uta

    2005-12-01

    The rare, autosomal recessive Roberts syndrome (RBS) is characterized by tetraphocomelia, profound growth deficiency of prenatal onset, craniofacial anomalies, microcephaly, and mental deficiency. SC phocomelia (SC) has a milder phenotype, with a lesser degree of limb reduction and with survival to adulthood. Since heterochromatin repulsion (HR) is characteristic for both disorders and is not complemented in somatic-cell hybrids, it has been hypothesized that the disorders are allelic. Recently, mutations in ESCO2 (establishment of cohesion 1 homolog 2) on 8p21.1 have been reported in RBS. To determine whether ESCO2 mutations are also responsible for SC, we studied three families with SC and two families in which variable degrees of limb and craniofacial abnormalities, detected by fetal ultrasound, led to pregnancy terminations. All cases were positive for HR. We identified seven novel mutations in exons 3-8 of ESCO2. In two families, affected individuals were homozygous--for a 5-nucleotide deletion in one family and a splice-site mutation in the other. In three nonconsanguineous families, probands were compound heterozygous for a single-nucleotide insertion or deletion, a nonsense mutation, or a splice-site mutation. Abnormal splice products were characterized at the RNA level. Since only protein-truncating mutations were identified, regardless of clinical severity, we conclude that genotype does not predict phenotype. Having established that RBS and SC are caused by mutations in the same gene, we delineated the clinical phenotype of the tetraphocomelia spectrum that is associated with HR and ESCO2 mutations and differentiated it from other types of phocomelia that are negative for HR.

  17. The BAG3 gene variants in Polish patients with dilated cardiomyopathy: four novel mutations and a genotype-phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Franaszczyk, Maria; Bilinska, Zofia T; Sobieszczańska-Małek, Małgorzata; Michalak, Ewa; Sleszycka, Justyna; Sioma, Agnieszka; Małek, Łukasz A; Kaczmarska, Dorota; Walczak, Ewa; Włodarski, Paweł; Hutnik, Łukasz; Milanowska, Blanka; Dzielinska, Zofia; Religa, Grzegorz; Grzybowski, Jacek; Zieliński, Tomasz; Ploski, Rafal

    2014-07-09

    BAG3 gene mutations have been recently implicated as a novel cause of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of BAG3 mutations in Polish patients with DCM and to search for genotype-phenotype correlations. We studied 90 unrelated probands by direct sequencing of BAG3 exons and splice sites. Large deletions/insertions were screened for by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). We found 5 different mutations in 6 probands and a total of 21 mutations among their relatives: the known p.Glu455Lys mutation (2 families), 4 novel mutations: p.Gln353ArgfsX10 (c.1055delC), p.Gly379AlafsX45 (c.1135delG), p.Tyr451X (c.1353C>A) and a large deletion of 17,990 bp removing BAG3 exons 3-4. Analysis of mutation positive relatives of the probands from this study pooled with those previously reported showed higher DCM prevalence among those with missense vs. truncating mutations (OR = 8.33, P = 0.0058) as well as a difference in age at disease onset between the former and the latter in Kaplan-Meier survival analysis (P = 0.006). Clinical data from our study suggested that in BAG3 mutation carriers acute onset DCM with hemodynamic compromise may be triggered by infection. BAG3 point mutations and large deletions are relatively frequent cause of DCM. Delayed DCM onset associated with truncating vs. non-truncating mutations may be important for genetic counseling.

  18. Exploring the Public's Sensory Genotypes and Phenotypes through Innovative Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milanowski, Tony

    2017-01-01

    The genetic diversity contained in a population can be used to engage the audience in an understanding of human genotypes and phenotypes. With a series of simple examples of well-documented sensory phenotypes related to the perception of colour, aromas or food preference, the diversity of the audience can be easily explored. The collecting of…

  19. Phenotypic and genotypic analysis of anti-tuberculosis drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in Myanmar.

    PubMed

    Aung, Wah Wah; Ei, Phyu Win; Nyunt, Wint Wint; Swe, Thyn Lei; Lwin, Thandar; Htwe, Mi Mi; Kim, Kyung Jun; Lee, Jong Seok; Kim, Chang Ki; Cho, Sang Nae; Song, Sun Dae; Chang, Chulhun L

    2015-09-01

    Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most serious health problems in Myanmar. Because TB drug resistance is associated with genetic mutation(s) relevant to responses to each drug, genotypic methods for detecting these mutations have been proposed to overcome the limitations of classic phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST). We explored the current estimates of drug-resistant TB and evaluated the usefulness of genotypic DST in Myanmar. We determined the drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from sputum smear-positive patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary TB at two main TB centers in Myanmar during 2013 by using conventional phenotypic DST and the GenoType MTBDRplus assay (Hain Lifescience, Germany). Discrepant results were confirmed by sequencing the genes relevant to each type of resistance (rpoB for rifampicin; katG and inhA for isoniazid). Of 191 isolates, phenotypic DST showed that 27.7% (n=53) were resistant to at least one first-line drug and 20.9% (n=40) were resistant to two or more, including 18.3% (n=35) multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) strains. Monoresistant strains accounted for 6.8% (n=13) of the samples. Genotypic assay of 189 isolates showed 17.5% (n=33) MDR-TB and 5.3% (n=10) isoniazid-monoresistant strains. Genotypic susceptibility results were 99.5% (n=188) concordant and agreed almost perfectly with phenotypic DST (kappa=0.99; 95% confidence interval 0.96-1.01). The results highlight the burden of TB drug resistance and prove the usefulness of the genotypic DST in Myanmar.

  20. Expansion of phenotype and genotypic data in CRB2-related syndrome.

    PubMed

    Lamont, Ryan E; Tan, Wen-Hann; Innes, A Micheil; Parboosingh, Jillian S; Schneidman-Duhovny, Dina; Rajkovic, Aleksandar; Pappas, John; Altschwager, Pablo; DeWard, Stephanie; Fulton, Anne; Gray, Kathryn J; Krall, Max; Mehta, Lakshmi; Rodan, Lance H; Saller, Devereux N; Steele, Deanna; Stein, Deborah; Yatsenko, Svetlana A; Bernier, François P; Slavotinek, Anne M

    2016-10-01

    Sequence variants in CRB2 cause a syndrome with greatly elevated maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein levels, cerebral ventriculomegaly and renal findings similar to Finnish congenital nephrosis. All reported patients have been homozygotes or compound heterozygotes for sequence variants in the Crumbs, Drosophila, Homolog of, 2 (CRB2) genes. Variants affecting CRB2 function have also been identified in four families with steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome, but without any other known systemic findings. We ascertained five, previously unreported individuals with biallelic variants in CRB2 that were predicted to affect function. We compiled the clinical features of reported cases and reviewed available literature for cases with features suggestive of CRB2-related syndrome in order to better understand the phenotypic and genotypic manifestations. Phenotypic analyses showed that ventriculomegaly was a common clinical manifestation (9/11 confirmed cases), in contrast to the original reports, in which patients were ascertained due to renal disease. Two children had minor eye findings and one was diagnosed with a B-cell lymphoma. Further genetic analysis identified one family with two affected siblings who were both heterozygous for a variant in NPHS2 predicted to affect function and separate families with sequence variants in NPHS4 and BBS7 in addition to the CRB2 variants. Our report expands the clinical phenotype of CRB2-related syndrome and establishes ventriculomegaly and hydrocephalus as frequent manifestations. We found additional sequence variants in genes involved in kidney development and ciliopathies in patients with CRB2-related syndrome, suggesting that these variants may modify the phenotype.

  1. ACTN3 genotypes of Rugby Union players: distribution, power output and body composition.

    PubMed

    Bell, W; Colley, J P; Evans, W D; Darlington, S E; Cooper, S-M

    2012-01-01

    To identify the distribution and explore the relationship between ACTN3 genotypes and power and body composition phenotypes. Case control and association studies were employed using a homogeneous group of players (n = 102) and a control group (n = 110). Power-related phenotypes were measured using the counter movement jump (CMJ) and body composition phenotypes by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Statistics used were Pearson's chi-square, ANCOVA, coefficients of correlation and independent t-tests. Genotyping was carried out using polymerase chain reaction followed by enzymatic Ddel digestion. Genotype proportions of players were compared with controls (p = 0.07). No significant genotype differences occurred between forwards or backs (p = 0.822) or within-forwards (p = 0.882) or within-backs (p = 0.07). Relative force and velocity were significantly larger in backs, power significantly greater in forwards; in body composition, all phenotypes were significantly greater in forwards than backs. Correlations between phenotypes were greater for the RX genotype (p = 0.05-0.01). Relationships between ACTN3 genotypes and power or body composition-related phenotypes were not significant. As fat increased, power-related phenotypes decreased. As body composition increased, power-related phenotypes increased.

  2. Microarray and FISH-based genotype-phenotype analysis of 22 Japanese patients with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.

    PubMed

    Shimizu, Kenji; Wakui, Keiko; Kosho, Tomoki; Okamoto, Nobuhiko; Mizuno, Seiji; Itomi, Kazuya; Hattori, Shigeto; Nishio, Kimio; Samura, Osamu; Kobayashi, Yoshiyuki; Kako, Yuko; Arai, Takashi; Tsutomu, Oh-ishi; Kawame, Hiroshi; Narumi, Yoko; Ohashi, Hirofumi; Fukushima, Yoshimitsu

    2014-03-01

    Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) is a contiguous gene deletion syndrome of the distal 4p chromosome, characterized by craniofacial features, growth impairment, intellectual disability, and seizures. Although genotype-phenotype correlation studies have previously been published, several important issues remain to be elucidated including seizure severity. We present detailed clinical and molecular-cytogenetic findings from a microarray and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-based genotype-phenotype analysis of 22 Japanese WHS patients, the first large non-Western series. 4p deletions were terminal in 20 patients and interstitial in two, with deletion sizes ranging from 2.06 to 29.42 Mb. The new Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome critical region (WHSCR2) was deleted in all cases, and duplication of other chromosomal regions occurred in four. Complex mosaicism was identified in two cases: two different 4p terminal deletions; a simple 4p terminal deletion and an unbalanced translocation with the same 4p breakpoint. Seizures began in infancy in 33% (2/6) of cases with small (<6 Mb) deletions and in 86% (12/14) of cases with larger deletions (>6 Mb). Status epilepticus occurred in 17% (1/6) with small deletions and in 87% (13/15) with larger deletions. Renal hypoplasia or dysplasia and structural ocular anomalies were more prevalent in those with larger deletions. A new susceptible region for seizure occurrence is suggested between 0.76 and 1.3 Mb from 4 pter, encompassing CTBP1 and CPLX1, and distal to the previously-supposed candidate gene LETM1. The usefulness of bromide therapy for seizures and additional clinical features including hypercholesterolemia are also described. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. ACE and ACTN3 genotypes in older women: muscular phenotypes.

    PubMed

    Lima, R M; Leite, T K M; Pereira, R W; Rabelo, H T; Roth, S M; Oliveira, R J

    2011-01-01

    This study examined the association between ACE I/D and ACTN3 R577X polymorphisms and muscle-related phenotypes and their adaptation to resistance training in older women. Volunteers (n=246;age=66.7 ± 5.5 years) underwent quadriceps strength assessment using isokinetics and fat-free mass by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. 79 volunteers performed 24 weeks of resistance training and 75 were studied as controls. Genotypes were identified by standard procedures. No associations were observed for muscle strength for either gene, but volunteers carrying the D/D genotype presented higher appendicular fat-free mass compared to the I-allele carriers (6.3 ± 0.1 vs. 6.1 ± 0.1 kg/m (2)). The X-allele carriers presented higher relative fat-free mass when compared to homozygous R/R (16.3 ± 0.1 vs. 15.9 ± 0.1 kg/m (2)). All fat-free mass variables were significantly greater for carriers of both X/X and D/D genotypes. In response to RT, only the I-allele carriers significantly increased fat-free mass and a significant training × genotype interaction was noted. These findings do not support a pivotal role for the studied polymorphisms in determining muscle strength in older women, but suggest a modest role in fat-free mass determination. Of note, the results provide a novel insight that these genetic variations may interact to determine muscle mass in older women. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  4. Genotypic Diversity of Clinical Actinomyces Species: Phenotype, Source, and Disease Correlation among Genospecies

    PubMed Central

    Clarridge III, Jill E.; Zhang, Qing

    2002-01-01

    novel genospecies. One novel group with three strains, Actinomyces houstonensis sp. nov., was phenotypically similar to A. meyeri and A. turicensis but was genotypically closest to Actinomyces neuii. A. houstonensis sp. nov. was associated with abscesses. Our data documented consistent site and disease associations for 21 genogroups of Actinomyces spp. that provide greater insights into appropriate treatments. However, we also demonstrated a complexity within the Actinomyces genus that compromises the biochemical identification of Actinomyces that can be performed in most clinical laboratories. It is our hope that this large group of well-defined strains will be used to find a simple and accurate biochemical test for differentiation of the species in routine laboratories. PMID:12202591

  5. Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of phenanthrene-degrading fluorescent Pseudomonas biovars.

    PubMed Central

    Johnsen, K; Andersen, S; Jacobsen, C S

    1996-01-01

    A total of 41 phenanthrene degraders were isolated from a former coal gasification site by using Pseudomonas-selective Gould's S1 medium. All isolates were found to belong to the fluorescent Pseudomonas group and were subjected to characterization by phenotypic methods, including classical taxonomic tests, API 20NE, and Biolog GN, and the strains were further characterized by the genotypic method repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR (REP-PCR). By using classical tests, the population was found to consist of 38 strains belonging to P. fluorescens, 2 P. putida strains, and 1 Pseudomonas sp. Bacteria in phenograms from Biolog GN and REP-PCR data were divided into groups, which were in good agreement with classical test and API 20NE results. We found a nonfluorescent group of 22 bacteria inconsistent with any Pseudomonas sp. in Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. The group showed small differences in the genotypic test, indicating that all 22 isolates were not recent clones of the same isolate. Analyses of the nonfluorescent group indicated that it belonged to Pseudomonas, but the group could not be affiliated with P. fluorescens because of differences in DNA-DNA hybridization. Identifications using classical tests and API 20NE were found to correlate, but Biolog GN identifications after 24-h incubation resulted very often in the distantly related P. corrugata. The reproducibilities of individual tests of each phenotypic method were assessed, and low reproducibilities were mainly found to be associated with specific Biolog GN test wells. Classical tests and API 20NE proved to be the best for identification of isolates, whereas Biolog GN and REP-PCR were found to be the best tests for high resolution among these closely related isolates. PMID:8837438

  6. Inactivating Mutations in ESCO2 Cause SC Phocomelia and Roberts Syndrome: No Phenotype-Genotype Correlation

    PubMed Central

    Schüle, Birgitt; Oviedo, Angelica; Johnston, Kathreen; Pai, Shashidhar; Francke, Uta

    2005-01-01

    The rare, autosomal recessive Roberts syndrome (RBS) is characterized by tetraphocomelia, profound growth deficiency of prenatal onset, craniofacial anomalies, microcephaly, and mental deficiency. SC phocomelia (SC) has a milder phenotype, with a lesser degree of limb reduction and with survival to adulthood. Since heterochromatin repulsion (HR) is characteristic for both disorders and is not complemented in somatic-cell hybrids, it has been hypothesized that the disorders are allelic. Recently, mutations in ESCO2 (establishment of cohesion 1 homolog 2) on 8p21.1 have been reported in RBS. To determine whether ESCO2 mutations are also responsible for SC, we studied three families with SC and two families in which variable degrees of limb and craniofacial abnormalities, detected by fetal ultrasound, led to pregnancy terminations. All cases were positive for HR. We identified seven novel mutations in exons 3–8 of ESCO2. In two families, affected individuals were homozygous—for a 5-nucleotide deletion in one family and a splice-site mutation in the other. In three nonconsanguineous families, probands were compound heterozygous for a single-nucleotide insertion or deletion, a nonsense mutation, or a splice-site mutation. Abnormal splice products were characterized at the RNA level. Since only protein-truncating mutations were identified, regardless of clinical severity, we conclude that genotype does not predict phenotype. Having established that RBS and SC are caused by mutations in the same gene, we delineated the clinical phenotype of the tetraphocomelia spectrum that is associated with HR and ESCO2 mutations and differentiated it from other types of phocomelia that are negative for HR. PMID:16380922

  7. Studies on N-Acetyltransferase (NAT2) Genotype Relationships in Emiratis: Confirmation of the Existence of Phenotype Variation among Slow Acetylators.

    PubMed

    Al-Ahmad, Mohammad M; Amir, Naheed; Dhanasekaran, Subramanian; John, Anne; Abdulrazzaq, Yousef M; Ali, Bassam R; Bastaki, Salim

    2017-09-01

    Individuals with slow N-acetylation phenotype often experience toxicity from drugs such as isoniazid, sulfonamides, procainamide, and hydralazine, whereas rapid acetylators may not respond to these medications. The highly polymorphic N-acetyltransferase 2 enzyme encoded by the NAT2 gene is one of the N-acetylators in humans with a clear impact on the metabolism of a significant number of important drugs. However, there are limited studies on N-acetylation phenotypes and NAT2 genotypes among Emiratis, and thus this study was carried out to fill this gap. Five hundred seventy-six Emirati subjects were asked to consume a soft drink containing caffeine (a nontoxic and reliable probe for predicting the acetylation phenotype) and then provide a buccal swab along with a spot urine sample. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to determine the genotype of each individual. Phenotyping was carried out by analyzing the caffeine metabolites using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. We found that 78.5%, 19.1%, and 2.4% of the Emirati subjects were slow, intermediate, and rapid acetylators, respectively. In addition, we found that 77.4% of the subjects were homozygous or heterozygous for two nonreference alleles, whereas 18.4% and 4.2% were heterozygous or homozygous for the reference allele (NAT2*4), respectively. The most common genotypes found were NAT2*5B/*7B, NAT2*5B/*6A, NAT2*7B/*14B, and NAT2*4/*5B, with frequencies of 0.255, 0.135, 0.105, and 0.09, respectively. The degree of phenotype/genotype concordance was 96.2%. The NAT2*6A/*6A, NAT2*6A/*7B, NAT2*7B/*7B, and NAT2*5A/*5B genotypes were found to be associated with the lowest 5-acetylamino-6-formylamino-3-methyluracil/1-methylxanthine (AFMU/1X) ratios. There is a high percentage of slow acetylators among Emiratis, which correlates with the presence of nonreference alleles for the NAT2 gene. Individuals who carried NAT2*6A/*6A, NAT2*6A/*7B, NAT2*7B/*7B

  8. The importance of genotype-phenotype correlation in the clinical management of Marfan syndrome.

    PubMed

    Becerra-Muñoz, Víctor Manuel; Gómez-Doblas, Juan José; Porras-Martín, Carlos; Such-Martínez, Miguel; Crespo-Leiro, María Generosa; Barriales-Villa, Roberto; de Teresa-Galván, Eduardo; Jiménez-Navarro, Manuel; Cabrera-Bueno, Fernando

    2018-01-22

    Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a disorder of autosomal dominant inheritance, in which aortic root dilation is the main cause of morbidity and mortality. Fibrillin-1 (FBN-1) gene mutations are found in more than 90% of MFS cases. The aim of our study was to summarise variants in FBN-1 and establish the genotype-phenotype correlation, with particular interest in the onset of aortic events, in a broad population of patients with an initial clinical suspicion of MFS. This single centre prospective cohort study included all patients presenting variants in the FBN-1 gene who visited a Hereditary Aortopathy clinic between September 2010 and October 2016. The study included 90 patients with FBN-1 variants corresponding to 58 non-interrelated families. Of the 57 FBN-1 variants found, 25 (43.9%) had previously been described, 23 of which had been identified as associated with MFS, while the the remainder are described for the first time. For 84 patients (93.3%), it was possible to give a definite diagnosis of Marfan syndrome in accordance with Ghent criteria. 44 of them had missense mutations, 6 of whom had suffered an aortic event (with either prophylactic surgery for aneurysm or dissection), whereas 20 of the 35 patients with truncating mutations had suffered an event (13.6% vs. 57.1%, p < 0.001). These events tended to occur at earlier ages in patients with truncating compared to those with missense mutations, although not significantly (41.33 ± 3.77 vs. 37.5 ± 9.62 years, p = 0.162). Patients with MFS and truncating variants in FBN-1 presented a higher proportion of aortic events, compared to a more benign course in patients with missense mutations. Genetic findings could, therefore, have importance not only in the diagnosis, but also in risk stratification and clinical management of patients with suspected MFS.

  9. Elevated lung cancer risk is associated with deficiencies in cell cycle checkpoints: Genotype and phenotype analyses from a case-control study

    PubMed Central

    Zheng, Yun-Ling; Kosti, Ourania; Loffredo, Christopher; Bowman, Elise; Mechanic, Leah; Perlmutter, Donna; Jones, Raymond; Shields, Peter G.; Harris, Curtis

    2010-01-01

    Cell cycle checkpoints play critical roles in the maintenance of genomic integrity and inactivation of checkpoint genes, and are frequently perturbed in most cancers. In a case-control study of 299 non-small cell lung cancer cases and 550 controls in Maryland, we investigated the association between γ-radiation-induced G2/M arrest in cultured blood lymphocytes and lung cancer risk, and examined genotype-phenotype correlations between genetic polymorphisms of 20 genes involving in DNA repair and cell cycle control and γ-radiation-induced G2/M arrest. The study was specifically designed to examine race and gender differences in risk factors. Our data indicated that a less efficient DNA damage-induced G2/M checkpoint was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer in African American women with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 2.63 (95% CI = 1.01 – 7.26); there were no statistically significant associations for Caucasians, or African American men. When the African American women were categorized into quartiles, a significant reverse trend of decreased G2/M checkpoint function and increased lung cancer risk was present, with lowest-vs-highest quartile OR of 13.72 (95% CI = 2.30 – 81.92, Ptrend < 0.01). Genotype-phenotype correlation analysis indicated that polymorphisms in ATM, CDC25C, CDKN1A, BRCA2, ERCC6, TP53, and TP53BP1 genes were significantly associated with the γ-radiation-induced G2/M arrest phenotype. This study provides evidence that a less efficient G2/M checkpoint is significantly associated with lung cancer risk in African American women. The data also suggested that the function of G2/M checkpoint is modulated by genetic polymorphisms in genes involved in DNA repair and cell cycle control. PMID:19626602

  10. Whole-Genome Sequencing Analysis Accurately Predicts Antimicrobial Resistance Phenotypes in Campylobacter spp.

    PubMed Central

    Tyson, G. H.; Chen, Y.; Li, C.; Mukherjee, S.; Young, S.; Lam, C.; Folster, J. P.; Whichard, J. M.; McDermott, P. F.

    2015-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to identify antimicrobial resistance genotypes for Campylobacter and to evaluate the correlation between resistance phenotypes and genotypes using in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). A total of 114 Campylobacter species isolates (82 C. coli and 32 C. jejuni) obtained from 2000 to 2013 from humans, retail meats, and cecal samples from food production animals in the United States as part of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System were selected for study. Resistance phenotypes were determined using broth microdilution of nine antimicrobials. Genomic DNA was sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform, and resistance genotypes were identified using assembled WGS sequences through blastx analysis. Eighteen resistance genes, including tet(O), blaOXA-61, catA, lnu(C), aph(2″)-Ib, aph(2″)-Ic, aph(2′)-If, aph(2″)-Ig, aph(2″)-Ih, aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2″)-Ia, aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2″)-If, aac(6′)-Im, aadE, sat4, ant(6′), aad9, aph(3′)-Ic, and aph(3′)-IIIa, and mutations in two housekeeping genes (gyrA and 23S rRNA) were identified. There was a high degree of correlation between phenotypic resistance to a given drug and the presence of one or more corresponding resistance genes. Phenotypic and genotypic correlation was 100% for tetracycline, ciprofloxacin/nalidixic acid, and erythromycin, and correlations ranged from 95.4% to 98.7% for gentamicin, azithromycin, clindamycin, and telithromycin. All isolates were susceptible to florfenicol, and no genes associated with florfenicol resistance were detected. There was a strong correlation (99.2%) between resistance genotypes and phenotypes, suggesting that WGS is a reliable indicator of resistance to the nine antimicrobial agents assayed in this study. WGS has the potential to be a powerful tool for antimicrobial resistance surveillance programs. PMID:26519386

  11. Whole-Genome Sequencing Analysis Accurately Predicts Antimicrobial Resistance Phenotypes in Campylobacter spp.

    PubMed

    Zhao, S; Tyson, G H; Chen, Y; Li, C; Mukherjee, S; Young, S; Lam, C; Folster, J P; Whichard, J M; McDermott, P F

    2016-01-15

    The objectives of this study were to identify antimicrobial resistance genotypes for Campylobacter and to evaluate the correlation between resistance phenotypes and genotypes using in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). A total of 114 Campylobacter species isolates (82 C. coli and 32 C. jejuni) obtained from 2000 to 2013 from humans, retail meats, and cecal samples from food production animals in the United States as part of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System were selected for study. Resistance phenotypes were determined using broth microdilution of nine antimicrobials. Genomic DNA was sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform, and resistance genotypes were identified using assembled WGS sequences through blastx analysis. Eighteen resistance genes, including tet(O), blaOXA-61, catA, lnu(C), aph(2″)-Ib, aph(2″)-Ic, aph(2')-If, aph(2″)-Ig, aph(2″)-Ih, aac(6')-Ie-aph(2″)-Ia, aac(6')-Ie-aph(2″)-If, aac(6')-Im, aadE, sat4, ant(6'), aad9, aph(3')-Ic, and aph(3')-IIIa, and mutations in two housekeeping genes (gyrA and 23S rRNA) were identified. There was a high degree of correlation between phenotypic resistance to a given drug and the presence of one or more corresponding resistance genes. Phenotypic and genotypic correlation was 100% for tetracycline, ciprofloxacin/nalidixic acid, and erythromycin, and correlations ranged from 95.4% to 98.7% for gentamicin, azithromycin, clindamycin, and telithromycin. All isolates were susceptible to florfenicol, and no genes associated with florfenicol resistance were detected. There was a strong correlation (99.2%) between resistance genotypes and phenotypes, suggesting that WGS is a reliable indicator of resistance to the nine antimicrobial agents assayed in this study. WGS has the potential to be a powerful tool for antimicrobial resistance surveillance programs. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  12. [Analysis of genotype and phenotype correlation of MYH7-V878A mutation among ethnic Han Chinese pedigrees affected with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy].

    PubMed

    Wang, Bo; Guo, Ruiqi; Zuo, Lei; Shao, Hong; Liu, Ying; Wang, Yu; Ju, Yan; Sun, Chao; Wang, Lifeng; Zhang, Yanmin; Liu, Liwen

    2017-08-10

    To analyze the phenotype-genotype correlation of MYH7-V878A mutation. Exonic amplification and high-throughput sequencing of 96-cardiovascular disease-related genes were carried out on probands from 210 pedigrees affected with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). For the probands, their family members, and 300 healthy volunteers, the identified MYH7-V878A mutation was verified by Sanger sequencing. Information of the HCM patients and their family members, including clinical data, physical examination, echocardiography (UCG), electrocardiography (ECG), and conserved sequence of the mutation among various species were analyzed. A MYH7-V878A mutation was detected in five HCM pedigrees containing 31 family members. Fourteen members have carried the mutation, among whom 11 were diagnosed with HCM, while 3 did not meet the diagnostic criteria. Some of the fourteen members also carried other mutations. Family members not carrying the mutation had normal UCG and ECG. No MYH7-V878A mutation was found among the 300 healthy volunteers. Analysis of sequence conservation showed that the amino acid is located in highly conserved regions among various species. MYH7-V878A is a hot spot among ethnic Han Chinese with a high penetrance. Functional analysis of the conserved sequences suggested that the mutation may cause significant alteration of the function. MYH7-V878A has a significant value for the early diagnosis of HCM.

  13. Genotypic and phenotypic diversity in populations of plant-probiotic Pseudomonas spp. colonizing roots

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Picard, Christine; Bosco, Marco

    2008-01-01

    Several soil microorganisms colonizing roots are known to naturally promote the health of plants by controlling a range of plant pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, and nematodes. The use of theses antagonistic microorganisms, recently named plant-probiotics, to control plant-pathogenic fungi is receiving increasing attention, as they may represent a sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides. Many years of research on plant-probiotic microorganisms (PPM) have indicated that fluorescent pseudomonads producing antimicrobial compounds are largely involved in the suppression of the most widespread soilborne pathogens. Phenotype and genotype analysis of plant-probiotic fluorescent pseudomonads (PFP) have shown considerable genetic variation among these types of strains. Such variability plays an important role in the rhizosphere competence and the biocontrol ability of PFP strains. Understanding the mechanisms by which genotypic and phenotypic diversity occurs in natural populations of PFP could be exploited to choose those agricultural practices which best exploit the indigenous PFP populations, or to isolate new plant-probiotic strains for using them as inoculants. A number of different methods have been used to study diversity within PFP populations. Because different resolutions of the existing microbial diversity can be revealed depending on the approach used, this review first describes the most important methods used for the assessment of fluorescent Pseudomonas diversity. Then, we focus on recent data relating how differences in genotypic and phenotypic diversity within PFP communities can be attributed to geographic location, climate, soil type, soil management regime, and interactions with other soil microorganisms and host plants. It becomes evident that plant-related parameters exert the strongest influence on the genotypic and phenotypic variations in PFP populations.

  14. A rare CYP21A2 mutation in a congenital adrenal hyperplasia kindred displaying genotype-phenotype nonconcordance.

    PubMed

    Khattab, Ahmed; Yuen, Tony; Al-Malki, Sultan; Yau, Mabel; Kazmi, Diya; Sun, Li; Harbison, Madeleine; Haider, Shozeb; Zaidi, Mone; New, Maria I

    2016-01-01

    Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) owing to 21-hydroxylase deficiency is caused by the autosomal recessive inheritance of mutations in the gene CYP21A2. CYP21A2 mutations lead to variable impairment of the 21-hydroxylase enzyme, which, in turn, is associated with three clinical phenotypes, namely, salt wasting, simple virilizing, and nonclassical CAH. However, it is known that a given mutation can associate with different clinical phenotypes, resulting in a high rate of genotype-phenotype nonconcordance. We aimed to study the genotype-phenotype nonconcordance in a family with three siblings affected with nonclassical CAH. All had hormonal evidence of nonclassical CAH, but this phenotype could not be explained by the genotype obtained from commercial CYP21A2 genetic testing, which revealed heterozygosity for the maternal 30 kb deletion mutation. We performed Sanger sequencing of the entire CYP21A2 gene in this family to search for a rare mutation that was not covered by commercial testing and found in the three siblings a second, rare c.1097G>A (p.R366H) mutation in exon 8. Computational modeling confirmed that this was a mild mutation consistent with nonclassical CAH. We recommend that sequencing of entire genes for rare mutations should be carried out when genotype-phenotype nonconcordance is observed in patients with autosomal recessive monogenic disorders, including CAH. © 2015 New York Academy of Sciences.

  15. Assessing the value of phenotypic information from non-genotyped animals for QTL mapping of complex traits in real and simulated populations.

    PubMed

    Melo, Thaise P; Takada, Luciana; Baldi, Fernando; Oliveira, Henrique N; Dias, Marina M; Neves, Haroldo H R; Schenkel, Flavio S; Albuquerque, Lucia G; Carvalheiro, Roberto

    2016-06-21

    QTL mapping through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) is challenging, especially in the case of low heritability complex traits and when few animals possess genotypic and phenotypic information. When most of the phenotypic information is from non-genotyped animals, GWAS can be performed using the weighted single-step GBLUP (WssGBLUP) method, which permits to combine all available information, even that of non-genotyped animals. However, it is not clear to what extent phenotypic information from non-genotyped animals increases the power of QTL detection, and whether factors such as the extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) in the population and weighting SNPs in WssGBLUP affect the importance of using information from non-genotyped animals in GWAS. These questions were investigated in this study using real and simulated data. Analysis of real data showed that the use of phenotypes of non-genotyped animals affected SNP effect estimates and, consequently, QTL mapping. Despite some coincidence, the most important genomic regions identified by the analyses, either using or ignoring phenotypes of non-genotyped animals, were not the same. The simulation results indicated that the inclusion of all available phenotypic information, even that of non-genotyped animals, tends to improve QTL detection for low heritability complex traits. For populations with low levels of LD, this trend of improvement was less pronounced. Stronger shrinkage on SNPs explaining lower variance was not necessarily associated with better QTL mapping. The use of phenotypic information from non-genotyped animals in GWAS may improve the ability to detect QTL for low heritability complex traits, especially in populations in which the level of LD is high.

  16. XGAP: a uniform and extensible data model and software platform for genotype and phenotype experiments

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    We present an extensible software model for the genotype and phenotype community, XGAP. Readers can download a standard XGAP (http://www.xgap.org) or auto-generate a custom version using MOLGENIS with programming interfaces to R-software and web-services or user interfaces for biologists. XGAP has simple load formats for any type of genotype, epigenotype, transcript, protein, metabolite or other phenotype data. Current functionality includes tools ranging from eQTL analysis in mouse to genome-wide association studies in humans. PMID:20214801

  17. XGAP: a uniform and extensible data model and software platform for genotype and phenotype experiments.

    PubMed

    Swertz, Morris A; Velde, K Joeri van der; Tesson, Bruno M; Scheltema, Richard A; Arends, Danny; Vera, Gonzalo; Alberts, Rudi; Dijkstra, Martijn; Schofield, Paul; Schughart, Klaus; Hancock, John M; Smedley, Damian; Wolstencroft, Katy; Goble, Carole; de Brock, Engbert O; Jones, Andrew R; Parkinson, Helen E; Jansen, Ritsert C

    2010-01-01

    We present an extensible software model for the genotype and phenotype community, XGAP. Readers can download a standard XGAP (http://www.xgap.org) or auto-generate a custom version using MOLGENIS with programming interfaces to R-software and web-services or user interfaces for biologists. XGAP has simple load formats for any type of genotype, epigenotype, transcript, protein, metabolite or other phenotype data. Current functionality includes tools ranging from eQTL analysis in mouse to genome-wide association studies in humans.

  18. X-Linked and Autosomal Recessive Alport Syndrome: Pathogenic Variant Features and Further Genotype-Phenotype Correlations

    PubMed Central

    Savige, Judith; Storey, Helen; Il Cheong, Hae; Gyung Kang, Hee; Park, Eujin; Hilbert, Pascale; Persikov, Anton; Torres-Fernandez, Carmen; Ars, Elisabet; Torra, Roser; Hertz, Jens Michael; Thomassen, Mads; Shagam, Lev; Wang, Dongmao; Wang, Yanyan; Flinter, Frances; Nagel, Mato

    2016-01-01

    Alport syndrome results from mutations in the COL4A5 (X-linked) or COL4A3/COL4A4 (recessive) genes. This study examined 754 previously- unpublished variants in these genes from individuals referred for genetic testing in 12 accredited diagnostic laboratories worldwide, in addition to all published COL4A5, COL4A3 and COL4A4 variants in the LOVD databases. It also determined genotype-phenotype correlations for variants where clinical data were available. Individuals were referred for genetic testing where Alport syndrome was suspected clinically or on biopsy (renal failure, hearing loss, retinopathy, lamellated glomerular basement membrane), variant pathogenicity was assessed using currently-accepted criteria, and variants were examined for gene location, and age at renal failure onset. Results were compared using Fisher’s exact test (DNA Stata). Altogether 754 new DNA variants were identified, an increase of 25%, predominantly in people of European background. Of the 1168 COL4A5 variants, 504 (43%) were missense mutations, 273 (23%) splicing variants, 73 (6%) nonsense mutations, 169 (14%) short deletions and 76 (7%) complex or large deletions. Only 135 of the 432 Gly residues in the collagenous sequence were substituted (31%), which means that fewer than 10% of all possible variants have been identified. Both missense and nonsense mutations in COL4A5 were not randomly distributed but more common at the 70 CpG sequences (p<10−41 and p<0.001 respectively). Gly>Ala substitutions were underrepresented in all three genes (p< 0.0001) probably because of an association with a milder phenotype. The average age at end-stage renal failure was the same for all mutations in COL4A5 (24.4 ±7.8 years), COL4A3 (23.3 ± 9.3) and COL4A4 (25.4 ± 10.3) (COL4A5 and COL4A3, p = 0.45; COL4A5 and COL4A4, p = 0.55; COL4A3 and COL4A4, p = 0.41). For COL4A5, renal failure occurred sooner with non-missense than missense variants (p<0.01). For the COL4A3 and COL4A4 genes, age at renal

  19. X-Linked and Autosomal Recessive Alport Syndrome: Pathogenic Variant Features and Further Genotype-Phenotype Correlations.

    PubMed

    Savige, Judith; Storey, Helen; Il Cheong, Hae; Gyung Kang, Hee; Park, Eujin; Hilbert, Pascale; Persikov, Anton; Torres-Fernandez, Carmen; Ars, Elisabet; Torra, Roser; Hertz, Jens Michael; Thomassen, Mads; Shagam, Lev; Wang, Dongmao; Wang, Yanyan; Flinter, Frances; Nagel, Mato

    2016-01-01

    Alport syndrome results from mutations in the COL4A5 (X-linked) or COL4A3/COL4A4 (recessive) genes. This study examined 754 previously- unpublished variants in these genes from individuals referred for genetic testing in 12 accredited diagnostic laboratories worldwide, in addition to all published COL4A5, COL4A3 and COL4A4 variants in the LOVD databases. It also determined genotype-phenotype correlations for variants where clinical data were available. Individuals were referred for genetic testing where Alport syndrome was suspected clinically or on biopsy (renal failure, hearing loss, retinopathy, lamellated glomerular basement membrane), variant pathogenicity was assessed using currently-accepted criteria, and variants were examined for gene location, and age at renal failure onset. Results were compared using Fisher's exact test (DNA Stata). Altogether 754 new DNA variants were identified, an increase of 25%, predominantly in people of European background. Of the 1168 COL4A5 variants, 504 (43%) were missense mutations, 273 (23%) splicing variants, 73 (6%) nonsense mutations, 169 (14%) short deletions and 76 (7%) complex or large deletions. Only 135 of the 432 Gly residues in the collagenous sequence were substituted (31%), which means that fewer than 10% of all possible variants have been identified. Both missense and nonsense mutations in COL4A5 were not randomly distributed but more common at the 70 CpG sequences (p<10-41 and p<0.001 respectively). Gly>Ala substitutions were underrepresented in all three genes (p< 0.0001) probably because of an association with a milder phenotype. The average age at end-stage renal failure was the same for all mutations in COL4A5 (24.4 ±7.8 years), COL4A3 (23.3 ± 9.3) and COL4A4 (25.4 ± 10.3) (COL4A5 and COL4A3, p = 0.45; COL4A5 and COL4A4, p = 0.55; COL4A3 and COL4A4, p = 0.41). For COL4A5, renal failure occurred sooner with non-missense than missense variants (p<0.01). For the COL4A3 and COL4A4 genes, age at renal failure

  20. SCOPA and META-SCOPA: software for the analysis and aggregation of genome-wide association studies of multiple correlated phenotypes.

    PubMed

    Mägi, Reedik; Suleimanov, Yury V; Clarke, Geraldine M; Kaakinen, Marika; Fischer, Krista; Prokopenko, Inga; Morris, Andrew P

    2017-01-11

    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been successful in identifying loci contributing genetic effects to a wide range of complex human diseases and quantitative traits. The traditional approach to GWAS analysis is to consider each phenotype separately, despite the fact that many diseases and quantitative traits are correlated with each other, and often measured in the same sample of individuals. Multivariate analyses of correlated phenotypes have been demonstrated, by simulation, to increase power to detect association with SNPs, and thus may enable improved detection of novel loci contributing to diseases and quantitative traits. We have developed the SCOPA software to enable GWAS analysis of multiple correlated phenotypes. The software implements "reverse regression" methodology, which treats the genotype of an individual at a SNP as the outcome and the phenotypes as predictors in a general linear model. SCOPA can be applied to quantitative traits and categorical phenotypes, and can accommodate imputed genotypes under a dosage model. The accompanying META-SCOPA software enables meta-analysis of association summary statistics from SCOPA across GWAS. Application of SCOPA to two GWAS of high-and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides and body mass index, and subsequent meta-analysis with META-SCOPA, highlighted stronger association signals than univariate phenotype analysis at established lipid and obesity loci. The META-SCOPA meta-analysis also revealed a novel signal of association at genome-wide significance for triglycerides mapping to GPC5 (lead SNP rs71427535, p = 1.1x10 -8 ), which has not been reported in previous large-scale GWAS of lipid traits. The SCOPA and META-SCOPA software enable discovery and dissection of multiple phenotype association signals through implementation of a powerful reverse regression approach.

  1. Using artificial neural networks to select upright cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) genotypes with high productivity and phenotypic stability.

    PubMed

    Barroso, L M A; Teodoro, P E; Nascimento, M; Torres, F E; Nascimento, A C C; Azevedo, C F; Teixeira, F R F

    2016-11-03

    Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is grown in three Brazilian regions: the Midwest, North, and Northeast, and is consumed by people on low incomes. It is important to investigate the genotype x environment (GE) interaction to provide accurate recommendations for farmers. The aim of this study was to identify cowpea genotypes with high adaptability and phenotypic stability for growing in the Brazilian Cerrado, and to compare the use of artificial neural networks with the Eberhart and Russell (1966) method. Six trials with upright cowpea genotypes were conducted in 2005 and 2006 in the States of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The data were subjected to adaptability and stability analysis by the Eberhart and Russell (1966) method and artificial neural networks. The genotypes MNC99-537F-4 and EVX91-2E-2 provided grain yields above the overall environment means, and exhibited high stability according to both methods. Genotype IT93K-93-10 was the most suitable for unfavorable environments. There was a high correlation between the results of both methods in terms of classifying the genotypes by their adaptability and stability. Therefore, this new approach would be effective in quantifying the GE interaction in upright cowpea breeding programs.

  2. A genotypic and phenotypic information source for marker-assisted selection of cereals: the CEREALAB database

    PubMed Central

    Milc, Justyna; Sala, Antonio; Bergamaschi, Sonia; Pecchioni, Nicola

    2011-01-01

    The CEREALAB database aims to store genotypic and phenotypic data obtained by the CEREALAB project and to integrate them with already existing data sources in order to create a tool for plant breeders and geneticists. The database can help them in unravelling the genetics of economically important phenotypic traits; in identifying and choosing molecular markers associated to key traits; and in choosing the desired parentals for breeding programs. The database is divided into three sub-schemas corresponding to the species of interest: wheat, barley and rice; each sub-schema is then divided into two sub-ontologies, regarding genotypic and phenotypic data, respectively. Database URL: http://www.cerealab.unimore.it/jws/cerealab.jnlp PMID:21247929

  3. Genetic analyses, phenotypic adaptability and stability in sugarcane genotypes for commercial cultivation in Pernambuco.

    PubMed

    Dutra Filho, J A; Junior, T C; Simões Neto, D E

    2015-10-05

    In the present study, we assessed the agro-industrial performance of 22 sugarcane genotypes adaptable to edaphoclimatic conditions in production microregions in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, and we recommended the commercial cultivation of select genotypes. The variables analyzed were as follows: sucrose percentage in cane juice, tonnage of saccharose per hectare (TPH), sugarcane tonnage per hectare (TCH), fiber, solid soluble contents, total recoverable sugar tonnage (ATR), and total recoverable sugar tonnage per hectare (ATR t/ha). A randomized block design with 4 repeats was used. Combined variance of the experiments, genetic parameter estimates, and environment stratification were analyzed. Phenotypic adaptability and stability were analyzed using the Annicchiarico and Wricke methods and analysis of variance. Genetic gain was estimated using the classic index and sum of ranks. Genotype selection was efficient for TPH, TCH, and ATR t/ha. Genotypes presented a great potential for improvement and a similar response pattern in Litoral Norte and Mata Sul microregions for TPH and TCH and Litoral Norte and Litoral Sul microregions for ATR t/ha. Genotypes SP78-4764, RB813804, and SP79-101 showed better productivity and phenotypic adaptability and stability, according to the Wricke and Annicchiarico methods. These genotypes can be recommended for cultivation in the sugarcane belt in the State of Pernambuco.

  4. The natural history of SCO2 deficiency in 36 Polish children confirmed the genotype-phenotype correlation.

    PubMed

    Pronicka, Ewa; Piekutowska-Abramczuk, Dorota; Szymańska-Dębińska, Tamara; Bielecka, Liliana; Kowalski, Paweł; Luczak, Sylwia; Karkucińska-Więckowska, Agnieszka; Migdał, Marek; Kubalska, Jolanta; Zimowski, Janusz; Jamroz, Ewa; Wierzba, Jolanta; Sykut-Cegielska, Jolanta; Pronicki, Maciej; Zaremba, Jacek; Krajewska-Walasek, Małgorzata

    2013-11-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the natural history of the SCO2 deficiency in relation to the genotype in a cohort of 62 patients with SCO2 mutations (36 this study, 26 previous reports). A novel, milder phenotype (disease onset delayed until one year after birth, nonspecific encephalomyopathy, and 2-4 year survival period) associated with compound heterozygosity of the common p.E140K and a novel p.M177T mutations extends the range of symptoms of the SCO2 deficiency. The prevalence of SCO2 deficiency in Poland is relatively high. A search for SCO2 mutations in patients with histology resembling SMA appears to efficiently improve the detection rate. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. and Mitochondria Research Society. All rights reserved. All rights reserved.

  5. Association of Neuropeptide-Y (NPY) and Interleukin-1beta (IL1B), Genotype-Phenotype Correlation and Plasma Lipids with Type-II Diabetes.

    PubMed

    Patel, Roma; Dwivedi, Mitesh; Mansuri, Mohmmad Shoab; Ansarullah; Laddha, Naresh C; Thakker, Ami; Ramachandran, A V; Begum, Rasheedunnisa

    2016-01-01

    Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is known to play a role in the regulation of satiety, energy balance, body weight, and insulin release. Interleukin-1beta (IL1B) has been associated with loss of beta-cell mass in type-II diabetes (TIID). The present study attempts to investigate the association of NPY exon2 +1128 T/C (Leu7Pro; rs16139), NPY promoter -399 T/C (rs16147) and IL1B -511 C/T (rs16944) polymorphisms with TIID and their correlation with plasma lipid levels, BMI, and IL1B transcript levels. PCR-RFLP was used for genotyping these polymorphisms in a case-control study involving 558 TIID patients and 1085 healthy age-matched controls from Gujarat. Linkage disequilibrium and haplotype analysis of the NPY polymorphic sites were performed to assess their association with TIID. IL1B transcript levels in PBMCs were also assessed in 108 controls and 101 patients using real-time PCR. Our results show significant association of both structural and promoter polymorphisms of NPY (p<0.0001 and p<0.0001 respectively) in patients with TIID. However, the IL1B C/T polymorphism did not show any association (p = 0.3797) with TIID patients. Haplotype analysis revealed more frequent association of CC and CT haplotypes (p = 3.34 x 10-5, p = 6.04 x 10-9) in diabetics compared to controls and increased the risk of diabetes by 3.02 and 2.088 respectively. Transcript levels of IL1B were significantly higher (p<0.0001) in patients as compared to controls. Genotype-phenotype correlation of IL1B polymorphism did not show any association with its higher transcript levels. In addition, NPY +1128 T/C polymorphism was found to be associated with increased plasma LDL levels (p = 0.01). The present study provides an evidence for a strong correlation between structural and promoter polymorphisms of NPY gene and upregulation of IL1B transcript levels with susceptibility to TIID and altering the lipid metabolism in Gujarat population.

  6. Can genotype determine the sports phenotype? A paradigm shift in sports medicine.

    PubMed

    Ghosh, Amit; Mahajan, Preetam B

    2016-06-01

    In last two decades, there has been an evolution in sports medicine. Several researchers have worked on different domains of sports medicine, like strength, endurance, sports injury, and psychology. Besides this, several groups have explored the changes at cellular and molecular levels during exercise, which has led to the development of the new domain in sports science known as genetic medicine. Genetic medicine deals with the genotypic basis of sports phenotype. In this article, we try to provide an up-to-date review on genetic determinants of sports performance, which will be like a journey from the nostalgic past towards the traditional present and the romantic future of sports medicine. Endurance and power performance are two important domains of athletes. They vary in individuals, even among trained athletes. Researches indicate that the genetic makeup of sportsmen play a vital role in their performance. Several genetic factors are reported to be responsible for endurance, power, susceptibility to injury, and even psychology of the individual. Besides this, proper training, nutrition, and environment are also important in shaping their potential. The aim of this discussion is to understand the influence of the environment and the genetic makeup on the performance of the athletes. There is sufficient evidence to suggest that genotype determines the sports phenotype in an athlete. Choosing the right sports activity based on genetic endowment is the key for achieving excellence in sports.

  7. Similar predictions of etravirine sensitivity regardless of genotypic testing method used: comparison of available scoring systems.

    PubMed

    Vingerhoets, Johan; Nijs, Steven; Tambuyzer, Lotke; Hoogstoel, Annemie; Anderson, David; Picchio, Gaston

    2012-01-01

    The aims of this study were to compare various genotypic scoring systems commonly used to predict virological outcome to etravirine, and examine their concordance with etravirine phenotypic susceptibility. Six etravirine genotypic scoring systems were assessed: Tibotec 2010 (based on 20 mutations; TBT 20), Monogram, Stanford HIVdb, ANRS, Rega (based on 37, 30, 27 and 49 mutations, respectively) and virco(®)TYPE HIV-1 (predicted fold change based on genotype). Samples from treatment-experienced patients who participated in the DUET trials and with both genotypic and phenotypic data (n=403) were assessed using each scoring system. Results were retrospectively correlated with virological response in DUET. κ coefficients were calculated to estimate the degree of correlation between the different scoring systems. Correlation between the five scoring systems and the TBT 20 system was approximately 90%. Virological response by etravirine susceptibility was comparable regardless of which scoring system was utilized, with 70-74% of DUET patients determined as susceptible to etravirine by the different scoring systems achieving plasma viral load <50 HIV-1 RNA copies/ml. In samples classed as phenotypically susceptible to etravirine (fold change in 50% effective concentration ≤3), correlations with genotypic score were consistently high across scoring systems (≥70%). In general, the etravirine genotypic scoring systems produced similar results, and genotype-phenotype concordance was high. As such, phenotypic interpretations, and in their absence all genotypic scoring systems investigated, may be used to reliably predict the activity of etravirine.

  8. Stochastic switching in biology: from genotype to phenotype

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bressloff, Paul C.

    2017-03-01

    There has been a resurgence of interest in non-equilibrium stochastic processes in recent years, driven in part by the observation that the number of molecules (genes, mRNA, proteins) involved in gene expression are often of order 1-1000. This means that deterministic mass-action kinetics tends to break down, and one needs to take into account the discrete, stochastic nature of biochemical reactions. One of the major consequences of molecular noise is the occurrence of stochastic biological switching at both the genotypic and phenotypic levels. For example, individual gene regulatory networks can switch between graded and binary responses, exhibit translational/transcriptional bursting, and support metastability (noise-induced switching between states that are stable in the deterministic limit). If random switching persists at the phenotypic level then this can confer certain advantages to cell populations growing in a changing environment, as exemplified by bacterial persistence in response to antibiotics. Gene expression at the single-cell level can also be regulated by changes in cell density at the population level, a process known as quorum sensing. In contrast to noise-driven phenotypic switching, the switching mechanism in quorum sensing is stimulus-driven and thus noise tends to have a detrimental effect. A common approach to modeling stochastic gene expression is to assume a large but finite system and to approximate the discrete processes by continuous processes using a system-size expansion. However, there is a growing need to have some familiarity with the theory of stochastic processes that goes beyond the standard topics of chemical master equations, the system-size expansion, Langevin equations and the Fokker-Planck equation. Examples include stochastic hybrid systems (piecewise deterministic Markov processes), large deviations and the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) method, adiabatic reductions, and queuing/renewal theory. The major aim of this

  9. Adaptability and phenotypic stability of common bean genotypes through Bayesian inference.

    PubMed

    Corrêa, A M; Teodoro, P E; Gonçalves, M C; Barroso, L M A; Nascimento, M; Santos, A; Torres, F E

    2016-04-27

    This study used Bayesian inference to investigate the genotype x environment interaction in common bean grown in Mato Grosso do Sul State, and it also evaluated the efficiency of using informative and minimally informative a priori distributions. Six trials were conducted in randomized blocks, and the grain yield of 13 common bean genotypes was assessed. To represent the minimally informative a priori distributions, a probability distribution with high variance was used, and a meta-analysis concept was adopted to represent the informative a priori distributions. Bayes factors were used to conduct comparisons between the a priori distributions. The Bayesian inference was effective for the selection of upright common bean genotypes with high adaptability and phenotypic stability using the Eberhart and Russell method. Bayes factors indicated that the use of informative a priori distributions provided more accurate results than minimally informative a priori distributions. According to Bayesian inference, the EMGOPA-201, BAMBUÍ, CNF 4999, CNF 4129 A 54, and CNFv 8025 genotypes had specific adaptability to favorable environments, while the IAPAR 14 and IAC CARIOCA ETE genotypes had specific adaptability to unfavorable environments.

  10. CETP genotypes and HDL-cholesterol phenotypes in the HERITAGE Family Study.

    PubMed

    Spielmann, Nadine; Leon, Arthur S; Rao, D C; Rice, Treva; Skinner, James S; Bouchard, Claude; Rankinen, Tuomo

    2007-09-19

    Associations between cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) polymorphisms and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) levels before and after 20 wk of endurance training were investigated in the HERITAGE Family Study. Plasma HDL-c, HDL(2)-c, HDL(3)-c, and apolipoprotein (apo)A1 levels were measured, and 13 CETP single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 265 blacks and 486 whites. Three haplotypes defined by SNPs at the -1337, -971, and -629 sites were strongly associated with baseline HDL-c levels in whites. Both C-1337T and C-629A were associated with baseline HDL-c (P < 0.001) and apoA1 (P < 0.01) when tested separately. However, only C-629A remained significant in a combined model. G-971A was not associated with HDL phenotypes, but showed significant interactions with C-629A (P = 0.002) on baseline traits. Genotype-by-sex interactions were observed at the -629 locus for HDL(3)-c (P = 0.004) and apoA1 (P = 0.02) training responses in whites. In women, the -629 A/A homozygotes showed greater increases in HDL(3)-c (P = 0.02) and apoA1 (P = 0.02) levels than the other genotypes. Finally, apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype and the CETP C-629A locus contributed independently and in additive fashion to the HDL traits, explaining 6.0-8.8% of the variance. The CETP -1337T and -629A alleles are associated with higher baseline HDL-c and apoA1 levels. The beneficial effects of endurance training on plasma HDL(3)-c and apoA1 levels are evident in white women homozygous for the -629A allele. The CETP and APOE genotypes account for up to 9% of the variance in HDL-c phenotypes in the HERITAGE Family Study.

  11. Correspondence between the CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 genotypes with the inferred metabolizer phenotype by omeprazole administration in Mexican healthy children.

    PubMed

    Favela-Mendoza, A F; Martínez-Cortes, G; Romero-Prado, M M; Romero-Tejeda, E M; Islas-Carbajal, M C; Sosa-Macias, M; Lares-Asseff, I; Rangel-Villalobos, H

    2018-05-07

    CYP2C19 genotypes presumably allow the prediction of the metabolizer phenotypes: poor (PMs), extensive (EMs) and ultra-rapid (UMs). However, evidence from previous studies regarding this predictive power is unclear, which is important because the benefits expected by healthcare institutions and patients are based on this premise. Therefore, we aimed to complete a formal evaluation of the diagnostic value of CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 genes for predicting metabolizer phenotypes established by omeprazole (OME) administration in 118 healthy children from Jalisco (western Mexico). The genotypes for CYP3A4*1B and CYP2C19*2, *3, *4, *5 and *17 alleles were determined. CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 phenotypes were obtained after 20 mg OME administration and HPLC quantification in plasma to estimate the Hydroxylation Index (HI = OME/HOME) and Sulfonation Index (SI = OME/SOME), respectively. The distribution of genotypes and phenotypes for CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 was similar to previous studies in Mexico and Latin America. We estimated the CYP2C19 UM, EM and PM phenotype frequency in 0.84%, 96.61% and 2.54%, respectively. Although differences in the HI distribution were observed between CYP2C19 genotypes, they showed a poor diagnostic ability to predict the CYP2C19 metabolizer phenotype. Similarly, the number of CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 functional alleles was correlated with the HI distribution, but also their diagnostic ability to predict the CYP2C19 phenotype was poor. The CYP2C19 phenotype is not predicted by the number of functional alleles of CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 genes. Phenotyping is still the most valuable alternative to dose individualization for CYP2C19 substrate drugs. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. The controversial p.Met34Thr variant in GJB2 gene: Two siblings, one genotype, two phenotypes.

    PubMed

    Lameiras, Ana Rita; Gonçalves, Ana Cláudia; Santos, Ricardo; O'Neill, Assunção; Reis, Luís Roque Dos; Matos, Tiago Daniel; Fialho, Graça; Caria, Helena; Escada, Pedro

    2015-08-01

    Recent advances in molecular genetics have increased the identification of genes and mutations responsible for inherited forms of hearing loss (HL), enabling early detection of these cases. Approximately, 60% of early-onset HL cases are due to genetic causes, of which 70% are non-syndromic. Of these, 75-80% are inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern (DFNB). Mutations in GJB2 gene, coding for connexin 26 (Cx26), are the major cause of autosomal recessive hereditary HL, but some GJB2 mutations are yet of unclear or controversial significance. The aim of the present study was to identify the etiology of hearing loss, and correlate genotype-phenotype, in two Portuguese siblings with profound and moderate non-syndromic sensorineural bilateral HL. The affected subjects and their parents underwent audiological and genetic study. Molecular analysis of GJB2 gene was performed, searching for mutations in the coding region and receptor splicing site by automated sequencing. The onset and the degree of HL were different in the two affected subjects. However, the same GJB2 genotype [p.Met34Thr]+[p.Arg184Pro] was identified in both siblings. The c.551G>C (p.Arg184Pro) and c.101T>C (p.Met34Thr) missense variants were inherited from the father and mother, respectively, both heterozygous carriers of these variants. The clinical and genetic data here presented suggest that the non-syndromic sensorineural HL of these two Portuguese siblings might be due to the presence of p.Met34Thr and p.Arg184Pro variants in compound heterozygosity. If so, p.Met34Thr variant could have function as a hypomorphic allele that may cause HL depending on the opposing GJB2 allele. The observed phenotypic variability may not, however, be solely explained by variable expression of this genotype. A putative modifier gene or mutations in another HL-associated gene could probably be contributing to the severe HL in one of the siblings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Heritabilities and genetic correlations in the same traits across different strata of herds created according to continuous genomic, genetic, and phenotypic descriptors.

    PubMed

    Yin, Tong; König, Sven

    2018-03-01

    The most common approach in dairy cattle to prove genotype by environment interactions is a multiple-trait model application, and considering the same traits in different environments as different traits. We enhanced such concepts by defining continuous phenotypic, genetic, and genomic herd descriptors, and applying random regression sire models. Traits of interest were test-day traits for milk yield, fat percentage, protein percentage, and somatic cell score, considering 267,393 records from 32,707 first-lactation Holstein cows. Cows were born in the years 2010 to 2013, and kept in 52 large-scale herds from 2 federal states of north-east Germany. The average number of genotyped cows per herd (45,613 single nucleotide polymorphism markers per cow) was 133.5 (range: 45 to 415 genotyped cows). Genomic herd descriptors were (1) the level of linkage disequilibrium (r 2 ) within specific chromosome segments, and (2) the average allele frequency for single nucleotide polymorphisms in close distance to a functional mutation. Genetic herd descriptors were the (1) intra-herd inbreeding coefficient, and (2) the percentage of daughters from foreign sires. Phenotypic herd descriptors were (1) herd size, and (2) the herd mean for nonreturn rate. Most correlations among herd descriptors were close to 0, indicating independence of genomic, genetic, and phenotypic characteristics. Heritabilities for milk yield increased with increasing intra-herd linkage disequilibrium, inbreeding, and herd size. Genetic correlations in same traits between adjacent levels of herd descriptors were close to 1, but declined for descriptor levels in greater distance. Genetic correlation declines were more obvious for somatic cell score, compared with test-day traits with larger heritabilities (fat percentage and protein percentage). Also, for milk yield, alterations of herd descriptor levels had an obvious effect on heritabilities and genetic correlations. By trend, multiple trait model results (based

  14. Whole-Genome Sequencing and Concordance Between Antimicrobial Susceptibility Genotypes and Phenotypes of Bacterial Isolates Associated with Bovine Respiratory Disease

    PubMed Central

    Owen, Joseph R.; Noyes, Noelle; Young, Amy E.; Prince, Daniel J.; Blanchard, Patricia C.; Lehenbauer, Terry W.; Aly, Sharif S.; Davis, Jessica H.; O’Rourke, Sean M.; Abdo, Zaid; Belk, Keith; Miller, Michael R.; Morley, Paul; Van Eenennaam, Alison L.

    2017-01-01

    Extended laboratory culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing timelines hinder rapid species identification and susceptibility profiling of bacterial pathogens associated with bovine respiratory disease, the most prevalent cause of cattle mortality in the United States. Whole-genome sequencing offers a culture-independent alternative to current bacterial identification methods, but requires a library of bacterial reference genomes for comparison. To contribute new bacterial genome assemblies and evaluate genetic diversity and variation in antimicrobial resistance genotypes, whole-genome sequencing was performed on bovine respiratory disease–associated bacterial isolates (Histophilus somni, Mycoplasma bovis, Mannheimia haemolytica, and Pasteurella multocida) from dairy and beef cattle. One hundred genomically distinct assemblies were added to the NCBI database, doubling the available genomic sequences for these four species. Computer-based methods identified 11 predicted antimicrobial resistance genes in three species, with none being detected in M. bovis. While computer-based analysis can identify antibiotic resistance genes within whole-genome sequences (genotype), it may not predict the actual antimicrobial resistance observed in a living organism (phenotype). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing on 64 H. somni, M. haemolytica, and P. multocida isolates had an overall concordance rate between genotype and phenotypic resistance to the associated class of antimicrobials of 72.7% (P < 0.001), showing substantial discordance. Concordance rates varied greatly among different antimicrobial, antibiotic resistance gene, and bacterial species combinations. This suggests that antimicrobial susceptibility phenotypes are needed to complement genomically predicted antibiotic resistance gene genotypes to better understand how the presence of antibiotic resistance genes within a given bacterial species could potentially impact optimal bovine respiratory disease

  15. Neural correlates of abnormal sensory discrimination in laryngeal dystonia.

    PubMed

    Termsarasab, Pichet; Ramdhani, Ritesh A; Battistella, Giovanni; Rubien-Thomas, Estee; Choy, Melissa; Farwell, Ian M; Velickovic, Miodrag; Blitzer, Andrew; Frucht, Steven J; Reilly, Richard B; Hutchinson, Michael; Ozelius, Laurie J; Simonyan, Kristina

    2016-01-01

    Aberrant sensory processing plays a fundamental role in the pathophysiology of dystonia; however, its underpinning neural mechanisms in relation to dystonia phenotype and genotype remain unclear. We examined temporal and spatial discrimination thresholds in patients with isolated laryngeal form of dystonia (LD), who exhibited different clinical phenotypes (adductor vs. abductor forms) and potentially different genotypes (sporadic vs. familial forms). We correlated our behavioral findings with the brain gray matter volume and functional activity during resting and symptomatic speech production. We found that temporal but not spatial discrimination was significantly altered across all forms of LD, with higher frequency of abnormalities seen in familial than sporadic patients. Common neural correlates of abnormal temporal discrimination across all forms were found with structural and functional changes in the middle frontal and primary somatosensory cortices. In addition, patients with familial LD had greater cerebellar involvement in processing of altered temporal discrimination, whereas sporadic LD patients had greater recruitment of the putamen and sensorimotor cortex. Based on the clinical phenotype, adductor form-specific correlations between abnormal discrimination and brain changes were found in the frontal cortex, whereas abductor form-specific correlations were observed in the cerebellum and putamen. Our behavioral and neuroimaging findings outline the relationship of abnormal sensory discrimination with the phenotype and genotype of isolated LD, suggesting the presence of potentially divergent pathophysiological pathways underlying different manifestations of this disorder.

  16. The genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of MTO1 deficiency.

    PubMed

    O'Byrne, James J; Tarailo-Graovac, Maja; Ghani, Aisha; Champion, Michael; Deshpande, Charu; Dursun, Ali; Ozgul, Riza K; Freisinger, Peter; Garber, Ian; Haack, Tobias B; Horvath, Rita; Barić, Ivo; Husain, Ralf A; Kluijtmans, Leo A J; Kotzaeridou, Urania; Morris, Andrew A; Ross, Colin J; Santra, Saikat; Smeitink, Jan; Tarnopolsky, Mark; Wortmann, Saskia B; Mayr, Johannes A; Brunner-Krainz, Michaela; Prokisch, Holger; Wasserman, Wyeth W; Wevers, Ron A; Engelke, Udo F; Rodenburg, Richard J; Ting, Teck Wah; McFarland, Robert; Taylor, Robert W; Salvarinova, Ramona; van Karnebeek, Clara D M

    2018-01-01

    , phenotype. These data suggest that complete loss of MTO1 is not viable. A ketogenic diet may have exerted a favourable effect on seizures in 2/5 patients. MTO1 deficiency is lethal in some but not all cases, and a genotype-phenotype relation is suggested. Aside from lactic acidosis and cardiomyopathy, developmental delay and other phenotypic features affecting multiple organ systems are often present in these patients, suggesting a broader spectrum than hitherto reported. The diagnosis should be suspected on clinical features and the presence of markers of mitochondrial dysfunction in body fluids, especially low residual complex I, III and IV activity in muscle. Molecular confirmation is required and targeted genomic testing may be the most efficient approach. Although subjective clinical improvement was observed in a small number of patients on therapies such as ketogenic diet and dichloroacetate, no evidence-based effective therapy exists. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Integrating Evolutionary Game Theory into Mechanistic Genotype-Phenotype Mapping.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Xuli; Jiang, Libo; Ye, Meixia; Sun, Lidan; Gragnoli, Claudia; Wu, Rongling

    2016-05-01

    Natural selection has shaped the evolution of organisms toward optimizing their structural and functional design. However, how this universal principle can enhance genotype-phenotype mapping of quantitative traits has remained unexplored. Here we show that the integration of this principle and functional mapping through evolutionary game theory gains new insight into the genetic architecture of complex traits. By viewing phenotype formation as an evolutionary system, we formulate mathematical equations to model the ecological mechanisms that drive the interaction and coordination of its constituent components toward population dynamics and stability. Functional mapping provides a procedure for estimating the genetic parameters that specify the dynamic relationship of competition and cooperation and predicting how genes mediate the evolution of this relationship during trait formation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Genotypic and Phenotypic Characterization of Chikungunya Virus of Different Genotypes from Malaysia

    PubMed Central

    Sam, I-Ching; Loong, Shih-Keng; Michael, Jasmine Chandramathi; Chua, Chong-Long; Wan Sulaiman, Wan Yusoff; Vythilingam, Indra; Chan, Shie-Yien; Chiam, Chun-Wei; Yeong, Yze-Shiuan; AbuBakar, Sazaly; Chan, Yoke-Fun

    2012-01-01

    Background Mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has recently re-emerged globally. The epidemic East/Central/South African (ECSA) strains have spread for the first time to Asia, which previously only had endemic Asian strains. In Malaysia, the ECSA strain caused an extensive nationwide outbreak in 2008, while the Asian strains only caused limited outbreaks prior to this. To gain insight into these observed epidemiological differences, we compared genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of CHIKV of Asian and ECSA genotypes isolated in Malaysia. Methods and Findings CHIKV of Asian and ECSA genotypes were isolated from patients during outbreaks in Bagan Panchor in 2006, and Johor in 2008. Sequencing of the CHIKV strains revealed 96.8% amino acid similarity, including an unusual 7 residue deletion in the nsP3 protein of the Asian strain. CHIKV replication in cells and Aedes mosquitoes was measured by virus titration. There were no differences in mammalian cell lines. The ECSA strain reached significantly higher titres in Ae. albopictus cells (C6/36). Both CHIKV strains infected Ae. albopictus mosquitoes at a higher rate than Ae. aegypti, but when compared to each other, the ECSA strain had much higher midgut infection and replication, and salivary gland dissemination, while the Asian strain infected Ae. aegypti at higher rates. Conclusions The greater ability of the ECSA strain to replicate in Ae. albopictus may explain why it spread far more quickly and extensively in humans in Malaysia than the Asian strain ever did, particularly in rural areas where Ae. albopictus predominates. Intergenotypic genetic differences were found at E1, E2, and nsP3 sites previously reported to be determinants of host adaptability in alphaviruses. Transmission of CHIKV in humans is influenced by virus strain and vector species, which has implications for regions with more than one circulating CHIKV genotype and Aedes species. PMID:23209750

  19. Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of Chikungunya virus of different genotypes from Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Sam, I-Ching; Loong, Shih-Keng; Michael, Jasmine Chandramathi; Chua, Chong-Long; Wan Sulaiman, Wan Yusoff; Vythilingam, Indra; Chan, Shie-Yien; Chiam, Chun-Wei; Yeong, Yze-Shiuan; AbuBakar, Sazaly; Chan, Yoke-Fun

    2012-01-01

    Mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has recently re-emerged globally. The epidemic East/Central/South African (ECSA) strains have spread for the first time to Asia, which previously only had endemic Asian strains. In Malaysia, the ECSA strain caused an extensive nationwide outbreak in 2008, while the Asian strains only caused limited outbreaks prior to this. To gain insight into these observed epidemiological differences, we compared genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of CHIKV of Asian and ECSA genotypes isolated in Malaysia. CHIKV of Asian and ECSA genotypes were isolated from patients during outbreaks in Bagan Panchor in 2006, and Johor in 2008. Sequencing of the CHIKV strains revealed 96.8% amino acid similarity, including an unusual 7 residue deletion in the nsP3 protein of the Asian strain. CHIKV replication in cells and Aedes mosquitoes was measured by virus titration. There were no differences in mammalian cell lines. The ECSA strain reached significantly higher titres in Ae. albopictus cells (C6/36). Both CHIKV strains infected Ae. albopictus mosquitoes at a higher rate than Ae. aegypti, but when compared to each other, the ECSA strain had much higher midgut infection and replication, and salivary gland dissemination, while the Asian strain infected Ae. aegypti at higher rates. The greater ability of the ECSA strain to replicate in Ae. albopictus may explain why it spread far more quickly and extensively in humans in Malaysia than the Asian strain ever did, particularly in rural areas where Ae. albopictus predominates. Intergenotypic genetic differences were found at E1, E2, and nsP3 sites previously reported to be determinants of host adaptability in alphaviruses. Transmission of CHIKV in humans is influenced by virus strain and vector species, which has implications for regions with more than one circulating CHIKV genotype and Aedes species.

  20. Simultaneous effects of leaf irradiance and soil moisture on growth and root system architecture of novel wheat genotypes: implications for phenotyping

    PubMed Central

    Nagel, Kerstin A.; Bonnett, David; Furbank, Robert; Walter, Achim; Schurr, Ulrich; Watt, Michelle

    2015-01-01

    Plants in the field are exposed to varying light and moisture. Agronomic improvement requires knowledge of whole-plant phenotypes expressed in response to simultaneous variation in these essential resources. Most phenotypes, however, have been described from experiments where resources are varied singularly. To test the importance of varying shoot and root resources for phenotyping studies, sister pre-breeding lines of wheat were phenotyped in response to independent or simultaneous exposure to two light levels and soil moisture profiles. The distribution and architecture of the root systems depended strongly on the moisture of the deeper soil layer. For one genotype, roots, specifically lateral roots, were stimulated to grow into moist soil when the upper zone was well-watered and were inhibited by drier deep zones. In contrast, the other genotype showed much less plasticity and responsiveness to upper moist soil, but maintained deeper penetration of roots into the dry layer. The sum of shoot and root responses was greater when treated simultaneously to low light and low soil water, compared to each treatment alone, suggesting the value of whole plant phenotyping in response to multiple conditions for agronomic improvement. The results suggest that canopy management for increased irradiation of leaves would encourage root growth into deeper drier soil, and that genetic variation within closely related breeding lines may exist to favour surface root growth in response to irrigation or in-season rainfall. PMID:26089535

  1. Genotypic and Phenotypic Markers of Livestock-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC9 in Humans.

    PubMed

    Ye, Xiaohua; Wang, Xiaolin; Fan, Yanping; Peng, Yang; Li, Ling; Li, Shunming; Huang, Jingya; Yao, Zhenjiang; Chen, Sidong

    2016-07-01

    Use of antimicrobials in industrial food animal production is associated with the presence of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among animals and humans. The livestock-associated (LA) methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clonal complex 9 (CC9) is associated with animals and related workers in Asia. This study aimed to explore the genotypic and phenotypic markers of LA-MRSA CC9 in humans. We conducted a cross-sectional study of livestock workers and controls in Guangdong, China. The study participants responded to a questionnaire and provided a nasal swab for S. aureus analysis. The resulting isolates were assessed for antibiotic susceptibility, multilocus sequence type, and immune evasion cluster (IEC) genes. Livestock workers had significantly higher rates of S. aureus CC9 (odds ratio [OR] = 30.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.06 to 236.39) and tetracycline-resistant S. aureus (OR = 3.26; 95% CI, 2.12 to 5.00) carriage than controls. All 19 S. aureus CC9 isolates from livestock workers were MRSA isolates and also exhibited the characteristics of resistance to several classes of antibiotics and absence of the IEC genes. Notably, the interaction analyses indicated phenotype-phenotype (OR = 525.7; 95% CI, 60.0 to 4,602.1) and gene-environment (OR = 232.3; 95% CI, 28.7 to 1,876.7) interactions associated with increased risk for livestock-associated S. aureus CC9 carriage. These findings suggest that livestock-associated S. aureus and MRSA (CC9, IEC negative, and tetracycline resistant) in humans are associated with occupational livestock contact, raising questions about the potential for occupational exposure to opportunistic S. aureus This study adds to existing knowledge by giving insight into the genotypic and phenotypic markers of LA-MRSA. Our findings suggest that livestock-associated S. aureus and MRSA (CC9, IEC negative, and tetracycline resistant) in humans are associated with occupational livestock contact. Future studies should direct more

  2. Genotypic and Phenotypic Markers of Livestock-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC9 in Humans

    PubMed Central

    Ye, Xiaohua; Wang, Xiaolin; Fan, Yanping; Peng, Yang; Li, Ling; Li, Shunming; Huang, Jingya; Yao, Zhenjiang

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Use of antimicrobials in industrial food animal production is associated with the presence of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among animals and humans. The livestock-associated (LA) methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clonal complex 9 (CC9) is associated with animals and related workers in Asia. This study aimed to explore the genotypic and phenotypic markers of LA-MRSA CC9 in humans. We conducted a cross-sectional study of livestock workers and controls in Guangdong, China. The study participants responded to a questionnaire and provided a nasal swab for S. aureus analysis. The resulting isolates were assessed for antibiotic susceptibility, multilocus sequence type, and immune evasion cluster (IEC) genes. Livestock workers had significantly higher rates of S. aureus CC9 (odds ratio [OR] = 30.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.06 to 236.39) and tetracycline-resistant S. aureus (OR = 3.26; 95% CI, 2.12 to 5.00) carriage than controls. All 19 S. aureus CC9 isolates from livestock workers were MRSA isolates and also exhibited the characteristics of resistance to several classes of antibiotics and absence of the IEC genes. Notably, the interaction analyses indicated phenotype-phenotype (OR = 525.7; 95% CI, 60.0 to 4,602.1) and gene-environment (OR = 232.3; 95% CI, 28.7 to 1,876.7) interactions associated with increased risk for livestock-associated S. aureus CC9 carriage. These findings suggest that livestock-associated S. aureus and MRSA (CC9, IEC negative, and tetracycline resistant) in humans are associated with occupational livestock contact, raising questions about the potential for occupational exposure to opportunistic S. aureus. IMPORTANCE This study adds to existing knowledge by giving insight into the genotypic and phenotypic markers of LA-MRSA. Our findings suggest that livestock-associated S. aureus and MRSA (CC9, IEC negative, and tetracycline resistant) in humans are associated with occupational livestock contact. Future studies

  3. Association of CDH13 Genotypes/Haplotypes with Circulating Adiponectin Levels, Metabolic Syndrome, and Related Metabolic Phenotypes: The Role of the Suppression Effect

    PubMed Central

    Teng, Ming-Sheng; Hsu, Lung-An; Wu, Semon; Sun, Yu-Chen; Juan, Shu-Hui; Ko, Yu-Lin

    2015-01-01

    Objective Previous genome-wide association studies have indicated an association between CDH13 genotypes and adiponectin levels. In this study, we used mediation analysis to assess the statistical association between CDH13 locus variants and adiponectin levels, metabolic syndrome, and related metabolic phenotypes. Methods and results A sample population of 530 Taiwanese participants was enrolled. Four CDH13 gene variants in the promoter and intron 1 regions were genotyped. After adjustment for clinical covariates, the CDH13 genotypes/haplotypes exhibited an association with the adiponectin levels (lowest P = 1.95 × 10−11 for rs4783244 and lowest P = 3.78 × 10−13 for haplotype ATTT). Significant correlations were observed between the adiponectin levels and the various metabolic syndrome-related phenotypes (all P ≤ 0.005). After further adjustment for the adiponectin levels, participants with a minor allele of rs12051272 revealed a considerable association with a more favorable metabolic profile, including higher insulin sensitivity, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower diastolic blood pressure, circulating levels of fasting plasma glucose, and triglycerides, and as a lower risk of metabolic syndrome (all P < 0.05). The mediation analysis further revealed a suppression effect of the adiponectin levels on the association between CDH13 genotypes and metabolic syndrome and its related phenotypes (Sobel test; all P < 0.001). Conclusion The genetic polymorphisms at the CDH13 locus independently affect the adiponectin levels, whereas the adiponectin levels exhibit a suppressive effect on the association between CDH13 locus variants and various metabolic phenotypes and metabolic syndrome. In addition, these results provide further evidence of the association between the CDH13 gene variants and the risks of metabolic syndrome and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. PMID:25875811

  4. Accuracy of various human NAT2 SNP genotyping panels to infer rapid, intermediate and slow acetylator phenotypes

    PubMed Central

    Hein, David W; Doll, Mark A

    2012-01-01

    Aim Humans exhibit genetic polymorphism in NAT2 resulting in rapid, intermediate and slow acetylator phenotypes. Over 65 NAT2 variants possessing one or more SNPs in the 870-bp NAT2 coding region have been reported. The seven most frequent SNPs are rs1801279 (191G>A), rs1041983 (282C>T), rs1801280 (341T>C), rs1799929 (481C>T), rs1799930 (590G>A), rs1208 (803A>G) and rs1799931 (857G>A). The majority of studies investigate the NAT2 genotype assay for three SNPs: 481C>T, 590G>A and 857G>A. A tag-SNP (rs1495741) recently identified in a genome-wide association study has also been proposed as a biomarker for the NAT2 phenotype. Materials & methods Sulfamethazine N-acetyltransferase catalytic activities were measured in cryopreserved human hepatocytes from a convenience sample of individuals in the USA with an ethnic frequency similar to the 2010 US population census. These activities were segregated by the tag-SNP rs1495741 and each of the seven SNPs described above. We assessed the accuracy of the tag-SNP and various two-, three-, four- and seven-SNP genotyping panels for their ability to accurately infer NAT2 phenotype. Results The accuracy of the various NAT2 SNP genotype panels to infer NAT2 phenotype were as follows: seven-SNP: 98.4%; tag-SNP: 77.7%; two-SNP: 96.1%; three-SNP: 92.2%; and four-SNP: 98.4%. Conclusion A NAT2 four-SNP genotype panel of rs1801279 (191G>A), rs1801280 (341T>C), rs1799930 (590G>A) and rs1799931 (857G>A) infers NAT2 acetylator phenotype with high accuracy, and is recommended over the tag-, two-, three- and (for economy of scale) the seven-SNP genotyping panels, particularly in populations of non-European ancestry. PMID:22092036

  5. Genotypes of predomestic horses match phenotypes painted in Paleolithic works of cave art.

    PubMed

    Pruvost, Melanie; Bellone, Rebecca; Benecke, Norbert; Sandoval-Castellanos, Edson; Cieslak, Michael; Kuznetsova, Tatyana; Morales-Muñiz, Arturo; O'Connor, Terry; Reissmann, Monika; Hofreiter, Michael; Ludwig, Arne

    2011-11-15

    Archaeologists often argue whether Paleolithic works of art, cave paintings in particular, constitute reflections of the natural environment of humans at the time. They also debate the extent to which these paintings actually contain creative artistic expression, reflect the phenotypic variation of the surrounding environment, or focus on rare phenotypes. The famous paintings "The Dappled Horses of Pech-Merle," depicting spotted horses on the walls of a cave in Pech-Merle, France, date back ~25,000 y, but the coat pattern portrayed in these paintings is remarkably similar to a pattern known as "leopard" in modern horses. We have genotyped nine coat-color loci in 31 predomestic horses from Siberia, Eastern and Western Europe, and the Iberian Peninsula. Eighteen horses had bay coat color, seven were black, and six shared an allele associated with the leopard complex spotting (LP), representing the only spotted phenotype that has been discovered in wild, predomestic horses thus far. LP was detected in four Pleistocene and two Copper Age samples from Western and Eastern Europe, respectively. In contrast, this phenotype was absent from predomestic Siberian horses. Thus, all horse color phenotypes that seem to be distinguishable in cave paintings have now been found to exist in prehistoric horse populations, suggesting that cave paintings of this species represent remarkably realistic depictions of the animals shown. This finding lends support to hypotheses arguing that cave paintings might have contained less of a symbolic or transcendental connotation than often assumed.

  6. A discordance between cytochrome P450 2D6 genotype and phenotype in patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment

    PubMed Central

    Shiran, M R; Chowdry, J; Rostami-Hodjegan, A; Ellis, S W; Lennard, M S; Iqbal, M Z; Lagundoye, O; Seivewright, N; Tucker, G T

    2003-01-01

    Aims To assess CYP2D6 activity and genotype in a group of patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Methods Blood samples from 34 MMT patients were genotyped by a polymerase chain reaction-based method, and results were compared with CYP2D6 phenotype (n = 28), as measured by the molar metabolic ratio (MR) of dextromethorphan (DEX)/dextrorphan (DOR) in plasma. Results Whereas 9% of patients (3/34) were poor metabolizers (PM) by genotype, 57% (16/28) were PM by phenotype (P < 0.005). Eight patients, who were genotypically extensive metabolizers (EM), were assigned as PM by their phenotype. The number of CYP2D6*4 alleles and sex were significant determinants of CYP2D6 activity in MMT patients, whereas other covariates (methadone dose, age, weight) did not contribute to variation in CYP2D6 activity. Conclusions There was a discordance between genotype and in vivo CYP2D6 activity in MMT patients. This finding is consistent with inhibition of CYP2D6 activity by methadone and may have implications for the safety and efficacy of other CYP2D6 substrates taken by MMT patients. PMID:12895196

  7. Human Paraoxonase1 Hydrolysis of Nanomolar Chlorpyrifos-oxon Concentrations is Unaffected by Phenotype or Q192R Genotype

    PubMed Central

    Coombes, R. Hunter; Meek, Edward C.; Dail, Mary Beth; Chambers, Howard W.; Chambers, Janice E.

    2016-01-01

    The organophosphorus insecticide chlorpyrifos has been widely used. Its active metabolite chlorpyrifos-oxon (CPO) is a potent anticholinesterase and is detoxified by paraoxonase-1 (PON1). PON1 activity is influenced by numerous factors including a Q192R polymorphism. Using forty human blood samples bearing homozygous genotypes and either high or low activity phenotypes (as determined by high concentration assays of paraoxon and diazoxon hydrolysis) the serum PON1 hydrolysis of high (320 μM) and low (178 nM) CPO concentrations was assessed using direct or indirect spectrophotometric methods, respectively. PON1 activity at high CPO concentration reflected the phenotype and genotype differences; subjects with the high activity phenotype and homozygous for the PON1R192 alloform hydrolyzed significantly more CPO than subjects with the low activity phenotype and/or PON1Q192 alloform (High RR=11023±722, Low RR=9467±798, High QQ=8809±672, Low QQ=6030±1015 μmoles CPO hydrolyzed/min/L serum). However, PON1 hydrolysis of CPO at the lower, more environmentally relevant concentration showed no significant differences between the PON1192 genotypes and/or between high and low activity phenotypes (High RR=231±27, Low RR=219±52, High QQ=193±59, Low QQ=185±43 nmoles CPO/min/L serum). Low CPO concentrations were probably not saturating, so PON1 did not display maximal velocity and the PON1 genotype/phenotype might not influence the extent of metabolism at environmental exposures. PMID:25093614

  8. Viral fitness does not correlate with three genotype displacement events involving infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kell, Alison M.; Wargo, Andrew R.; Kurath, Gael

    2014-01-01

    Viral genotype displacement events are characterized by the replacement of a previously dominant virus genotype by a novel genotype of the same virus species in a given geographic region. We examine here the fitness of three pairs of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) genotypes involved in three major genotype displacement events in Washington state over the last 30 years to determine whether increased virus fitness correlates with displacement. Fitness was assessed using in vivo assays to measure viral replication in single infection, simultaneous co-infection, and sequential superinfection in the natural host, steelhead trout. In addition, virion stability of each genotype was measured in freshwater and seawater environments at various temperatures. By these methods, we found no correlation between increased viral fitness and displacement in the field. These results suggest that other pressures likely exist in the field with important consequences for IHNV evolution.

  9. PON1-192 phenotype and genotype assessments in 918 subjects of the Stanislas cohort study.

    PubMed

    Vincent-Viry, Monique; Sass, Catherine; Bastien, Sabine; Aguillon, Dominique; Siest, Gérard; Visvikis, Sophie

    2003-04-01

    This study describes the factors of variation of the enzymes related to the PON1-192 phenotype assessment, i.e., basal paraoxonase, salt-stimulated paraoxonase and arylesterase activities, and compares the PON1-192 phenotype to the PON1-192 genotype assessments in supposedly healthy subjects issued from the Stanislas cohort study. The studied population included 918 subjects, i.e., 221 families including 441 adults and 477 children aged 4 to 58 years. Potential determinants such as age, gender, body mass index, alcohol and tobacco consumption, and oral contraceptive intake have been studied. The PON ratio (salt-stimulated paraoxonase/arylesterase) was trimodally distributed and the cut-off values used to differentiate the two homozygous (AA and BB phenotypes) from the heterozygous (AB phenotype) subjects were 3.0 and 7.0 in this study. In males, basal paraoxonase and salt-stimulated paraoxonase activities were not affected by alcohol consumption and current smoking, but basal paraoxonase activity was decreased by 15% by current smoking and was increased by 15% by oral contraceptive intake in females as was the salt-stimulated paraoxonase activity. The level of discordance between phenotype and genotype assessments was 7.2% (66/918). Most of the discrepancies were observed between the BB and AB phenotypes (4.25%).

  10. Genetic Correlations Greatly Increase Mutational Robustness and Can Both Reduce and Enhance Evolvability

    PubMed Central

    Greenbury, Sam F.; Schaper, Steffen; Ahnert, Sebastian E.; Louis, Ard A.

    2016-01-01

    Mutational neighbourhoods in genotype-phenotype (GP) maps are widely believed to be more likely to share characteristics than expected from random chance. Such genetic correlations should strongly influence evolutionary dynamics. We explore and quantify these intuitions by comparing three GP maps—a model for RNA secondary structure, the HP model for protein tertiary structure, and the Polyomino model for protein quaternary structure—to a simple random null model that maintains the number of genotypes mapping to each phenotype, but assigns genotypes randomly. The mutational neighbourhood of a genotype in these GP maps is much more likely to contain genotypes mapping to the same phenotype than in the random null model. Such neutral correlations can be quantified by the robustness to mutations, which can be many orders of magnitude larger than that of the null model, and crucially, above the critical threshold for the formation of large neutral networks of mutationally connected genotypes which enhance the capacity for the exploration of phenotypic novelty. Thus neutral correlations increase evolvability. We also study non-neutral correlations: Compared to the null model, i) If a particular (non-neutral) phenotype is found once in the 1-mutation neighbourhood of a genotype, then the chance of finding that phenotype multiple times in this neighbourhood is larger than expected; ii) If two genotypes are connected by a single neutral mutation, then their respective non-neutral 1-mutation neighbourhoods are more likely to be similar; iii) If a genotype maps to a folding or self-assembling phenotype, then its non-neutral neighbours are less likely to be a potentially deleterious non-folding or non-assembling phenotype. Non-neutral correlations of type i) and ii) reduce the rate at which new phenotypes can be found by neutral exploration, and so may diminish evolvability, while non-neutral correlations of type iii) may instead facilitate evolutionary exploration and so

  11. Phenotypic similarities and differences in patients with a p.Met112Ile mutation in SOX10.

    PubMed

    Pingault, Veronique; Pierre-Louis, Laurence; Chaoui, Asma; Verloes, Alain; Sarrazin, Elisabeth; Brandberg, Goran; Bondurand, Nadege; Uldall, Peter; Manouvrier-Hanu, Sylvie

    2014-09-01

    Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is characterized by an association of pigmentation abnormalities and sensorineural hearing loss. Four types, defined on clinical grounds, have been delineated, but this phenotypic classification correlates imperfectly with known molecular anomalies. SOX10 mutations have been found in patients with type II and type IV WS (i.e., with Hirschsprung disease), more complex syndromes, and partial forms of the disease. The phenotype induced by SOX10 mutations is highly variable and, except for the neurological forms of the disease, no genotype-phenotype correlation has been characterized to date. There is no mutation hotspot in SOX10 and most cases are sporadic, making it particularly difficult to correlate the phenotypic and genetic variability. This study reports on three independent families with SOX10 mutations predicted to result in the same missense mutation at the protein level (p.Met112Ile), offering a rare opportunity to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying phenotypic variability. The pigmentation defects of these patients are very similar, and the neurological symptoms showed a somewhat similar evolution over time, indicating a potential partial genotype-phenotype correlation. However, variability in gastrointestinal symptoms suggests that other genetic factors contribute to the expression of these phenotypes. No correlation between the rs2435357 polymorphism of RET and the expression of Hirschsprung disease was found. In addition, one of the patients has esophageal achalasia, which has rarely been described in WS. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Phenotypic similarities and differences in patients with a p.Met112Ile mutation in SOX10

    PubMed Central

    Pingault, Veronique; Pierre-Louis, Laurence; Chaoui, Asma; Verloes, Alain; Sarrazin, Elisabeth; Brandberg, Goran; Bondurand, Nadege; Uldall, Peter; Manouvrier-Hanu, Sylvie

    2014-01-01

    Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is characterized by an association of pigmentation abnormalities and sensorineural hearing loss. Four types, defined on clinical grounds, have been delineated, but this phenotypic classification correlates imperfectly with known molecular anomalies. SOX10 mutations have been found in patients with type II and type IV WS (i.e., with Hirschsprung disease), more complex syndromes, and partial forms of the disease. The phenotype induced by SOX10 mutations is highly variable and, except for the neurological forms of the disease, no genotype-phenotype correlation has been characterized to date. There is no mutation hotspot in SOX10 and most cases are sporadic, making it particularly difficult to correlate the phenotypic and genetic variability. This study reports on three independent families with SOX10 mutations predicted to result in the same missense mutation at the protein level (p.Met112Ile), offering a rare opportunity to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying phenotypic variability. The pigmentation defects of these patients are very similar, and the neurological symptoms showed a somewhat similar evolution over time, indicating a potential partial genotype-phenotype correlation. However, variability in gastrointestinal symptoms suggests that other genetic factors contribute to the expression of these phenotypes. No correlation between the rs2435357 polymorphism of RET and the expression of Hirschsprung disease was found. In addition, one of the patients has esophageal achalasia, which has rarely been described in WS. PMID:24845202

  13. Whole-Genome Sequencing and Concordance Between Antimicrobial Susceptibility Genotypes and Phenotypes of Bacterial Isolates Associated with Bovine Respiratory Disease.

    PubMed

    Owen, Joseph R; Noyes, Noelle; Young, Amy E; Prince, Daniel J; Blanchard, Patricia C; Lehenbauer, Terry W; Aly, Sharif S; Davis, Jessica H; O'Rourke, Sean M; Abdo, Zaid; Belk, Keith; Miller, Michael R; Morley, Paul; Van Eenennaam, Alison L

    2017-09-07

    Extended laboratory culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing timelines hinder rapid species identification and susceptibility profiling of bacterial pathogens associated with bovine respiratory disease, the most prevalent cause of cattle mortality in the United States. Whole-genome sequencing offers a culture-independent alternative to current bacterial identification methods, but requires a library of bacterial reference genomes for comparison. To contribute new bacterial genome assemblies and evaluate genetic diversity and variation in antimicrobial resistance genotypes, whole-genome sequencing was performed on bovine respiratory disease-associated bacterial isolates ( Histophilus somni , Mycoplasma bovis , Mannheimia haemolytica , and Pasteurella multocida ) from dairy and beef cattle. One hundred genomically distinct assemblies were added to the NCBI database, doubling the available genomic sequences for these four species. Computer-based methods identified 11 predicted antimicrobial resistance genes in three species, with none being detected in M. bovis While computer-based analysis can identify antibiotic resistance genes within whole-genome sequences (genotype), it may not predict the actual antimicrobial resistance observed in a living organism (phenotype). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing on 64 H. somni , M. haemolytica , and P. multocida isolates had an overall concordance rate between genotype and phenotypic resistance to the associated class of antimicrobials of 72.7% ( P < 0.001), showing substantial discordance. Concordance rates varied greatly among different antimicrobial, antibiotic resistance gene, and bacterial species combinations. This suggests that antimicrobial susceptibility phenotypes are needed to complement genomically predicted antibiotic resistance gene genotypes to better understand how the presence of antibiotic resistance genes within a given bacterial species could potentially impact optimal bovine respiratory disease

  14. Genotype–phenotype correlation among beta-thalassemia and beta-thalassemia/HbE disease in Thai children: predictable clinical spectrum using genotypic analysis

    PubMed Central

    Traivaree, Chanchai; Monsereenusorn, Chalinee; Rujkijyanont, Piya; Prasertsin, Warakorn; Boonyawat, Boonchai

    2018-01-01

    Introduction Beta-thalassemia is a group of inherited hemolytic anemias and one of the most common genetic disorders in Thailand. The clinical spectrum of beta-thalassemia disease ranges from mild to severe clinical symptoms including mild beta-thalassemia intermedia (TI) and severe beta-thalassemia major (TM). Objective This study aimed to determine the correlation between beta-globin gene (HBB) mutations and their phenotypic manifestations by evaluating patients’ clinical characteristics, transfusion requirements, growth and hematologic parameters, and hemoglobin typing among pediatric patients treated at Phramongkutklao Hospital. Materials and methods Seventy beta-thalassemia patients, including 63 with beta-thalassemia/hemoglobin E (HbE) and 7 with either homozygous or compound heterozygous beta-thalassemia, were enrolled in this study. Their clinical presentation, growth parameters and laboratory findings were reviewed and analyzed. The mean follow-up time was 10.52±5.62 years. Mutation analysis in each individual was performed using multiplex amplification refractory mutation system (M-ARMS), direct DNA sequencing of beta-globin gene and gap PCR for 3.4 kb deletion detection. Results All 7 homozygous and compound heterozygous beta-thalassemia patients were classified in TM. Among 63 patients with beta-thalassemia/HbE, 58 were classified in TM and 4 were classified in TI. Mean age at diagnosis was 0.8±0.49 years for homozygous or compound heterozygous beta-thalassemia and 3.43±3.5 years for beta-thalassemia/HbE. The most common HBB mutation was HBB:c.126_129delCTTT [codon 41/42 (-TCTT)] found in 34 alleles (48.6%). The height for age was also lower in homozygous beta-thalassemia patients (<3rd percentile) compared to compound heterozygous beta-thalassemia patients (25–50th percentile). Conclusion This study revealed a genotype–phenotype correlation of the most prevalent beta-thalassemia in Thai children using diagnostic capacity in genotypic analysis

  15. Molecular Phylogeny of the Psittacid Herpesviruses Causing Pacheco's Disease: Correlation of Genotype with Phenotypic Expression

    PubMed Central

    Tomaszewski, Elizabeth K.; Kaleta, Erhard F.; Phalen, David N.

    2003-01-01

    Fragments of 419 bp of the UL16 open reading frame from 73 psittacid herpesviruses (PsHVs) from the United States and Europe were sequenced. All viruses caused Pacheco's disease, and serotypes of the European isolates were known. A phylogenetic tree derived from these sequences demonstrated that the PsHVs that cause Pacheco's disease comprised four major genotypes, with each genotype including between two and four variants. With the exception of two viruses, the serotypes of the virus isolates could be predicted by the genotypes. Genotypes 1 and 4 corresponded to serotype 1 isolates, genotype 2 corresponded to serotype 2 isolates, and genotype 3 corresponded to serotype 3 isolates. The single serotype 4 virus mapped to genotype 4. DNA from a virus with a unique serotype could not be amplified with primers that amplified DNA from all other PsHVs, and its classification remains unknown. Viruses representing all four genotypes were found in both the United States and Europe, and it was therefore predicted that serotypes 1, 2, and 3 were present in the United States. Serotype 4 was represented by a single European isolate that could not be genetically distinguished from serotype 1 viruses; therefore, the presence of serotype 4 in the United States could not be predicted. Viruses of genotype 4 were found to be the most commonly associated with Pacheco's disease in macaws and conures and were least likely to be isolated in chicken embryo fibroblasts in the United States. All four genotypes caused deaths in Amazon parrots, but genotype 4 was associated with Pacheco's disease only in Amazons in Europe. Genotypes 2, 3, and 4, but not 1, were found in African grey parrots. Although parrots from the Pacific distribution represent a relatively small percentage of the total number of birds with Pacheco's disease, all four genotypes were found to cause disease in these species. PMID:14512573

  16. Association of Neuropeptide-Y (NPY) and Interleukin-1beta (IL1B), Genotype-Phenotype Correlation and Plasma Lipids with Type-II Diabetes

    PubMed Central

    Mansuri, Mohmmad Shoab; Ansarullah; Laddha, Naresh C.; Thakker, Ami; Ramachandran, A. V.; Begum, Rasheedunnisa

    2016-01-01

    Background Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is known to play a role in the regulation of satiety, energy balance, body weight, and insulin release. Interleukin-1beta (IL1B) has been associated with loss of beta-cell mass in type-II diabetes (TIID). Objectives The present study attempts to investigate the association of NPY exon2 +1128 T/C (Leu7Pro; rs16139), NPY promoter -399 T/C (rs16147) and IL1B -511 C/T (rs16944) polymorphisms with TIID and their correlation with plasma lipid levels, BMI, and IL1B transcript levels. Methods PCR-RFLP was used for genotyping these polymorphisms in a case-control study involving 558 TIID patients and 1085 healthy age-matched controls from Gujarat. Linkage disequilibrium and haplotype analysis of the NPY polymorphic sites were performed to assess their association with TIID. IL1B transcript levels in PBMCs were also assessed in 108 controls and 101 patients using real-time PCR. Results Our results show significant association of both structural and promoter polymorphisms of NPY (p<0.0001 and p<0.0001 respectively) in patients with TIID. However, the IL1B C/T polymorphism did not show any association (p = 0.3797) with TIID patients. Haplotype analysis revealed more frequent association of CC and CT haplotypes (p = 3.34 x 10−5, p = 6.04 x 10−9) in diabetics compared to controls and increased the risk of diabetes by 3.02 and 2.088 respectively. Transcript levels of IL1B were significantly higher (p<0.0001) in patients as compared to controls. Genotype-phenotype correlation of IL1B polymorphism did not show any association with its higher transcript levels. In addition, NPY +1128 T/C polymorphism was found to be associated with increased plasma LDL levels (p = 0.01). Conclusion The present study provides an evidence for a strong correlation between structural and promoter polymorphisms of NPY gene and upregulation of IL1B transcript levels with susceptibility to TIID and altering the lipid metabolism in Gujarat population. PMID:27749914

  17. Simultaneous effects of leaf irradiance and soil moisture on growth and root system architecture of novel wheat genotypes: implications for phenotyping.

    PubMed

    Nagel, Kerstin A; Bonnett, David; Furbank, Robert; Walter, Achim; Schurr, Ulrich; Watt, Michelle

    2015-09-01

    Plants in the field are exposed to varying light and moisture. Agronomic improvement requires knowledge of whole-plant phenotypes expressed in response to simultaneous variation in these essential resources. Most phenotypes, however, have been described from experiments where resources are varied singularly. To test the importance of varying shoot and root resources for phenotyping studies, sister pre-breeding lines of wheat were phenotyped in response to independent or simultaneous exposure to two light levels and soil moisture profiles. The distribution and architecture of the root systems depended strongly on the moisture of the deeper soil layer. For one genotype, roots, specifically lateral roots, were stimulated to grow into moist soil when the upper zone was well-watered and were inhibited by drier deep zones. In contrast, the other genotype showed much less plasticity and responsiveness to upper moist soil, but maintained deeper penetration of roots into the dry layer. The sum of shoot and root responses was greater when treated simultaneously to low light and low soil water, compared to each treatment alone, suggesting the value of whole plant phenotyping in response to multiple conditions for agronomic improvement. The results suggest that canopy management for increased irradiation of leaves would encourage root growth into deeper drier soil, and that genetic variation within closely related breeding lines may exist to favour surface root growth in response to irrigation or in-season rainfall. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

  18. HFE genotype affects exosome phenotype in cancer.

    PubMed

    Mrowczynski, Oliver D; Madhankumar, A B; Slagle-Webb, Becky; Lee, Sang Y; Zacharia, Brad E; Connor, James R

    2017-08-01

    Neuroblastoma is the third most common childhood cancer, and timely diagnosis and sensitive therapeutic monitoring remain major challenges. Tumor progression and recurrence is common with little understanding of mechanisms. A major recent focus in cancer biology is the impact of exosomes on metastatic behavior and the tumor microenvironment. Exosomes have been demonstrated to contribute to the oncogenic effect on the surrounding tumor environment and also mediate resistance to therapy. The effect of genotype on exosomal phenotype has not yet been explored. We interrogated exosomes from human neuroblastoma cells that express wild-type or mutant forms of the HFE gene. HFE, one of the most common autosomal recessive polymorphisms in the Caucasian population, originally associated with hemochromatosis, has also been associated with increased tumor burden, therapeutic resistance boost, and negative impact on patient survival. Herein, we demonstrate that changes in genotype cause major differences in the molecular and functional properties of exosomes; specifically, HFE mutant derived exosomes have increased expression of proteins relating to invasion, angiogenesis, and cancer therapeutic resistance. HFE mutant derived exosomes were also shown to transfer this cargo to recipient cells and cause an increased oncogenic functionality in those recipient cells. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. Recombination activity of human RAG2 mutations and correlation with the clinical phenotype.

    PubMed

    Tirosh, Irit; Yamazaki, Yasuhiro; Frugoni, Francesco; Ververs, Francesca A; Allenspach, Eric J; Zhang, Yu; Burns, Siobhan; Al-Herz, Waleed; Noroski, Lenora; Walter, Jolan E; Gennery, Andrew R; van der Burg, Mirjam; Notarangelo, Luigi D; Lee, Yu Nee

    2018-05-14

    Mutations in the Recombinase Activating Gene 1 and 2 (RAG1, RAG2) are associated with a broad range of clinical and immunological phenotypes in humans. Using a flow cytometry-based assay, we aimed to measure the recombinase activity of naturally occurring RAG2 mutant proteins, and to correlate results with the severity of the clinical and immunological phenotype. Abelson virus-transformed Rag2 -/- pro-B cells engineered to contain an inverted GFP cassette flanked by recombination signal sequences (RSS) were transduced with retroviruses encoding either wild-type or 41 naturally occurring RAG2 variants. Bicistronic vectors were used to introduce compound heterozygous RAG2 variants.The percentage of GFP-expressing cells was evaluated by flow cytometry, and high throughput sequencing was used to analyze rearrangements at the endogenous Igh locus.. The RAG2 variants showed a wide range of recombination activity. Mutations associated with severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) and Omenn syndrome had significantly lower activity than those detected in patients with less severe clinical presentations. Four variants (P253R, F386L, N474S, and M502V) previously thought to be pathogenic were found to have wild-type levels of activity. Use of bicistronic vectors permitted to assess more carefully the effect of compound heterozygous mutations, with good correlation between GFP expression and number and diversity of Igh rearrangements. Our data support genotype-phenotype correlation in RAG2 deficiency. The assay described can be used to define the possible disease-causing role of novel RAG2 variants and may help predict the severity of the clinical phenotype. Copyright © 2018 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Phenotypic and genotypic correlates of daptomycin-resistant methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates.

    PubMed

    Kang, Kyoung-Mi; Mishra, Nagendra N; Park, Kun Taek; Lee, Gi-Yong; Park, Yong Ho; Bayer, Arnold S; Yang, Soo-Jin

    2017-02-01

    Daptomycin (DAP) has potent activity in vitro and in vivo against both methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains. DAP-resistance (DAP-R) in S. aureus has been mainly observed in MRSA strains, and has been linked to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the mprF gene leading to altered cell membrane (CM) phospholipid (PL) profiles, enhanced positive surface charge, and changes in CM fluidity. The current study was designed to delineate whether these same genotypic and phenotypic perturbations are demonstrated in clinically-derived DAP-R MSSA strains. We used three isogenic DAP-susceptible (DAP-S)/DAP-R strainpairs and compared: (i) presence of mprF SNPs, (ii) temporal expression profiles of the two key determinants (mprF and dltABCD) of net positive surface charge, (iii) increased production of mprF-dependent lysinylated-phosphatidylglycerol (L-PG), (iv) positive surface charge assays, and (v) susceptibility to cationic host defense peptides (HDPs) of neutrophil and platelet origins. Similar to prior data in MRSA, DAP-R (vs DAP-S) MSSA strains exhibited hallmark hot-spot SNPs in mprF, enhanced and dysregulated expression of both mprF and dltA, L-PG overproduction, HDP resistance and enhanced positive surface charge profiles. However, in contrast to most DAP-R MRSA strains, there were no changes in CM fluidity seen. Thus, charge repulsion via mprF-and dlt-mediated enhancement of positive surface charge may be the main mechanism to explain DAP-R in MSSA strains.

  1. Phenotypic and genotypic analysis of clarithromycin-resistant Helicobacter pylori from Bogotá D.C., Colombia.

    PubMed

    Trespalacios, Alba A; Otero, William; Caminos, Jorge E; Mercado, Marcela M; Avila, Jenny; Rosero, Liliana E; Arévalo, Azucena; Poutou-Piñales, Raúl A; Graham, David Y

    2013-08-01

    Resistance of Helicobacter pylori to clarithromycin is the most common cause of treatment failure in patients with H. pylori infections. This study describes the MICs and the presence of 23S rRNA mutations of H. pylori isolates from Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. H. pylori were isolated from gastric biopsies from patients with functional dyspepsia. Clarithromycin susceptibility was investigated by agar dilution and strains were considered resistant if the MIC was ≥ 1 μg/ml. DNA sequences of the 23S rRNA gene of strains resistant and sensitive to clarithromycin were determined to identify specific point mutations. Clarithromycin resistance was present in 13.6% of patients by agar dilution. The A2143G, A2142G and A2142C mutations were found in 90.5, 7.1, and 2.4% of H. pylori strains with resistance genotype.The resistant phenotype was associated with 23S rRNA resistance genotype in 85.7% of isolates. The point mutations in 23S rRNA were well correlated with MICs values for clarithromycin.

  2. Genotypes of predomestic horses match phenotypes painted in Paleolithic works of cave art

    PubMed Central

    Pruvost, Melanie; Bellone, Rebecca; Benecke, Norbert; Sandoval-Castellanos, Edson; Cieslak, Michael; Kuznetsova, Tatyana; Morales-Muñiz, Arturo; O'Connor, Terry; Reissmann, Monika; Hofreiter, Michael; Ludwig, Arne

    2011-01-01

    Archaeologists often argue whether Paleolithic works of art, cave paintings in particular, constitute reflections of the natural environment of humans at the time. They also debate the extent to which these paintings actually contain creative artistic expression, reflect the phenotypic variation of the surrounding environment, or focus on rare phenotypes. The famous paintings “The Dappled Horses of Pech-Merle,” depicting spotted horses on the walls of a cave in Pech-Merle, France, date back ∼25,000 y, but the coat pattern portrayed in these paintings is remarkably similar to a pattern known as “leopard” in modern horses. We have genotyped nine coat-color loci in 31 predomestic horses from Siberia, Eastern and Western Europe, and the Iberian Peninsula. Eighteen horses had bay coat color, seven were black, and six shared an allele associated with the leopard complex spotting (LP), representing the only spotted phenotype that has been discovered in wild, predomestic horses thus far. LP was detected in four Pleistocene and two Copper Age samples from Western and Eastern Europe, respectively. In contrast, this phenotype was absent from predomestic Siberian horses. Thus, all horse color phenotypes that seem to be distinguishable in cave paintings have now been found to exist in prehistoric horse populations, suggesting that cave paintings of this species represent remarkably realistic depictions of the animals shown. This finding lends support to hypotheses arguing that cave paintings might have contained less of a symbolic or transcendental connotation than often assumed. PMID:22065780

  3. Application of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for phenotypic mapping of white spruce genotypes along environmental gradients

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    D'Odorico, P.; Wong, C. Y.; Besik, A.; Earon, E.; Isabel, N.; Ensminger, I.

    2017-12-01

    Rapid climate change is expected to cause a mismatch between locally adapted tree populations and the optimal climatic conditions to which they have adapted. Plant breeding and reforestation programs will increasingly need to rely on high-throughput precision phenotyping tools for the selection of genotypes with increased drought and stress tolerance. In this work, we present the possibilities offered by Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) carrying optical sensors to monitor and assess differences in performance among white spruce genotypes. While high-throughput precision phenotyping using UAS has gained traction in agronomic crop research during the last few years, to our knowledge it is still at its infancy in forestry applications. UAS surveys were performed at different times during the growing season over large white spruce common garden experiments established by the Canadian Forest Service at four different sites, each characterized by 2000 clonally replicated genotypes. Sites are distributed over a latitudinal gradient, in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The UAS payload consisted of a custom-bands multispectral sensor acquiring radiation at wavelength at which the reflectance spectrum of vegetation is known to capture physiological change under disturbance and stress. Ground based tree-top spectral reflectances and leaf level functional traits were also acquired for validation purposes parallel to UAS surveys. We will discuss the potential and the challenges of using optical sensors on UAS to infer genotypic variation in tree response to stress events and show how spectral data can function as the link between large-scale phenotype and genotype data.

  4. A chondrodysplasia family produced by mutations in the diastrophic dysplasia sulfate transporter gene: Genotype/phenotype correlations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Superti-Furga, A.; Steinmann, B.; Gitzelmann, R.

    1996-05-03

    Achondrogenesis type 1B (ACG-1B), atelosteogenesis type 2 (AO-2), and diastrophic dysplasia (DTD) are recessively inherited chondrodysplasia of decreasing severity caused by mutations in the diastrophic dysplasia sulfate transporter (DTDST) gene on chromosome 5. In these conditions, sulfate transport across the cell membrane is impaired which results in insufficient sulfation of cartilage proteoglycans and thus in an abnormally low sulfate content of cartilage. The severity of the phenotype correlates well with the predicted effect of the underlying DTDST mutations: homozygosity or compound heterozygosity for stop codons or transmembrane domain substitutions mostly result in achondrogenesis type 1B, while other structural or regulatorymore » mutations usually result in one of the less severe phenotypes. The chondrodysplasia arising at the DTDST locus constitute a bone dysplasia family with recessive inheritance. 28 refs., 2 tabs.« less

  5. Genotypic and Phenotypic Characteristics Associated with Biofilm Formation by Human Clinical Escherichia coli Isolates of Different Pathotypes.

    PubMed

    Schiebel, Juliane; Böhm, Alexander; Nitschke, Jörg; Burdukiewicz, Michał; Weinreich, Jörg; Ali, Aamir; Roggenbuck, Dirk; Rödiger, Stefan; Schierack, Peter

    2017-12-15

    Bacterial biofilm formation is a widespread phenomenon and a complex process requiring a set of genes facilitating the initial adhesion, maturation, and production of the extracellular polymeric matrix and subsequent dispersal of bacteria. Most studies on Escherichia coli biofilm formation have investigated nonpathogenic E. coli K-12 strains. Due to the extensive focus on laboratory strains in most studies, there is poor information regarding biofilm formation by pathogenic E. coli isolates. In this study, we genotypically and phenotypically characterized 187 human clinical E. coli isolates representing various pathotypes (e.g., uropathogenic, enteropathogenic, and enteroaggregative E. coli ). We investigated the presence of biofilm-associated genes ("genotype") and phenotypically analyzed the isolates for motility and curli and cellulose production ("phenotype"). We developed a new screening method to examine the in vitro biofilm formation ability. In summary, we found a high prevalence of biofilm-associated genes. However, we could not detect a biofilm-associated gene or specific phenotype correlating with the biofilm formation ability. In contrast, we did identify an association of increased biofilm formation with a specific E. coli pathotype. Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) was found to exhibit the highest capacity for biofilm formation. Using our image-based technology for the screening of biofilm formation, we demonstrated the characteristic biofilm formation pattern of EAEC, consisting of thick bacterial aggregates. In summary, our results highlight the fact that biofilm-promoting factors shown to be critical for biofilm formation in nonpathogenic strains do not reflect their impact in clinical isolates and that the ability of biofilm formation is a defined characteristic of EAEC. IMPORTANCE Bacterial biofilms are ubiquitous and consist of sessile bacterial cells surrounded by a self-produced extracellular polymeric matrix. They cause chronic and device

  6. Association of sweat chloride concentration at time of diagnosis and CFTR genotype with mortality and cystic fibrosis phenotype.

    PubMed

    McKone, Edward F; Velentgas, Priscilla; Swenson, Anna J; Goss, Christopher H

    2015-09-01

    The extent to which sweat chloride concentration predicts survival and clinical phenotype independently of CFTR genotype in cystic fibrosis is not well understood. We analyzed the US Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry data using Cox regression to examine the relationship between sweat chloride concentration (<60, 60-<80, ≥80mmol/L), CFTR genotype (high and lower risk for lung function decline), and survival and mixed linear regression to examine the relationship between sweat chloride, CFTR genotype, and measures of lung function and growth. When included in the same model, CFTR genotype, but not sweat chloride, was independently associated with survival and with lung function, height, and BMI. Among patients with unclassified CFTR genotype, sweat chloride was an independent predictor of survival (<60 HR 0.53 [0.37, 0.77], 60-<80 0.51 [0.42, 0.63]). Sweat chloride concentration may be a useful predictor of mortality and clinical phenotype when CFTR genotype functional class is unclassified. Copyright © 2015 European Cystic Fibrosis Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. The triticeae toolbox: combining phenotype and genotype data to advance small-grains breeding

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The Triticeae Toolbox (http://triticeaetoolbox.org; T3) is the database schema enabling plant breeders and researchers to combine, visualize, and interrogate the wealth of phenotype and genotype data generated by the Triticeae Coordinated Agricultural Project (TCAP). T3 enables users to define speci...

  8. Congenital stationary night blindness: an analysis and update of genotype-phenotype correlations and pathogenic mechanisms.

    PubMed

    Zeitz, Christina; Robson, Anthony G; Audo, Isabelle

    2015-03-01

    Congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) refers to a group of genetically and clinically heterogeneous retinal disorders. Seventeen different genes with more than 360 different mutations and more than 670 affected alleles have been associated with CSNB, including genes coding for proteins of the phototransduction cascade, those important for signal transmission from the photoreceptors to the bipolar cells or genes involved in retinoid recycling in the retinal pigment epithelium. This article describes the phenotypic characteristics of different forms of CSNB that are necessary for accurate diagnosis and to direct and improve genetic testing. An overview of classical and recent methods used to identify specific CSNB genotypes is provided and a meta-analysis of all previously published and novel data is performed to determine the prevalence of disease-causing mutations. Studies of the underlying molecular pathogenic mechanisms based on cell culture techniques and animal studies are outlined. The article highlights how the study of CSNB has increased understanding of the mechanisms of visual signalling in the retina, likely to prove important in developing future treatments for CSNB and other retinal disorders. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. The role of HFE genotype in macrophage phenotype.

    PubMed

    Nixon, Anne M; Neely, Elizabeth; Simpson, Ian A; Connor, James R

    2018-02-01

    Iron regulation is essential for cellular energy production. Loss of cellular iron homeostasis has critical implications for both normal function and disease progression. The H63D variant of the HFE gene is the most common gene variant in Caucasians. The resulting mutant protein alters cellular iron homeostasis and is associated with a number of neurological diseases and cancer. In the brain, microglial and infiltrating macrophages are critical to maintaining iron homeostasis and modulating inflammation associated with the pathogenic process in multiple diseases. This study addresses whether HFE genotype affects macrophage function and the implications of these findings for disease processes. Bone marrow macrophages were isolated from wildtype and H67D HFE knock-in mice. The H67D gene variant in mice is the human equivalent of the H63D variant. Upon differentiation, the macrophages were used to analyze iron regulatory proteins, cellular iron release, migration, phagocytosis, and cytokine expression. The results of this study demonstrate that the H67D HFE genotype significantly impacts a number of critical macrophage functions. Specifically, fundamental activities such as proliferation in response to iron exposure, L-ferritin expression in response to iron loading, secretion of BMP6 and cytokines, and migration and phagocytic activity were all found to be impacted by genotype. Furthermore, we demonstrated that exposure to apo-Tf (iron-poor transferrin) can increase the release of iron from macrophages. In normal conditions, 70% of circulating transferrin is unsaturated. Therefore, the ability of apo-Tf to induce iron release could be a major regulatory mechanism for iron release from macrophages. These studies demonstrate that the HFE genotype impacts fundamental components of macrophage phenotype that could alter their role in degenerative and reparative processes in neurodegenerative disorders.

  10. Microbial genotype-phenotype mapping by class association rule mining.

    PubMed

    Tamura, Makio; D'haeseleer, Patrik

    2008-07-01

    Microbial phenotypes are typically due to the concerted action of multiple gene functions, yet the presence of each gene may have only a weak correlation with the observed phenotype. Hence, it may be more appropriate to examine co-occurrence between sets of genes and a phenotype (multiple-to-one) instead of pairwise relations between a single gene and the phenotype. Here, we propose an efficient class association rule mining algorithm, netCAR, in order to extract sets of COGs (clusters of orthologous groups of proteins) associated with a phenotype from COG phylogenetic profiles and a phenotype profile. netCAR takes into account the phylogenetic co-occurrence graph between COGs to restrict hypothesis space, and uses mutual information to evaluate the biconditional relation. We examined the mining capability of pairwise and multiple-to-one association by using netCAR to extract COGs relevant to six microbial phenotypes (aerobic, anaerobic, facultative, endospore, motility and Gram negative) from 11,969 unique COG profiles across 155 prokaryotic organisms. With the same level of false discovery rate, multiple-to-one association can extract about 10 times more relevant COGs than one-to-one association. We also reveal various topologies of association networks among COGs (modules) from extracted multiple-to-one correlation rules relevant with the six phenotypes; including a well-connected network for motility, a star-shaped network for aerobic and intermediate topologies for the other phenotypes. netCAR outperforms a standard CAR mining algorithm, CARapriori, while requiring several orders of magnitude less computational time for extracting 3-COG sets. Source code of the Java implementation is available as Supplementary Material at the Bioinformatics online website, or upon request to the author. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  11. The effects of stabilizing and directional selection on phenotypic and genotypic variation in a population of RNA enzymes.

    PubMed

    Hayden, Eric J; Bratulic, Sinisa; Koenig, Iwo; Ferrada, Evandro; Wagner, Andreas

    2014-02-01

    The distribution of variation in a quantitative trait and its underlying distribution of genotypic diversity can both be shaped by stabilizing and directional selection. Understanding either distribution is important, because it determines a population's response to natural selection. Unfortunately, existing theory makes conflicting predictions about how selection shapes these distributions, and very little pertinent experimental evidence exists. Here we study a simple genetic system, an evolving RNA enzyme (ribozyme) in which a combination of high throughput genotyping and measurement of a biochemical phenotype allow us to address this question. We show that directional selection, compared to stabilizing selection, increases the genotypic diversity of an evolving ribozyme population. In contrast, it leaves the variance in the phenotypic trait unchanged.

  12. Querying phenotype-genotype relationships on patient datasets using semantic web technology: the example of cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Semantic Web technology can considerably catalyze translational genetics and genomics research in medicine, where the interchange of information between basic research and clinical levels becomes crucial. This exchange involves mapping abstract phenotype descriptions from research resources, such as knowledge databases and catalogs, to unstructured datasets produced through experimental methods and clinical practice. This is especially true for the construction of mutation databases. This paper presents a way of harmonizing abstract phenotype descriptions with patient data from clinical practice, and querying this dataset about relationships between phenotypes and genetic variants, at different levels of abstraction. Methods Due to the current availability of ontological and terminological resources that have already reached some consensus in biomedicine, a reuse-based ontology engineering approach was followed. The proposed approach uses the Ontology Web Language (OWL) to represent the phenotype ontology and the patient model, the Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL) to bridge the gap between phenotype descriptions and clinical data, and the Semantic Query Web Rule Language (SQWRL) to query relevant phenotype-genotype bidirectional relationships. The work tests the use of semantic web technology in the biomedical research domain named cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX), using a real dataset and ontologies. Results A framework to query relevant phenotype-genotype bidirectional relationships is provided. Phenotype descriptions and patient data were harmonized by defining 28 Horn-like rules in terms of the OWL concepts. In total, 24 patterns of SWQRL queries were designed following the initial list of competency questions. As the approach is based on OWL, the semantic of the framework adapts the standard logical model of an open world assumption. Conclusions This work demonstrates how semantic web technologies can be used to support flexible representation

  13. Querying phenotype-genotype relationships on patient datasets using semantic web technology: the example of Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis.

    PubMed

    Taboada, María; Martínez, Diego; Pilo, Belén; Jiménez-Escrig, Adriano; Robinson, Peter N; Sobrido, María J

    2012-07-31

    Semantic Web technology can considerably catalyze translational genetics and genomics research in medicine, where the interchange of information between basic research and clinical levels becomes crucial. This exchange involves mapping abstract phenotype descriptions from research resources, such as knowledge databases and catalogs, to unstructured datasets produced through experimental methods and clinical practice. This is especially true for the construction of mutation databases. This paper presents a way of harmonizing abstract phenotype descriptions with patient data from clinical practice, and querying this dataset about relationships between phenotypes and genetic variants, at different levels of abstraction. Due to the current availability of ontological and terminological resources that have already reached some consensus in biomedicine, a reuse-based ontology engineering approach was followed. The proposed approach uses the Ontology Web Language (OWL) to represent the phenotype ontology and the patient model, the Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL) to bridge the gap between phenotype descriptions and clinical data, and the Semantic Query Web Rule Language (SQWRL) to query relevant phenotype-genotype bidirectional relationships. The work tests the use of semantic web technology in the biomedical research domain named cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX), using a real dataset and ontologies. A framework to query relevant phenotype-genotype bidirectional relationships is provided. Phenotype descriptions and patient data were harmonized by defining 28 Horn-like rules in terms of the OWL concepts. In total, 24 patterns of SWQRL queries were designed following the initial list of competency questions. As the approach is based on OWL, the semantic of the framework adapts the standard logical model of an open world assumption. This work demonstrates how semantic web technologies can be used to support flexible representation and computational inference mechanisms

  14. De Novo and Inherited Loss-of-Function Variants in TLK2: Clinical and Genotype-Phenotype Evaluation of a Distinct Neurodevelopmental Disorder.

    PubMed

    Reijnders, Margot R F; Miller, Kerry A; Alvi, Mohsan; Goos, Jacqueline A C; Lees, Melissa M; de Burca, Anna; Henderson, Alex; Kraus, Alison; Mikat, Barbara; de Vries, Bert B A; Isidor, Bertrand; Kerr, Bronwyn; Marcelis, Carlo; Schluth-Bolard, Caroline; Deshpande, Charu; Ruivenkamp, Claudia A L; Wieczorek, Dagmar; Baralle, Diana; Blair, Edward M; Engels, Hartmut; Lüdecke, Hermann-Josef; Eason, Jacqueline; Santen, Gijs W E; Clayton-Smith, Jill; Chandler, Kate; Tatton-Brown, Katrina; Payne, Katelyn; Helbig, Katherine; Radtke, Kelly; Nugent, Kimberly M; Cremer, Kirsten; Strom, Tim M; Bird, Lynne M; Sinnema, Margje; Bitner-Glindzicz, Maria; van Dooren, Marieke F; Alders, Marielle; Koopmans, Marije; Brick, Lauren; Kozenko, Mariya; Harline, Megan L; Klaassens, Merel; Steinraths, Michelle; Cooper, Nicola S; Edery, Patrick; Yap, Patrick; Terhal, Paulien A; van der Spek, Peter J; Lakeman, Phillis; Taylor, Rachel L; Littlejohn, Rebecca O; Pfundt, Rolph; Mercimek-Andrews, Saadet; Stegmann, Alexander P A; Kant, Sarina G; McLean, Scott; Joss, Shelagh; Swagemakers, Sigrid M A; Douzgou, Sofia; Wall, Steven A; Küry, Sébastien; Calpena, Eduardo; Koelling, Nils; McGowan, Simon J; Twigg, Stephen R F; Mathijssen, Irene M J; Nellaker, Christoffer; Brunner, Han G; Wilkie, Andrew O M

    2018-06-07

    Next-generation sequencing is a powerful tool for the discovery of genes related to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Here, we report the identification of a distinct syndrome due to de novo or inherited heterozygous mutations in Tousled-like kinase 2 (TLK2) in 38 unrelated individuals and two affected mothers, using whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing technologies, matchmaker databases, and international collaborations. Affected individuals had a consistent phenotype, characterized by mild-borderline neurodevelopmental delay (86%), behavioral disorders (68%), severe gastro-intestinal problems (63%), and facial dysmorphism including blepharophimosis (82%), telecanthus (74%), prominent nasal bridge (68%), broad nasal tip (66%), thin vermilion of the upper lip (62%), and upslanting palpebral fissures (55%). Analysis of cell lines from three affected individuals showed that mutations act through a loss-of-function mechanism in at least two case subjects. Genotype-phenotype analysis and comparison of computationally modeled faces showed that phenotypes of these and other individuals with loss-of-function variants significantly overlapped with phenotypes of individuals with other variant types (missense and C-terminal truncating). This suggests that haploinsufficiency of TLK2 is the most likely underlying disease mechanism, leading to a consistent neurodevelopmental phenotype. This work illustrates the power of international data sharing, by the identification of 40 individuals from 26 different centers in 7 different countries, allowing the identification, clinical delineation, and genotype-phenotype evaluation of a distinct NDD caused by mutations in TLK2. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Phenotype-genotype analysis of CYP2C19 in Colombian mestizo individuals

    PubMed Central

    Isaza, Carlos; Henao, Julieta; Martínez, José H Isaza; Arias, Juan C Sepúlveda; Beltrán, Leonardo

    2007-01-01

    Background Omeprazole is metabolized by the hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C19 enzyme to 5-hydroxyomeprazole. CYP2C19 exhibits genetic polymorphisms responsible for the presence of poor metabolizers (PMs), intermediate metabolizers (IMs) and extensive metabolizers (EMs). The defective mutations of the enzyme and their frequencies change between different ethnic groups; however, the polymorphism of the CYP2C19 gene has not been studied in Colombian mestizos. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genotype and phenotype status of CYP2C19 in Colombian mestizos, in order to contribute to the use of appropriate strategies of drug therapy for this population. Methods 189 subjects were genotyped using the multiplex SNaPshot technique and a subgroup of 44 individuals received 20 mg of omeprazole followed by blood collection at 3 hours to determine the omeprazole hydroxylation index by HPLC. Results 83.6%, 15.3% and 1.1% of the subjects were genotyped as EMs, IMs and PMs, respectively. The frequencies of the CYP2C29*1 and CYP2C19*2 alleles were 91.3% and 8.7% respectively whereas the *3, *4, *5, *6 and *8 alleles were not found. No discrepancies were found between the genotype and phenotype of CYP2C19. Conclusion The frequency of poor metabolizers (1.1%) in the Colombian mestizos included in this study is similar to that in Bolivian mestizos (1%) but lower than in Mexican-Americans (3.2%), West Mexicans (6%), Caucasians (5%) and African Americans (5.4%). The results of this study will be useful for drug dosage recommendations in Colombian mestizos. PMID:17623107

  16. Towards systems genetic analyses in barley: Integration of phenotypic, expression and genotype data into GeneNetwork

    PubMed Central

    Druka, Arnis; Druka, Ilze; Centeno, Arthur G; Li, Hongqiang; Sun, Zhaohui; Thomas, William TB; Bonar, Nicola; Steffenson, Brian J; Ullrich, Steven E; Kleinhofs, Andris; Wise, Roger P; Close, Timothy J; Potokina, Elena; Luo, Zewei; Wagner, Carola; Schweizer, Günther F; Marshall, David F; Kearsey, Michael J; Williams, Robert W; Waugh, Robbie

    2008-01-01

    Background A typical genetical genomics experiment results in four separate data sets; genotype, gene expression, higher-order phenotypic data and metadata that describe the protocols, processing and the array platform. Used in concert, these data sets provide the opportunity to perform genetic analysis at a systems level. Their predictive power is largely determined by the gene expression dataset where tens of millions of data points can be generated using currently available mRNA profiling technologies. Such large, multidimensional data sets often have value beyond that extracted during their initial analysis and interpretation, particularly if conducted on widely distributed reference genetic materials. Besides quality and scale, access to the data is of primary importance as accessibility potentially allows the extraction of considerable added value from the same primary dataset by the wider research community. Although the number of genetical genomics experiments in different plant species is rapidly increasing, none to date has been presented in a form that allows quick and efficient on-line testing for possible associations between genes, loci and traits of interest by an entire research community. Description Using a reference population of 150 recombinant doubled haploid barley lines we generated novel phenotypic, mRNA abundance and SNP-based genotyping data sets, added them to a considerable volume of legacy trait data and entered them into the GeneNetwork . GeneNetwork is a unified on-line analytical environment that enables the user to test genetic hypotheses about how component traits, such as mRNA abundance, may interact to condition more complex biological phenotypes (higher-order traits). Here we describe these barley data sets and demonstrate some of the functionalities GeneNetwork provides as an easily accessible and integrated analytical environment for exploring them. Conclusion By integrating barley genotypic, phenotypic and mRNA abundance data

  17. Towards systems genetic analyses in barley: Integration of phenotypic, expression and genotype data into GeneNetwork.

    PubMed

    Druka, Arnis; Druka, Ilze; Centeno, Arthur G; Li, Hongqiang; Sun, Zhaohui; Thomas, William T B; Bonar, Nicola; Steffenson, Brian J; Ullrich, Steven E; Kleinhofs, Andris; Wise, Roger P; Close, Timothy J; Potokina, Elena; Luo, Zewei; Wagner, Carola; Schweizer, Günther F; Marshall, David F; Kearsey, Michael J; Williams, Robert W; Waugh, Robbie

    2008-11-18

    A typical genetical genomics experiment results in four separate data sets; genotype, gene expression, higher-order phenotypic data and metadata that describe the protocols, processing and the array platform. Used in concert, these data sets provide the opportunity to perform genetic analysis at a systems level. Their predictive power is largely determined by the gene expression dataset where tens of millions of data points can be generated using currently available mRNA profiling technologies. Such large, multidimensional data sets often have value beyond that extracted during their initial analysis and interpretation, particularly if conducted on widely distributed reference genetic materials. Besides quality and scale, access to the data is of primary importance as accessibility potentially allows the extraction of considerable added value from the same primary dataset by the wider research community. Although the number of genetical genomics experiments in different plant species is rapidly increasing, none to date has been presented in a form that allows quick and efficient on-line testing for possible associations between genes, loci and traits of interest by an entire research community. Using a reference population of 150 recombinant doubled haploid barley lines we generated novel phenotypic, mRNA abundance and SNP-based genotyping data sets, added them to a considerable volume of legacy trait data and entered them into the GeneNetwork http://www.genenetwork.org. GeneNetwork is a unified on-line analytical environment that enables the user to test genetic hypotheses about how component traits, such as mRNA abundance, may interact to condition more complex biological phenotypes (higher-order traits). Here we describe these barley data sets and demonstrate some of the functionalities GeneNetwork provides as an easily accessible and integrated analytical environment for exploring them. By integrating barley genotypic, phenotypic and mRNA abundance data sets

  18. The Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium--Some Helpful Suggestions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ortiz, Mary T.; Taras, Loretta; Stavroulakis, Anthea M.

    2000-01-01

    Describes an approach that provides mathematical tips and helpful suggestions for presenting the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium to predict allele frequencies, phenotypes, and genotypes in populations. (ASK)

  19. Cow genotyping strategies for genomic selection in a small dairy cattle population.

    PubMed

    Jenko, J; Wiggans, G R; Cooper, T A; Eaglen, S A E; Luff, W G de L; Bichard, M; Pong-Wong, R; Woolliams, J A

    2017-01-01

    This study compares how different cow genotyping strategies increase the accuracy of genomic estimated breeding values (EBV) in dairy cattle breeds with low numbers. In these breeds, few sires have progeny records, and genotyping cows can improve the accuracy of genomic EBV. The Guernsey breed is a small dairy cattle breed with approximately 14,000 recorded individuals worldwide. Predictions of phenotypes of milk yield, fat yield, protein yield, and calving interval were made for Guernsey cows from England and Guernsey Island using genomic EBV, with training sets including 197 de-regressed proofs of genotyped bulls, with cows selected from among 1,440 genotyped cows using different genotyping strategies. Accuracies of predictions were tested using 10-fold cross-validation among the cows. Genomic EBV were predicted using 4 different methods: (1) pedigree BLUP, (2) genomic BLUP using only bulls, (3) univariate genomic BLUP using bulls and cows, and (4) bivariate genomic BLUP. Genotyping cows with phenotypes and using their data for the prediction of single nucleotide polymorphism effects increased the correlation between genomic EBV and phenotypes compared with using only bulls by 0.163±0.022 for milk yield, 0.111±0.021 for fat yield, and 0.113±0.018 for protein yield; a decrease of 0.014±0.010 for calving interval from a low base was the only exception. Genetic correlation between phenotypes from bulls and cows were approximately 0.6 for all yield traits and significantly different from 1. Only a very small change occurred in correlation between genomic EBV and phenotypes when using the bivariate model. It was always better to genotype all the cows, but when only half of the cows were genotyped, a divergent selection strategy was better compared with the random or directional selection approach. Divergent selection of 30% of the cows remained superior for the yield traits in 8 of 10 folds. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by

  20. CYP2D6 genotype and phenotype in Amerindians of Tepehuano origin and Mestizos of Durango, Mexico.

    PubMed

    Sosa-Macías, Martha; Elizondo, Guillermo; Flores-Pérez, Carmen; Flores-Pérez, Janet; Bradley-Alvarez, Francisco; Alanis-Bañuelos, Ruth E; Lares-Asseff, Ismael

    2006-05-01

    Although the drug-metabolizing enzyme CYP2D6 has been studied extensively in subjects of differing ethnicities, limited CYP2D6 pharmacogenetic data are available for the Amerindian population and Mestizos of Mexico. Dextromethorphan hydroxylation phenotype was studied in Tepehuano Amerindian (n = 58) and Mestizo (n = 88) subjects, and 195 individuals (85 Tepehuano Amerindians and 110 Mestizos) were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods to identify the frequencies of the CYP2D6*3, *4, *6, and *10 alleles. Tepehuano Amerindian subjects lacked the poor metabolizer (PM) phenotype, whereas in Mestizos the PM phenotype frequency was 6.8%. The CYP2D6*3, *6, and *10 alleles were not found in Tepehuano Amerindians. The CYP2D6*4 allele had a low frequency (0.006) in this Amerindian group. In the Mestizo group, the CYP2D6*3, *4, and *10 alleles had frequencies of 0.009, 0.131, and 0.023, respectively. The CYP2D6*6 allele was not found in Mestizos. The genotype-phenotype association was strongly statistically significant (r(2) = .45; P = .005) in Mestizos. The Tepehuano population was found to have a low phenotypic and genotypic CYP2D6 diversity and differed from other Amerindian groups. On the other hand, the frequencies of the CYP2D6 variant alleles in Mestizos were similar to those reported for whites.

  1. Epistasis and Pleiotropy Affect the Modularity of the Genotype-Phenotype Map of Cross-Resistance in HIV-1.

    PubMed

    Polster, Robert; Petropoulos, Christos J; Bonhoeffer, Sebastian; Guillaume, Frédéric

    2016-12-01

    The genotype-phenotype (GP) map is a central concept in evolutionary biology as it describes the mapping of molecular genetic variation onto phenotypic trait variation. Our understanding of that mapping remains partial, especially when trying to link functional clustering of pleiotropic gene effects with patterns of phenotypic trait co-variation. Only on rare occasions have studies been able to fully explore that link and tend to show poor correspondence between modular structures within the GP map and among phenotypes. By dissecting the structure of the GP map of the replicative capacity of HIV-1 in 15 drug environments, we provide a detailed view of that mapping from mutational pleiotropic variation to phenotypic co-variation, including epistatic effects of a set of amino-acid substitutions in the reverse transcriptase and protease genes. We show that epistasis increases the pleiotropic degree of single mutations and provides modularity to the GP map of drug resistance in HIV-1. Moreover, modules of epistatic pleiotropic effects within the GP map match the phenotypic modules of correlated replicative capacity among drug classes. Epistasis thus increases the evolvability of cross-resistance in HIV by providing more drug- and class-specific pleiotropic profiles to the main effects of the mutations. We discuss the implications for the evolution of cross-resistance in HIV. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  2. Prospective investigation of autism and genotype-phenotype correlations in 22q13 deletion syndrome and SHANK3 deficiency

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background 22q13 deletion syndrome, also known as Phelan-McDermid syndrome, is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by intellectual disability, hypotonia, delayed or absent speech, and autistic features. SHANK3 has been identified as the critical gene in the neurological and behavioral aspects of this syndrome. The phenotype of SHANK3 deficiency has been described primarily from case studies, with limited evaluation of behavioral and cognitive deficits. The present study used a prospective design and inter-disciplinary clinical evaluations to assess patients with SHANK3 deficiency, with the goal of providing a comprehensive picture of the medical and behavioral profile of the syndrome. Methods A serially ascertained sample of patients with SHANK3 deficiency (n = 32) was evaluated by a team of child psychiatrists, neurologists, clinical geneticists, molecular geneticists and psychologists. Patients were evaluated for autism spectrum disorder using the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-G. Results Thirty participants with 22q13.3 deletions ranging in size from 101 kb to 8.45 Mb and two participants with de novo SHANK3 mutations were included. The sample was characterized by high rates of autism spectrum disorder: 27 (84%) met criteria for autism spectrum disorder and 24 (75%) for autistic disorder. Most patients (77%) exhibited severe to profound intellectual disability and only five (19%) used some words spontaneously to communicate. Dysmorphic features, hypotonia, gait disturbance, recurring upper respiratory tract infections, gastroesophageal reflux and seizures were also common. Analysis of genotype-phenotype correlations indicated that larger deletions were associated with increased levels of dysmorphic features, medical comorbidities and social communication impairments related to autism. Analyses of individuals with small deletions or point mutations identified features related to SHANK3 haploinsufficiency

  3. From genotype to phenotype: genetics and medical practice in the new millennium.

    PubMed Central

    Weatherall, D

    1999-01-01

    The completion of the human genome project will provide a vast amount of information about human genetic diversity. One of the major challenges for the medical sciences will be to relate genotype to phenotype. Over recent years considerable progress has been made in relating the molecular pathology of monogenic diseases to the associated clinical phenotypes. Studies of the inherited disorders of haemoglobin, notably the thalassaemias, have shown how even in these, the simplest of monogenic diseases, there is remarkable complexity with respect to their phenotypic expression. Although studies of other monogenic diseases are less far advanced, it is clear that the same level of complexity will exist. This information provides some indication of the difficulties that will be met when trying to define the genes that are involved in common multigenic disorders and, in particular, in trying to relate disease phenotypes to the complex interactions between many genes and multiple environmental factors. PMID:10670020

  4. Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium clinical isolates from two hospitals in Mexico: First detection of VanB phenotype-vanA genotype.

    PubMed

    Bocanegra-Ibarias, Paola; Flores-Treviño, Samantha; Camacho-Ortiz, Adrián; Morfin-Otero, Rayo; Villarreal-Treviño, Licet; Llaca-Díaz, Jorge; Martínez-Landeros, Erik Alan; Rodríguez-Noriega, Eduardo; Calzada-Güereca, Andrés; Maldonado-Garza, Héctor Jesús; Garza-González, Elvira

    2016-01-01

    Enterococcus faecium has emerged as a multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogen involved in outbreaks worldwide. Our aim was to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility, biofilm production, and clonal relatedness of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium (VREF) clinical isolates from two hospitals in Mexico. Consecutive clinical isolates (n=56) were collected in two tertiary care hospitals in Mexico from 2011 to 2014. VREF isolates were characterized by phenotypic and molecular methods including pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). VREF isolates were highly resistant to vancomycin, erythromycin, norfloxacin, high-level streptomycin, and teicoplanin, and showed lower resistance to tetracycline, nitrofurantoin and quinupristin-dalfopristin. None of the isolates were resistant to linezolid. The vanA gene was detected in all isolates. Two VanB phenotype-vanA genotype isolates, highly resistant to vancomycin and susceptible to teicoplanin, were detected. Furthermore, 17.9% of the isolates were classified as biofilm producers, and the espfm gene was found in 98.2% of the isolates. A total of 37 distinct PFGE patterns and 6 clones (25% of the isolates as clone A, 5.4% as clone B, and 3.6% each as clone C, D, E, and F) were detected. Clone A was detected in 5 different wards of the same hospital during 14 months of surveillance. The high resistance to most antimicrobial agents and the moderate cross-transmission of VREF detected accentuates the need for continuous surveillance of E. faecium in the hospital setting. This is also the first reported incidence of the E. faecium VanB phenotype-vanA genotype in the Americas. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. All rights reserved.

  5. Genotype and phenotype spectrum of NRAS germline variants.

    PubMed

    Altmüller, Franziska; Lissewski, Christina; Bertola, Debora; Flex, Elisabetta; Stark, Zornitza; Spranger, Stephanie; Baynam, Gareth; Buscarilli, Michelle; Dyack, Sarah; Gillis, Jane; Yntema, Helger G; Pantaleoni, Francesca; van Loon, Rosa LE; MacKay, Sara; Mina, Kym; Schanze, Ina; Tan, Tiong Yang; Walsh, Maie; White, Susan M; Niewisch, Marena R; García-Miñaúr, Sixto; Plaza, Diego; Ahmadian, Mohammad Reza; Cavé, Hélène; Tartaglia, Marco; Zenker, Martin

    2017-06-01

    RASopathies comprise a group of disorders clinically characterized by short stature, heart defects, facial dysmorphism, and varying degrees of intellectual disability and cancer predisposition. They are caused by germline variants in genes encoding key components or modulators of the highly conserved RAS-MAPK signalling pathway that lead to dysregulation of cell signal transmission. Germline changes in the genes encoding members of the RAS subfamily of GTPases are rare and associated with variable phenotypes of the RASopathy spectrum, ranging from Costello syndrome (HRAS variants) to Noonan and Cardiofaciocutaneous syndromes (KRAS variants). A small number of RASopathy cases with disease-causing germline NRAS alterations have been reported. Affected individuals exhibited features fitting Noonan syndrome, and the observed germline variants differed from the typical oncogenic NRAS changes occurring as somatic events in tumours. Here we describe 19 new cases with RASopathy due to disease-causing variants in NRAS. Importantly, four of them harbored missense changes affecting Gly12, which was previously described to occur exclusively in cancer. The phenotype in our cohort was variable but well within the RASopathy spectrum. Further, one of the patients (c.35G>A; p.(Gly12Asp)) had a myeloproliferative disorder, and one subject (c.34G>C; p.(Gly12Arg)) exhibited an uncharacterized brain tumour. With this report, we expand the genotype and phenotype spectrum of RASopathy-associated germline NRAS variants and provide evidence that NRAS variants do not spare the cancer-associated mutation hotspots.

  6. Correlation between phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility and the resistome in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

    PubMed

    Jaillard, Magali; van Belkum, Alex; Cady, Kyle C; Creely, David; Shortridge, Dee; Blanc, Bernadette; Barbu, E Magda; Dunne, W Michael; Zambardi, Gilles; Enright, Mark; Mugnier, Nathalie; Le Priol, Christophe; Schicklin, Stéphane; Guigon, Ghislaine; Veyrieras, Jean-Baptiste

    2017-08-01

    Genetic determinants of antibiotic resistance (AR) have been extensively investigated. High-throughput sequencing allows for the assessment of the relationship between genotype and phenotype. A panel of 672 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains was analysed, including representatives of globally disseminated multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant clones; genomes and multiple antibiograms were available. This panel was annotated for AR gene presence and polymorphism, defining a resistome in which integrons were included. Integrons were present in >70 distinct cassettes, with In5 being the most prevalent. Some cassettes closely associated with clonal complexes, whereas others spread across the phylogenetic diversity, highlighting the importance of horizontal transfer. A resistome-wide association study (RWAS) was performed for clinically relevant antibiotics by correlating the variability in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values with resistome data. Resistome annotation identified 147 loci associated with AR. These loci consisted mainly of acquired genomic elements and intrinsic genes. The RWAS allowed for correct identification of resistance mechanisms for meropenem, amikacin, levofloxacin and cefepime, and added 46 novel mutations. Among these, 29 were variants of the oprD gene associated with variation in meropenem MIC. Using genomic and MIC data, phenotypic AR was successfully correlated with molecular determinants at the whole-genome sequence level. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.

  7. Analysis of the ACTN3 heterozygous genotype suggests that α-actinin-3 controls sarcomeric composition and muscle function in a dose-dependent fashion

    PubMed Central

    Hogarth, Marshall W.; Garton, Fleur C.; Houweling, Peter J.; Tukiainen, Taru; Lek, Monkol; Macarthur, Daniel G.; Seto, Jane T.; Quinlan, Kate G.R.; Yang, Nan; Head, Stewart I.; North, Kathryn N.

    2016-01-01

    A common null polymorphism (R577X) in ACTN3 causes α-actinin-3 deficiency in ∼18% of the global population. There is no associated disease phenotype, but α-actinin-3 deficiency is detrimental to sprint and power performance in both elite athletes and the general population. However, despite considerable investigation to date, the functional consequences of heterozygosity for ACTN3 are unclear. A subset of studies have shown an intermediate phenotype in 577RX individuals, suggesting dose-dependency of α-actinin-3, while others have shown no difference between 577RR and RX genotypes. Here, we investigate the effects of α-actinin-3 expression level by comparing the muscle phenotypes of Actn3+/− (HET) mice to Actn3+/+ [wild-type (WT)] and Actn3−/− [knockout (KO)] littermates. We show reduction in α-actinin-3 mRNA and protein in HET muscle compared with WT, which is associated with dose-dependent up-regulation of α-actinin-2, z-band alternatively spliced PDZ-motif and myotilin at the Z-line, and an incremental shift towards oxidative metabolism. While there is no difference in force generation, HET mice have an intermediate endurance capacity compared with WT and KO. The R577X polymorphism is associated with changes in ACTN3 expression consistent with an additive model in the human genotype-tissue expression cohort, but does not influence any other muscle transcripts, including ACTN2. Overall, ACTN3 influences sarcomeric composition in a dose-dependent fashion in mouse skeletal muscle, which translates directly to function. Variance in fibre type between biopsies likely masks this phenomenon in human skeletal muscle, but we suggest that an additive model is the most appropriate for use in testing ACTN3 genotype associations. PMID:26681802

  8. Identification of novel deletions of 15q11q13 in Angelman syndrome by array-CGH: molecular characterization and genotype-phenotype correlations.

    PubMed

    Sahoo, Trilochan; Bacino, Carlos A; German, Jennifer R; Shaw, Chad A; Bird, Lynne M; Kimonis, Virginia; Anselm, Irinia; Waisbren, Susan; Beaudet, Arthur L; Peters, Sarika U

    2007-09-01

    Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by mental retardation, absent speech, ataxia, and a happy disposition. Deletions of the 15q11q13 region are found in approximately 70% of AS patients. The deletions are sub-classified into class I and class II based on their sizes of approximately 6.8 and approximately 6.0, respectively, with two different proximal breakpoints and a common distal breakpoint. Utilizing a chromosome 15-specific comparative genomic hybridization genomic microarray (array-CGH), we have identified, determined the deletion sizes, and mapped the breakpoints in a cohort of 44 cases, to relate those breakpoints to the genomic architecture and derive more precise genotype-phenotype correlations. Interestingly four patients of the 44 studied (9.1%) had novel and unusually large deletions, and are reported here. This is the first report of very large deletions of 15q11q13 resulting in AS; the largest deletion being >10.6 Mb. These novel deletions involve three different distal breakpoints, two of which have been earlier shown to be involved in the generation of isodicentric 15q chromosomes (idic15). Additionally, precise determination of the deletion breakpoints reveals the presence of directly oriented low-copy repeats (LCRs) flanking the recurrent and novel breakpoints. The LCRs are adequate in size, orientation, and homology to enable abnormal recombination events leading to deletions and duplications. This genomic organization provides evidence for a common mechanism for the generation of both common and rare deletion types. Larger deletions result in a loss of several genes outside the common Angelman syndrome-Prader-Willi syndrome (AS-PWS) critical interval, and a more severe phenotype.

  9. Phenotypic and genotypic detection of Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis strains isolated from oral mucosa of AIDS pediatric patients.

    PubMed

    Livério, Harisson Oliveira; Ruiz, Luciana da Silva; Freitas, Roseli Santos de; Nishikaku, Angela; Souza, Ana Clara de; Paula, Claudete Rodrigues; Domaneschi, Carina

    2017-04-13

    The aim of this study was to assess a collection of yeasts to verify the presence of Candida dubliniensis among strains isolated from the oral mucosa of AIDS pediatric patients which were initially characterized as Candida albicans by the traditional phenotypic method, as well as to evaluate the main phenotypic methods used in the discrimination between the two species and confirm the identification through genotypic techniques, i.e., DNA sequencing. Twenty-nine samples of C. albicans isolated from this population and kept in a fungi collection were evaluated and re-characterized. In order to differentiate the two species, phenotypic tests (Thermotolerance tests, Chromogenic medium, Staib agar, Tobacco agar, Hypertonic medium) were performed and genotypic techniques using DNA sequencing were employed for confirmation of isolated species. Susceptibility and specificity were calculated for each test. No phenotypic test alone was sufficient to provide definitive identification of C. dubliniensis or C. albicans, as opposed to results of molecular tests. After amplification and sequencing of specific regions of the 29 studied strains, 93.1% of the isolates were identified as C. albicans and 6.9% as C. dubliniensis. The Staib agar assay showed a higher susceptibility (96.3%) in comparison with other phenotypic techniques. Therefore, genotypic methods are indispensable for the conclusive identification and differentiation between these species.

  10. Phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity of Lynch syndrome: a complex diagnostic challenge.

    PubMed

    Lynch, Henry T; Lanspa, Stephen; Shaw, Trudy; Casey, Murray Joseph; Rendell, Marc; Stacey, Mark; Townley, Theresa; Snyder, Carrie; Hitchins, Megan; Bailey-Wilson, Joan

    2018-07-01

    Lynch syndrome is the hereditary disorder that most frequently predisposes to colorectal cancer as well as predisposing to a number of extracolonic cancers, most prominently endometrial cancer. It is caused by germline mutations in the mismatch repair genes. Both its phenotype and genotype show marked heterogeneity. This review gives a historical overview of the syndrome, its heterogeneity, its genomic landscape, and its implications for complex diagnosis, genetic counseling and putative implications for immunotherapy.

  11. Thiopurine methyltransferase genotype-phenotype discordance and thiopurine active metabolite formation in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

    PubMed

    Lennard, Lynne; Cartwright, Cher Suzanne; Wade, Rachel; Richards, Susan M; Vora, Ajay

    2013-07-01

    In children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) bone marrow activity can influence red blood cell (RBC) kinetics, the surrogate tissue for thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) measurements. The aim of this study was to investigate TPMT phenotype-genotype concordance in ALL, and the influence of TPMT on thiopurine metabolite formation. We measured TPMT (activity, as units ml(-1) packed RBCs and genotype) at diagnosis (n = 1150) and TPMT and thioguanine nucleotide (TGN) and methylmercaptopurine nucleotide (MeMPN) metabolites (pmol/8 × 10(8) RBCs) during chemotherapy (n = 1131) in children randomized to thioguanine or mercaptopurine on the United Kingdom trial ALL97. Median TPMT activity at diagnosis (8.5 units) was significantly lower than during chemotherapy (13.8 units, median difference 5.1 units, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.8, 5.4, P < 0.0001). At diagnosis genotype-phenotype was discordant. During chemotherapy the overall concordance was 92%, but this fell to 55% in the intermediate activity cohort (45% had wild-type genotypes). For both thiopurines TGN concentrations differed by TPMT status. For mercaptopurine, median TGNs were higher in TPMT heterozygous genotype (754 pmol) than wild-type (360 pmol) patients (median difference 406 pmol, 95% CI 332, 478, P < 0.0001), whilst median MeMPNs, products of the TPMT reaction, were higher in wild-type (10 650 pmol) than heterozygous patients (3868 pmol) (P < 0.0001). In TPMT intermediate activity patients with a wild-type genotype, TGN (median 366 pmol) and MeMPN (median 8590 pmol) concentrations were similar to those in wild-type, high activity patients. In childhood ALL, TPMT activity should not be used to predict heterozygosity particularly in blood samples obtained at disease diagnosis. Genotype is a better predictor of TGN accumulation during chemotherapy. © 2012 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology © 2012 The British Pharmacological Society.

  12. Associations between anti-microbial resistance phenotypes, anti-microbial resistance genotypes and virulence genes of Escherichia coli isolates from Pakistan and China.

    PubMed

    Yaqoob, M; Wang, L P; Wang, S; Hussain, S; Memon, J; Kashif, J; Lu, C-P

    2013-10-01

    The objective of this study was to determine the association between phenotypic resistance, genotypic resistance and virulence genes of Escherichia coli isolates in Jiangsu province, China and Punjab province Pakistan. A total of 62 E. coli isolates were characterized for phenotypic resistance, genotypic resistance and virulence factor genes. The anti-microbial resistance phenotype and genotypes in relation to virulence factor genes were assessed by statistical analysis. Of 20 tested virulence genes, twelve were found and eight were not found in any isolates. sitA and TspE4C2 were the most prevalent virulence genes. Of the 13 anti-microbial agents tested, resistance to ampicillin, sulphonamide and tetracycline was the most frequent. All isolates were multiresistant, and 74% were resistant to trimethoprim and sulphamethaxazole. Phenotypically, tetracycline-, cefotaxime- and trimethoprim-resistant isolates had increased virulence factors as compared with susceptible isolates. Genotypically, resistant genes Tem, ctx-M, Tet, Sul 1, dhfr1, Cat2 and flo-R showed the association with the virulence genes. Almost all classes of anti-microbial-resistant genes have a high association with virulence. Resistant isolates have more virulent genes than the susceptible isolates. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  13. Pathogenic Phenotype and Genotype of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates from Spontaneous Canine Ocular Infections

    PubMed Central

    Ledbetter, Eric C.; Mun, James J.; Kowbel, David; Fleiszig, Suzanne M. J.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose This study was designed to determine whether the ability to adversely affect corneal epithelial cell health is a factor common to Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis strains and to assess the prevalence of each pathogenic phenotype and genotype in a canine model of naturally-acquired P. aeruginosa ocular infection. Methods P. aeruginosa ocular isolates were collected by sampling 100 dogs without disease (six isolates collected) and by sampling dogs with conjunctivitis (two isolates), endophthalmitis (one isolate), active keratitis (12 isolates), and resolved P. aeruginosa keratitis (four isolates). Phenotype was determined in vitro by quantifying corneal epithelial cell invasion by gentamicin survival assays, and cytotoxic activity by Trypan blue exclusion assays. Genotyping was performed for genes encoding the type III secreted effectors. Results The ratio of invasive to cytotoxic strains with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was 0.83 (CI, 0.42– 0.99) for conjunctival microflora isolates, 0.80 (CI, 0.54 – 0.94) for ocular infection isolates, and 1.0 (CI, 0.45–1.0) for strains isolated post-resolution of keratitis. Among ocular infection isolates, invasive and cytotoxic strains were significantly (P ≤ 0.02) associated with older and younger dogs, respectively. Visible adverse effects on epithelial cells were significantly (P ≤ 0.03) more frequent for keratitis strains (6/12) than other strains (1/13), but only three of these keratitis strains and the single non-keratitis strain possessed ExoU. Conclusions Invasive strains predominated in the dogs of this study. Only keratitis strains had visible adverse effects on epithelial cells without overt cytotoxicity, suggesting virulence strategies affecting live corneal epithelial cell health are selected for among keratitis strains. PMID:18836164

  14. Phenotypic and genotypic studies of ALS cases in ALS-SMA families.

    PubMed

    Corcia, Philippe; Vourc'h, Patrick; Blasco, Helene; Couratier, Philippe; Dangoumau, Audrey; Bellance, Remi; Desnuelle, Claude; Viader, Fausto; Pautot, Vivien; Millecamps, Stephanie; Bakkouche, Salah; Salachas, FranÇois; Andres, Christian R; Meininger, Vincent; Camu, William

    2018-08-01

    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are the most frequent motor neuron disorders in adulthood and infancy, respectively. There is a growing literature supporting common pathophysiological patterns between those disorders. One important clinical issue for that is the co-occurrence of both diseases within a family. To collect families in which ALS and SMA patients co-exist and describe the phenotype and the genotype of ALS patients. Nine families with co-occurrence of SMA and ALS have been gathered over the last 15 years. Epidemiological, phenotype and genetic status were collected. Out of the nine families, six corresponded to the criteria of familial ALS (FALS). Clinical data were available for 11 patients out of the 15 ALS cases. Mean age of onset was 58.5 years, site of onset was lower limbs in nine cases (81.8%), median duration was 22 months. Four ALS patients carried a mutation: three mutations in SOD1 gene (G147N in two cases and one with E121G) and one repeat expansion in the C9ORF72 gene. Three patients had abnormal SMN1 copy numbers. While the high proportion of familial history of ALS cases in these ALS-SMA pedigrees could have suggested that these familial clusters of the two most frequent MND rely on a genetic background, we failed to exclude that this occurred by chance.

  15. The evolution of phenotypic correlations and ‘developmental memory’

    PubMed Central

    Watson, Richard A.; Wagner, Günter P.; Pavlicev, Mihaela; Weinreich, Daniel M.; Mills, Rob

    2014-01-01

    Development introduces structured correlations among traits that may constrain or bias the distribution of phenotypes produced. Moreover, when suitable heritable variation exists, natural selection may alter such constraints and correlations, affecting the phenotypic variation available to subsequent selection. However, exactly how the distribution of phenotypes produced by complex developmental systems can be shaped by past selective environments is poorly understood. Here we investigate the evolution of a network of recurrent non-linear ontogenetic interactions, such as a gene regulation network, in various selective scenarios. We find that evolved networks of this type can exhibit several phenomena that are familiar in cognitive learning systems. These include formation of a distributed associative memory that can ‘store’ and ‘recall’ multiple phenotypes that have been selected in the past, recreate complete adult phenotypic patterns accurately from partial or corrupted embryonic phenotypes, and ‘generalise’ (by exploiting evolved developmental modules) to produce new combinations of phenotypic features. We show that these surprising behaviours follow from an equivalence between the action of natural selection on phenotypic correlations and associative learning, well-understood in the context of neural networks. This helps to explain how development facilitates the evolution of high-fitness phenotypes and how this ability changes over evolutionary time. PMID:24351058

  16. (Epi)genotype-Phenotype Analysis in 69 Japanese Patients With Pseudohypoparathyroidism Type I

    PubMed Central

    Sano, Shinichiro; Nakamura, Akie; Matsubara, Keiko; Nagasaki, Keisuke; Fukami, Maki; Kagami, Masayo

    2018-01-01

    Context: Pseudohypoparathyroidism type I (PHP-I) is divided into PHP-Ia with Albright hereditary osteodystrophy and PHP-Ib, which usually shows no Albright hereditary osteodystrophy features. Although PHP-Ia and PHP-Ib are typically caused by genetic defects involving α subunit of the stimulatory G protein (Gsα)–coding GNAS exons and methylation defects of the GNAS differentially methylated regions (DMRs) on the maternal allele, respectively, detailed phenotypic characteristics still remains to be examined. Objective: To clarify phenotypic characteristics according to underlying (epi)genetic causes. Patients and Methods: We performed (epi)genotype-phenotype analysis in 69 Japanese patients with PHP-I; that is, 28 patients with genetic defects involving Gsα-coding GNAS exons (group 1) consisting of 12 patients with missense variants (subgroup A) and 16 patients with null variants (subgroup B), as well as 41 patients with methylation defects (group 2) consisting of 21 patients with broad methylation defects of the GNAS-DMRs (subgroup C) and 20 patients with an isolated A/B-DMR methylation defect accompanied by the common STX16 microdeletion (subgroup D). Results: Although (epi)genotype-phenotype findings were grossly similar to those reported previously, several important findings were identified, including younger age at hypocalcemic symptoms and higher frequencies of hyperphosphatemia in subgroup C than in subgroup D, development of brachydactyly in four patients of subgroup C, predominant manifestation of subcutaneous ossification in subgroup B, higher frequency of thyrotropin resistance in group 1 than in group 2, and relatively low thyrotropin values in four patients with low T4 values and relatively low luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone values in five adult females with ovarian dysfunction. Conclusion: The results imply the presence of clinical findings characteristic of each underlying cause and provide useful information on the imprinting

  17. Genotype-phenotype correlations of low frequency variants in the complement system in renal disease and age-related macular degeneration.

    PubMed

    Geerlings, M J; Volokhina, E B; de Jong, E K; van de Kar, N; Pauper, M; Hoyng, C B; van den Heuvel, L P; den Hollander, A I

    2018-06-11

    Genetic alterations in the complement system have been linked to a variety of diseases, including atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), C3 glomerulopathy (C3G), and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We performed sequence analysis of the complement genes CFH, CFI, and C3 in 866 aHUS/C3G and 697 AMD patients. In total we identified 505 low frequency alleles, representing 121 unique variants, of which 51 are novel. CFH contained the largest number of unique low frequency variants (n=64; 53%), followed by C3 (n=32; 26%) and CFI (n=25; 21%). A substantial number of variants were found in both patients groups (n=48; 40%), while 41 (34%) variants were found only in aHUS/C3G and 32 (26%) variants were AMD-specific. Genotype-phenotype correlations between the disease groups identified a higher frequency of protein-altering alleles in SCR20 of Factor H (FH), and in the serine protease domain of Factor I (FI) in aHUS/C3G patients. In AMD a higher frequency of protein-altering alleles was observed in SCR3, SCR5 and SCR7 of FH, the SRCR domain of FI, and in the MG3 domain of C3. In conclusion, we observed a substantial overlap of variants between aHUS/C3G and AMD, however, there is a distinct clustering of variants within specific domains. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  18. Screening of melon genotypes for resistance to vegetable leafminer and your phenotypic correlations with colorimetry.

    PubMed

    Oliveira, Frederico I C DE; Fiege, Leonardo B C; Celin, Elaine F; Innecco, Renato; Nunes, Glauber H S; Aragão, Fernando A S DE

    2017-01-01

    Melon is one of the most important vegetable crops in the world. With short cycle in a system of phased planting, phytosanitary control is compromised, and a great volume of agricultural chemicals is used to control vegetable leafminer. Genetic control is an ideal alternative to avoid the damage caused by this insect. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate Cucumis accessions in regard to resistance to leafminer and correlate the variables analyzed. Fifty-four accessions and four commercial hybrids of melon were tested. The study was divided into two experiments: with and with no choice. The following characteristics were evaluated: with choice, in field - subjective score based on the infestation and the number of mines per leaf; and with no choice, in cage - number of mines per leaf, chlorophyll content, and leaf colorimetry. The results showed variability among the accessions and some genotypes showed favorable results for resistance in both experiments. There was correlation between the two variables in the experiment in the field. The accessions CNPH 11-282, CNPH 06-1047, and CNPH 11-1077 are the most recommended for future breeding programs with aim on introgression of resistance to vegetable leafminer in melon.

  19. Phenotypic and genotypic detection of Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis strains isolated from oral mucosa of AIDS pediatric patients

    PubMed Central

    Livério, Harisson Oliveira; Ruiz, Luciana da Silva; de Freitas, Roseli Santos; Nishikaku, Angela; de Souza, Ana Clara; Paula, Claudete Rodrigues; Domaneschi, Carina

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to assess a collection of yeasts to verify the presence of Candida dubliniensis among strains isolated from the oral mucosa of AIDS pediatric patients which were initially characterized as Candida albicans by the traditional phenotypic method, as well as to evaluate the main phenotypic methods used in the discrimination between the two species and confirm the identification through genotypic techniques, i.e., DNA sequencing. Twenty-nine samples of C. albicans isolated from this population and kept in a fungi collection were evaluated and re-characterized. In order to differentiate the two species, phenotypic tests (Thermotolerance tests, Chromogenic medium, Staib agar, Tobacco agar, Hypertonic medium) were performed and genotypic techniques using DNA sequencing were employed for confirmation of isolated species. Susceptibility and specificity were calculated for each test. No phenotypic test alone was sufficient to provide definitive identification of C. dubliniensis or C. albicans, as opposed to results of molecular tests. After amplification and sequencing of specific regions of the 29 studied strains, 93.1% of the isolates were identified as C. albicans and 6.9% as C. dubliniensis. The Staib agar assay showed a higher susceptibility (96.3%) in comparison with other phenotypic techniques. Therefore, genotypic methods are indispensable for the conclusive identification and differentiation between these species. PMID:28423089

  20. Phenotypic convergence in bacterial adaptive evolution to ethanol stress.

    PubMed

    Horinouchi, Takaaki; Suzuki, Shingo; Hirasawa, Takashi; Ono, Naoaki; Yomo, Tetsuya; Shimizu, Hiroshi; Furusawa, Chikara

    2015-09-03

    Bacterial cells have a remarkable ability to adapt to environmental changes, a phenomenon known as adaptive evolution. During adaptive evolution, phenotype and genotype dynamically changes; however, the relationship between these changes and associated constraints is yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, we analyzed phenotypic and genotypic changes in Escherichia coli cells during adaptive evolution to ethanol stress. Phenotypic changes were quantified by transcriptome and metabolome analyses and were similar among independently evolved ethanol tolerant populations, which indicate the existence of evolutionary constraints in the dynamics of adaptive evolution. Furthermore, the contribution of identified mutations in one of the tolerant strains was evaluated using site-directed mutagenesis. The result demonstrated that the introduction of all identified mutations cannot fully explain the observed tolerance in the tolerant strain. The results demonstrated that the convergence of adaptive phenotypic changes and diverse genotypic changes, which suggested that the phenotype-genotype mapping is complex. The integration of transcriptome and genome data provides a quantitative understanding of evolutionary constraints.

  1. Correlation between Genotypic and Phenotypic Testing for Resistance to Rifampin in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Clinical Isolates in Haiti: Investigation of Cases with Discrepant Susceptibility Results

    PubMed Central

    Ocheretina, Oksana; Escuyer, Vincent E.; Mabou, Marie-Marcelle; Royal-Mardi, Gertrude; Collins, Sean; Vilbrun, Stalz C.; Pape, Jean W.; Fitzgerald, Daniel W.

    2014-01-01

    The World Health Organization has recommended use of molecular-based tests MTBDRplus and GeneXpert MTB/RIF to diagnose multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in developing and high-burden countries. Both tests are based on detection of mutations in the Rifampin (RIF) Resistance-Determining Region of DNA-dependent RNA Polymerase gene (rpoB). Such mutations are found in 95–98% of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains determined to be RIF-resistant by the “gold standard” culture-based drug susceptibility testing (DST). We report the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of 153 consecutive clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains diagnosed as RIF-resistant by molecular tests in our laboratory in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 133 isolates (86.9%) were resistant to both RIF and Isoniazid and 4 isolates (2.6%) were RIF mono-resistant in MGIT SIRE liquid culture-based DST. However the remaining 16 isolates (10.5%) tested RIF-sensitive by the assay. Five strains with discordant genotypic and phenotypic susceptibility results had RIF minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) close to the cut-off value of 1 µg/ml used in phenotypic susceptibility assays and were confirmed as resistant by DST on solid media. Nine strains had sub-critical RIF MICs ranging from 0.063 to 0.5 µg/ml. Finally two strains were pan-susceptible and harbored a silent rpoB mutation. Our data indicate that not only detection of the presence but also identification of the nature of rpoB mutation is needed to accurately diagnose resistance to RIF in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Observed clinical significance of low-level resistance to RIF supports the re-evaluation of the present critical concentration of the drug used in culture-based DST assays. PMID:24599230

  2. A boy with partial dup(18q)/del(18p) due to a maternal pericentric inversion: Genotype-phenotype correlation and risk of recombinant chromosomes based on systematic review of the literature.

    PubMed

    Lustosa-Mendes, Elaine; Dos Santos, Ana Paula; Viguetti-Campos, Nilma Lúcia; Vieira, Társis Paiva; Gil-da-Silva-Lopes, Vera Lúcia

    2017-01-01

    We report a boy carrying a recombinant chromosome 18, with terminal deletion of 10.8 Mb from 18p11.32 to 18p11.21 and a terminal duplication of 22.8 Mb from 18q21.31 to 18q23, resulting from a maternal pericentric inversion of the chromosome 18. He presented with poor growth, developmental delay, facial dysmorphisms, surgically repaired left cleft lip and palate, a mild form of holoprosencephaly characterized by single central incisor and agenesis of the septum pellucidum, and body asymmetry. Based on the systematic review of the literature, we discuss genotype-phenotype correlation and the risk for the recombinants of pericentric inversions of chromosome 18. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Genotype-phenotype associations in French patients with phenylketonuria and importance of genotype for full assessment of tetrahydrobiopterin responsiveness.

    PubMed

    Jeannesson-Thivisol, Elise; Feillet, François; Chéry, Céline; Perrin, Pascal; Battaglia-Hsu, Shyue-Fang; Herbeth, Bernard; Cano, Aline; Barth, Magalie; Fouilhoux, Alain; Mention, Karine; Labarthe, François; Arnoux, Jean-Baptiste; Maillot, François; Lenaerts, Catherine; Dumesnil, Cécile; Wagner, Kathy; Terral, Daniel; Broué, Pierre; de Parscau, Loïc; Gay, Claire; Kuster, Alice; Bédu, Antoine; Besson, Gérard; Lamireau, Delphine; Odent, Sylvie; Masurel, Alice; Guéant, Jean-Louis; Namour, Fares

    2015-12-15

    Mutations in Phenylalanine Hydroxylase (PAH) gene cause phenylketonuria. Sapropterin (BH4), the enzyme cofactor, is an important therapeutical strategy in phenylketonuria. However, PAH is a highly polymorphic gene and it is difficult to identify BH4-responsive genotypes. We seek here to improve prediction of BH4-responsiveness through comparison of genotypes, BH4-loading test, predictions of responsiveness according to the literature and types and locations of mutations. A total of 364 French patients among which, 9 % had mild hyperphenylalaninemia, 17.7 % mild phenylketonuria and 73.1 % classical phenylketonuria, benefited from a 24-hour BH4-loading test and had the PAH gene sequenced and analyzed by Multiplex Ligation Probe Amplification. Overall, 31.6 % of patients were BH4-responsive. The number of different mutations found was 127, including 26 new mutations. The mutations c.434A > T, c.500A > T, c.529G > C, c.1045 T > G and c.1196 T > C were newly classified as being BH4-responsive. We identified 261 genotypes, among which 46 were newly recognized as being BH4-responsive. Even though patients carry 2 responsive alleles, BH4-responsiveness cannot be predicted with certainty unless they present mild hyperphenylalaninemia. BH4-responsiveness cannot be predicted in patients carrying one responsive mutation only. In general, the milder the phenotype is, the stronger the BH4-response is. Almost exclusively missense mutations, particularly in exons 12, 11 and 8, are associated with BH4-responsiveness and any other type of mutation predicts a negative response. This study is the first of its kind, in a French population, to identify the phenotype associated with several combinations of PAH mutations. As others, it highlights the necessity of performing simultaneously BH4 loading test and molecular analysis in monitoring phenylketonuria patients.

  4. Identity of the xerophilic species Aspergillus penicillioides: Integrated analysis of the genotypic and phenotypic characters.

    PubMed

    Tamura, Miki; Kawasaki, Hiroko; Sugiyama, Junta

    1999-02-01

    We examined the identity of Aspergillus penicillioides, the typical xerophilic and strictly anamorphic species, using an integrated analysis of the genotypic and phenotypic characters. Our experimental methods on two genotypic characters, i.e., DNA base composition using the HPLC method and DNA relatedness using the nitrocellulose filter hybridization technique between A. flavus, A. oryzae, and their close relations revealed a good agreement with the values by buoyant density (for DNA base composition) and spectrophotometric determination (for DNA relatedness) reported by Kurtzman et al. in 1986. On the basis of these comparisons, we examined DNA base composition and DNA relatedness of six selected strains of A. penicillioides, including IFO 8155 (originally described as A. vitricola), one strain of A. restrictus, and the respective strains from Eurotium amstelodami, E. repens, and E. rubrum. As a result, five strains within A. penicillioides, including the neotype strain NRRL 4548, had G+C contents of 46 to 49 mol%, whereas IFO 8155 had 50 mol%. A. restrictus had 52 mol%, and three Eurotium species ranged from 46 to 49 mol%. The DNA relatedness between A. penicillioides (five strains), except for IFO 8155, exhibited values greater than 70%, but the DNA complementarity between four strains and IFO 8155 in A. penicillioides revealed values of less than 40%. DNA relatedness values between three species of Eurotium were 65 to 72%. We determined 18S, 5.8S, and ITS rDNA sequences as other genotypic characters from A. penicillioides (six strains), A. restrictus, and related teleomorphic species of Eurotium. In three phylogenetic trees inferred from these sequences, five strains of A. penicillioides, including the neotype strain, were closely related to each other, whereas IFO 8155 was distantly related and grouped with other xerophilic species. Our results have suggested that A. penicillioides typified by NRRL 4548 and A. penicillioides IFO 8155 (ex holotype of A

  5. Phenotypic and genotypic analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi isolates from various sources.

    PubMed Central

    Adam, T; Gassmann, G S; Rasiah, C; Göbel, U B

    1991-01-01

    A total of 17 B. burgdorferi isolates from various sources were characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of whole-cell proteins, restriction enzyme analysis, Southern hybridization with probes complementary to unique regions of evolutionarily conserved genes (16S rRNA and fla), and direct sequencing of in vitro polymerase chain reaction-amplified fragments of the 16S rRNA gene. Three groups were distinguished on the basis of phenotypic and genotypic traits, the latter traced to the nucleotide sequence level. Images PMID:1649797

  6. Phenotype, genotype and gender identity in a large cohort of patients from India with 5α-reductase 2 deficiency.

    PubMed

    Shabir, I; Khurana, M L; Joseph, A A; Eunice, M; Mehta, M; Ammini, A C

    2015-11-01

    Deficiency of the 5α-reductase 2 enzyme impairs the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and differentiation of external genitalia, seminal vesicles and prostate in males. The present study describes the phenotype, genotype and gender identity in a large cohort of patients with 5αRD2. All patients underwent detailed clinical evaluation, hormonal profile, karyotyping and molecular analysis of the SRD5A2 gene. The molecular analysis of the SRD5A2 gene showed the presence of mutant alleles in 24 patients. We found 6 novel mutations IVS(1-2) T>C, p.A52T, 188-189insTA, 904-905ins A, p.A12T and p.E57X in our patients. All patients had ambiguous genitalia and the degrees of under-virilization ranged from penoscrotal hypospadias and microphallus to clitoromegaly. The position of gonads was variable in patients with same mutation. All the patients with mutations in the SRD5A2 gene had male gender identity. Those reared as female had gender dysphoria and underwent gender reassignment. Though a specific genotype-phenotype correlation could not be established in our patient but confirming the diagnosis of 5αRD2 with assessment of the SRD5A2 gene may help in appropriate gender assignment. © 2015 American Society of Andrology and European Academy of Andrology.

  7. Genotype-Phenotype Analysis in Pediatric Patients with Distal Renal Tubular Acidosis.

    PubMed

    Park, Eujin; Cho, Myung Hyun; Hyun, Hye Sun; Shin, Jae Il; Lee, Joo Hoon; Park, Young Seo; Choi, Hyun Jin; Kang, Hee Gyung; Cheong, Hae Il

    2018-01-01

    Primary distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) in children is a rare genetic disorder, and three causative mutated genes have been identified: SLC4A1, ATP6V1B1, and ATP6V0A4. We analyzed the prevalence and phenotypic differences of genetic mutations in children with dRTA. A total of 17 children with dRTA were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent genetic testing for all three candidate genes. Pathogenic mutations, including six novel mutations, were detected in 15 (88.2%) patients: dominant SLC4A1 mutations in ten (58.8%) patients, recessive ATP6V0A4 mutations in three (17.6%) patients, and recessive ATP6V1B1 mutations in two (11.8%) patients. Compared to other patients, patients with SLC4A1 mutations showed an older age of onset (3.7 ± 2.6 years) and less severe metabolic acidosis at initial presentation. All patients developed nephrocalcinosis, and sensorineural hearing loss was observed in two patients with ATP6V1B1 mutations. Three (17.6%) patients had decreased renal function (chronic kidney disease stage 2), and five (29.4%) patients had persistent growth retardation at the last follow-up. Long-term prognosis showed no genotype-phenotype correlation. SLC4A1 is the most common defective gene in Korean children with dRTA. Patients with SLC4A1 mutations show later onset and milder disease severity. Long-term follow-up of hearing ability, renal function, and growth is necessary for patients with dRTA. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

  8. Glutathione S-transferase gene polymorphisms in celiac disease and their correlation with genomic instability phenotype.

    PubMed

    Fundia, Ariela F; Weich, Natalia; Crivelli, Adriana; La Motta, Graciela; Larripa, Irene B; Slavutsky, Irma

    2014-06-01

    Genomic instability and reduced glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity have been identified as potential risk factors for malignant complications in celiac disease (CD). In this study, we assessed the possible influence of GST polymorphisms on genome instability phenotypes in a genetically characterised group of celiac patients from previous studies. The deletion polymorphisms in GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes and the single-nucleotide polymorphism GSTP1 c.313A>G were genotyped using PCR in a set of 20 untreated adult patients with a known genomic instability phenotype and 69 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals. The frequencies of variant genotypes in patients were GSTM1-null (30%), GSTT1-null (5%), GSTP1-AG (60%) and GSTP1-GG (15%), and they showed no differences from controls. No significant differences were found in the genotype distribution based on telomere length. Cases with GSTM1-null genotype (83%) and microsatellite stability were more frequent than those with genomic instability. Moreover, carriers of GSTP1-variant genotype (73%) and stable phenotype were significantly increased compared to unstable patients (27%) (P=0.031). No differences were found according to the clinical-pathological characteristics of celiac cases. No association between GST polymorphic variants and celiac-associated genomic instability was proven in our cohort. Future studies should explore the usefulness of other biomarkers to distinguish celiac patients who are susceptible to cancer development. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  9. Mutational robustness accelerates the origin of novel RNA phenotypes through phenotypic plasticity.

    PubMed

    Wagner, Andreas

    2014-02-18

    Novel phenotypes can originate either through mutations in existing genotypes or through phenotypic plasticity, the ability of one genotype to form multiple phenotypes. From molecules to organisms, plasticity is a ubiquitous feature of life, and a potential source of exaptations, adaptive traits that originated for nonadaptive reasons. Another ubiquitous feature is robustness to mutations, although it is unknown whether such robustness helps or hinders the origin of new phenotypes through plasticity. RNA is ideal to address this question, because it shows extensive plasticity in its secondary structure phenotypes, a consequence of their continual folding and unfolding, and these phenotypes have important biological functions. Moreover, RNA is to some extent robust to mutations. This robustness structures RNA genotype space into myriad connected networks of genotypes with the same phenotype, and it influences the dynamics of evolving populations on a genotype network. In this study I show that both effects help accelerate the exploration of novel phenotypes through plasticity. My observations are based on many RNA molecules sampled at random from RNA sequence space, and on 30 biological RNA molecules. They are thus not only a generic feature of RNA sequence space but are relevant for the molecular evolution of biological RNA. Copyright © 2014 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Soil coring at multiple field environments can directly quantify variation in deep root traits to select wheat genotypes for breeding.

    PubMed

    Wasson, A P; Rebetzke, G J; Kirkegaard, J A; Christopher, J; Richards, R A; Watt, M

    2014-11-01

    We aim to incorporate deep root traits into future wheat varieties to increase access to stored soil water during grain development, which is twice as valuable for yield as water captured at younger stages. Most root phenotyping efforts have been indirect studies in the laboratory, at young plant stages, or using indirect shoot measures. Here, soil coring to 2 m depth was used across three field environments to directly phenotype deep root traits on grain development (depth, descent rate, density, length, and distribution). Shoot phenotypes at coring included canopy temperature depression, chlorophyll reflectance, and green leaf scoring, with developmental stage, biomass, and yield. Current varieties, and genotypes with breeding histories and plant architectures expected to promote deep roots, were used to maximize identification of variation due to genetics. Variation was observed for deep root traits (e.g. 111.4-178.5cm (60%) for depth; 0.09-0.22cm/°C day (144%) for descent rate) using soil coring in the field environments. There was significant variation for root traits between sites, and variation in the relative performance of genotypes between sites. However, genotypes were identified that performed consistently well or poorly at both sites. Furthermore, high-performing genotypes were statistically superior in root traits than low-performing genotypes or commercial varieties. There was a weak but significant negative correlation between green leaf score (-0.5), CTD (0.45), and rooting depth and a positive correlation for chlorophyll reflectance (0.32). Shoot phenotypes did not predict other root traits. This study suggests that field coring can directly identify variation in deep root traits to speed up selection of genotypes for breeding programmes. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

  11. A prospective study validating a clinical scoring system and demonstrating phenotypical-genotypical correlations in Silver-Russell syndrome.

    PubMed

    Azzi, Salah; Salem, Jennifer; Thibaud, Nathalie; Chantot-Bastaraud, Sandra; Lieber, Eli; Netchine, Irène; Harbison, Madeleine D

    2015-07-01

    Multiple clinical scoring systems have been proposed for Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS). Here we aimed to test a clinical scoring system for SRS and to analyse the correlation between (epi)genotype and phenotype. Sixty-nine patients were examined by two physicians. Clinical scores were generated for all patients, with a new, six-item scoring system: (1) small for gestational age, birth length and/or weight ≤-2SDS, (2) postnatal growth retardation (height ≤-2SDS), (3) relative macrocephaly at birth, (4) body asymmetry, (5) feeding difficulties and/or body mass index (BMI) ≤-2SDS in toddlers; (6) protruding forehead at the age of 1-3 years. Subjects were considered to have likely SRS if they met at least four of these six criteria. Molecular investigations were performed blind to the clinical data. The 69 patients were classified into two groups (Likely-SRS (n=60), Unlikely-SRS (n=9)). Forty-six Likely-SRS patients (76.7%) displayed either 11p15 ICR1 hypomethylation (n=35; 58.3%) or maternal UPD of chromosome 7 (mUPD7) (n=11; 18.3%). Eight Unlikely-SRS patients had neither ICR1 hypomethylation nor mUPD7, whereas one patient had mUPD7. The clinical score and molecular results yielded four groups that differed significantly overall and for individual scoring system factors. Further molecular screening led identifying chromosomal abnormalities in Likely-SRS-double-negative and Unlikely-SRS groups. Four Likely-SRS-double negative patients carried a DLK1/GTL2 IG-DMR hypomethylation, a mUPD16; a mUPD20 and a de novo 1q21 microdeletion. This new scoring system is very sensitive (98%) for the detection of patients with SRS with demonstrated molecular abnormalities. Given its clinical and molecular heterogeneity, SRS could be considered as a spectrum. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  12. A prospective study validating a clinical scoring system and demonstrating phenotypical-genotypical correlations in Silver-Russell syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Azzi, Salah; Salem, Jennifer; Thibaud, Nathalie; Chantot-Bastaraud, Sandra; Lieber, Eli; Netchine, Irène; Harbison, Madeleine D

    2015-01-01

    Background Multiple clinical scoring systems have been proposed for Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS). Here we aimed to test a clinical scoring system for SRS and to analyse the correlation between (epi)genotype and phenotype. Subjects and methods Sixty-nine patients were examined by two physicians. Clinical scores were generated for all patients, with a new, six-item scoring system: (1) small for gestational age, birth length and/or weight ≤−2SDS, (2) postnatal growth retardation (height ≤−2SDS), (3) relative macrocephaly at birth, (4) body asymmetry, (5) feeding difficulties and/or body mass index (BMI) ≤−2SDS in toddlers; (6) protruding forehead at the age of 1–3 years. Subjects were considered to have likely SRS if they met at least four of these six criteria. Molecular investigations were performed blind to the clinical data. Results The 69 patients were classified into two groups (Likely-SRS (n=60), Unlikely-SRS (n=9)). Forty-six Likely-SRS patients (76.7%) displayed either 11p15 ICR1 hypomethylation (n=35; 58.3%) or maternal UPD of chromosome 7 (mUPD7) (n=11; 18.3%). Eight Unlikely-SRS patients had neither ICR1 hypomethylation nor mUPD7, whereas one patient had mUPD7. The clinical score and molecular results yielded four groups that differed significantly overall and for individual scoring system factors. Further molecular screening led identifying chromosomal abnormalities in Likely-SRS-double-negative and Unlikely-SRS groups. Four Likely-SRS-double negative patients carried a DLK1/GTL2 IG-DMR hypomethylation, a mUPD16; a mUPD20 and a de novo 1q21 microdeletion. Conclusions This new scoring system is very sensitive (98%) for the detection of patients with SRS with demonstrated molecular abnormalities. Given its clinical and molecular heterogeneity, SRS could be considered as a spectrum. PMID:25951829

  13. Next-generation phenotyping: requirements and strategies for enhancing our understanding of genotype-phenotype relationships and its relevance to crop improvement.

    PubMed

    Cobb, Joshua N; Declerck, Genevieve; Greenberg, Anthony; Clark, Randy; McCouch, Susan

    2013-04-01

    More accurate and precise phenotyping strategies are necessary to empower high-resolution linkage mapping and genome-wide association studies and for training genomic selection models in plant improvement. Within this framework, the objective of modern phenotyping is to increase the accuracy, precision and throughput of phenotypic estimation at all levels of biological organization while reducing costs and minimizing labor through automation, remote sensing, improved data integration and experimental design. Much like the efforts to optimize genotyping during the 1980s and 1990s, designing effective phenotyping initiatives today requires multi-faceted collaborations between biologists, computer scientists, statisticians and engineers. Robust phenotyping systems are needed to characterize the full suite of genetic factors that contribute to quantitative phenotypic variation across cells, organs and tissues, developmental stages, years, environments, species and research programs. Next-generation phenotyping generates significantly more data than previously and requires novel data management, access and storage systems, increased use of ontologies to facilitate data integration, and new statistical tools for enhancing experimental design and extracting biologically meaningful signal from environmental and experimental noise. To ensure relevance, the implementation of efficient and informative phenotyping experiments also requires familiarity with diverse germplasm resources, population structures, and target populations of environments. Today, phenotyping is quickly emerging as the major operational bottleneck limiting the power of genetic analysis and genomic prediction. The challenge for the next generation of quantitative geneticists and plant breeders is not only to understand the genetic basis of complex trait variation, but also to use that knowledge to efficiently synthesize twenty-first century crop varieties.

  14. Genotype-phenotype analysis of recombinant chromosome 4 syndrome: an array-CGH study and literature review

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Recombinant chromosome 4, a rare constitutional rearrangement arising from pericentric inversion, comprises a duplicated segment of 4p13~p15→4pter and a deleted segment of 4q35→4qter. To date, 10 cases of recombinant chromosome 4 have been reported. Result We describe the second case in which array-CGH was used to characterize recombinant chromosome 4 syndrome. The patient was a one-year old boy with consistent clinical features. Conventional cytogenetics and FISH documented a recombinant chromosome 4, derived from a paternal pericentric inversion, leading to partial trisomy 4p and partial monosomy of 4q. Array-CGH, performed to further characterize the rearranged chromosome 4 and delineate the breakpoints, documented a small (4.36 Mb) 4q35.1 terminal deletion and a large (23.81 Mb) 4p15.1 terminal duplication. Genotype-phenotype analysis of 10 previously reported cases and the present case indicated relatively consistent clinical features and breakpoints. This consistency was more evident in our case and another characterized by array-CGH, where both showed the common breakpoints of p15.1 and q35.1. A genotype-phenotype correlation study between rec(4), dup(4p), and del(4q) syndromes revealed that urogenital and cardiac defects are probably due to the deletion of 4q whereas the other clinical features are likely due to 4p duplication. Conclusion Our findings support that the clinical features of patients with rec(4) are relatively consistent and specific to the regions of duplication or deletion. Recombinant chromosome 4 syndrome thus appears to be a discrete entity that can be suspected on the basis of clinical features or specific deleted and duplicated chromosomal regions. PMID:23639048

  15. Genotype-phenotype analysis of recombinant chromosome 4 syndrome: an array-CGH study and literature review.

    PubMed

    Hemmat, Morteza; Hemmat, Omid; Anguiano, Arturo; Boyar, Fatih Z; El Naggar, Mohammed; Wang, Jia-Chi; Wang, Borris T; Sahoo, Trilochan; Owen, Renius; Haddadin, Mary

    2013-05-02

    Recombinant chromosome 4, a rare constitutional rearrangement arising from pericentric inversion, comprises a duplicated segment of 4p13~p15→4pter and a deleted segment of 4q35→4qter. To date, 10 cases of recombinant chromosome 4 have been reported. We describe the second case in which array-CGH was used to characterize recombinant chromosome 4 syndrome. The patient was a one-year old boy with consistent clinical features. Conventional cytogenetics and FISH documented a recombinant chromosome 4, derived from a paternal pericentric inversion, leading to partial trisomy 4p and partial monosomy of 4q. Array-CGH, performed to further characterize the rearranged chromosome 4 and delineate the breakpoints, documented a small (4.36 Mb) 4q35.1 terminal deletion and a large (23.81 Mb) 4p15.1 terminal duplication. Genotype-phenotype analysis of 10 previously reported cases and the present case indicated relatively consistent clinical features and breakpoints. This consistency was more evident in our case and another characterized by array-CGH, where both showed the common breakpoints of p15.1 and q35.1. A genotype-phenotype correlation study between rec(4), dup(4p), and del(4q) syndromes revealed that urogenital and cardiac defects are probably due to the deletion of 4q whereas the other clinical features are likely due to 4p duplication. Our findings support that the clinical features of patients with rec(4) are relatively consistent and specific to the regions of duplication or deletion. Recombinant chromosome 4 syndrome thus appears to be a discrete entity that can be suspected on the basis of clinical features or specific deleted and duplicated chromosomal regions.

  16. Evolutionary perspectives on the links between mitochondrial genotype and disease phenotype.

    PubMed

    Dowling, Damian K

    2014-04-01

    Disorders of the mitochondrial respiratory chain are heterogeneous in their symptoms and underlying genetics. Simple links between candidate mutations and expression of disease phenotype typically do not exist. It thus remains unclear how the genetic variation in the mitochondrial genome contributes to the phenotypic expression of complex traits and disease phenotypes. I summarize the basic genetic processes known to underpin mitochondrial disease. I highlight other plausible processes, drawn from the evolutionary biological literature, whose contribution to mitochondrial disease expression remains largely empirically unexplored. I highlight recent advances to the field, and discuss common-ground and -goals shared by researchers across medical and evolutionary domains. Mitochondrial genetic variance is linked to phenotypic variance across a variety of traits (e.g. reproductive function, life expectancy) fundamental to the upkeep of good health. Evolutionary theory predicts that mitochondrial genomes are destined to accumulate male-harming (but female-friendly) mutations, and this prediction has received proof-of-principle support. Furthermore, mitochondrial effects on the phenotype are typically manifested via interactions between mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Thus, whether a mitochondrial mutation is pathogenic in effect can depend on the nuclear genotype in which is it expressed. Many disease phenotypes associated with OXPHOS malfunction might be determined by the outcomes of mitochondrial-nuclear interactions, and by the evolutionary forces that historically shaped mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences. Concepts and results drawn from the evolutionary sciences can have broad, but currently under-utilized, applicability to the medical sciences and provide new insights into understanding the complex genetics of mitochondrial disease. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Frontiers of Mitochondrial Research. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  17. A method for determining haploid and triploid genotypes and their association with vascular phenotypes in Williams syndrome and 7q11.23 duplication syndrome.

    PubMed

    Gregory, Michael D; Kolachana, Bhaskar; Yao, Yin; Nash, Tiffany; Dickinson, Dwight; Eisenberg, Daniel P; Mervis, Carolyn B; Berman, Karen F

    2018-04-04

    Williams syndrome ([WS], 7q11.23 hemideletion) and 7q11.23 duplication syndrome (Dup7) show contrasting syndromic symptoms. However, within each group there is considerable interindividual variability in the degree to which these phenotypes are expressed. Though software exists to identify areas of copy number variation (CNV) from commonly-available SNP-chip data, this software does not provide non-diploid genotypes in CNV regions. Here, we describe a method for identifying haploid and triploid genotypes in CNV regions, and then, as a proof-of-concept for applying this information to explain clinical variability, we test for genotype-phenotype associations. Blood samples for 25 individuals with WS and 13 individuals with Dup7 were genotyped with Illumina-HumanOmni5M SNP-chips. PennCNV and in-house code were used to make genotype calls for each SNP in the 7q11.23 locus. We tested for association between the presence of aortic arteriopathy and genotypes of the remaining (haploid in WS) or duplicated (triploid in Dup7) alleles. Haploid calls in the 7q11.23 region were made for 99.0% of SNPs in the WS group, and triploid calls for 98.8% of SNPs in those with Dup7. The G allele of SNP rs2528795 in the ELN gene was associated with aortic stenosis in WS participants (p < 0.0049) while the A allele of the same SNP was associated with aortic dilation in Dup7. Commonly available SNP-chip information can be used to make haploid and triploid calls in individuals with CNVs and then to relate variability in specific genes to variability in syndromic phenotypes, as demonstrated here using aortic arteriopathy. This work sets the stage for similar genotype-phenotype analyses in CNVs where phenotypes may be more complex and/or where there is less information about genetic mechanisms.

  18. Mutation Spectrum in the Large GTPase Dynamin 2, and Genotype–Phenotype Correlation in Autosomal Dominant Centronuclear Myopathy

    PubMed Central

    Böhm, Johann; Biancalana, Valérie; DeChene, Elizabeth T.; Bitoun, Marc; Pierson, Christopher R.; Schaefer, Elise; Karasoy, Hatice; Dempsey, Melissa A.; Klein, Fabrice; Dondaine, Nicolas; Kretz, Christine; Haumesser, Nicolas; Poirson, Claire; Toussaint, Anne; Greenleaf, Rebecca S.; Barger, Melissa A.; Mahoney, Lane J.; Kang, Peter B.; Zanoteli, Edmar; Vissing, John; Witting, Nanna; Echaniz-Laguna, Andoni; Wallgren-Pettersson, Carina; Dowling, James; Merlini, Luciano; Oldfors, Anders; Ousager, Lilian Bomme; Melki, Judith; Krause, Amanda; Jern, Christina; Oliveira, Acary S. B.; Petit, Florence; Jacquette, Aurélia; Chaussenot, Annabelle; Mowat, David; Leheup, Bruno; Cristofano, Michele; Aldea, Juan José Poza; Michel, Fabrice; Furby, Alain; Llona, Jose E. Barcena; Van Coster, Rudy; Bertini, Enrico; Urtizberea, Jon Andoni; Drouin-Garraud, Valérie; Béroud, Christophe; Prudhon, Bernard; Bedford, Melanie; Mathews, Katherine; Erby, Lori A. H.; Smith, Stephen A.; Roggenbuck, Jennifer; Crowe, Carol A.; Spitale, Allison Brennan; Johal, Sheila C.; Amato, Anthony A.; Demmer, Laurie A.; Jonas, Jessica; Darras, Basil T.; Bird, Thomas D.; Laurino, Mercy; Welt, Selman I.; Trotter, Cynthia; Guicheney, Pascale; Das, Soma; Mandel, Jean-Louis; Beggs, Alan H.; Laporte, Jocelyn

    2012-01-01

    Centronuclear myopathy (CNM) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder associated with general skeletal muscle weakness, type I fiber predominance and atrophy, and abnormally centralized nuclei. Autosomal dominant CNM is due to mutations in the large GTPase dynamin 2 (DNM2), a mechanochemical enzyme regulating cytoskeleton and membrane trafficking in cells. To date, 40 families with CNM-related DNM2 mutations have been described, and here we report 60 additional families encompassing a broad genotypic and phenotypic spectrum. In total, 18 different mutations are reported in 100 families and our cohort harbors nine known and four new mutations, including the first splice-site mutation. Genotype–phenotype correlation hypotheses are drawn from the published and new data, and allow an efficient screening strategy for molecular diagnosis. In addition to CNM, dissimilar DNM2 mutations are associated with Charcot–Marie–Tooth (CMT) peripheral neuropathy (CMTD1B and CMT2M), suggesting a tissue-specific impact of the mutations. In this study, we discuss the possible clinical overlap of CNM and CMT, and the biological significance of the respective mutations based on the known functions of dynamin 2 and its protein structure. Defects in membrane trafficking due to DNM2 mutations potentially represent a common pathological mechanism in CNM and CMT. PMID:22396310

  19. Color Code: Using Hair Color to Make a Clear Connection between Genotype and Phenotype

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bonner, J. Jose

    2011-01-01

    Students may wonder why they look the way they do. The answer lies in genetics, the branch of biology that deals with heredity and the variation of inherited traits. However, understanding how an organism's genetic code (i.e., genotype) affects its characteristics (i.e., phenotype) is more than a matter of idle curiosity: It's essential for…

  20. Pathway perturbations in signaling networks: Linking genotype to phenotype.

    PubMed

    Li, Yongsheng; McGrail, Daniel J; Latysheva, Natasha; Yi, Song; Babu, M Madan; Sahni, Nidhi

    2018-05-10

    Genes and gene products interact with each other to form signal transduction networks in the cell. The interactome networks are under intricate regulation in physiological conditions, but could go awry upon genome instability caused by genetic mutations. In the past decade with next-generation sequencing technologies, an increasing number of genomic mutations have been identified in a variety of disease patients and healthy individuals. As functional and systematic studies on these mutations leap forward, they begin to reveal insights into cellular homeostasis and disease mechanisms. In this review, we discuss recent advances in the field of network biology and signaling pathway perturbations upon genomic changes, and highlight the success of various omics datasets in unraveling genotype-to-phenotype relationships. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Factor VII Deficiency: Clinical Phenotype, Genotype and Therapy.

    PubMed

    Napolitano, Mariasanta; Siragusa, Sergio; Mariani, Guglielmo

    2017-03-28

    Factor VII deficiency is the most common among rare inherited autosomal recessive bleeding disorders, and is a chameleon disease due to the lack of a direct correlation between plasma levels of coagulation Factor VII and bleeding manifestations. Clinical phenotypes range from asymptomatic condition-even in homozygous subjects-to severe life-threatening bleedings (central nervous system, gastrointestinal bleeding). Prediction of bleeding risk is thus based on multiple parameters that challenge disease management. Spontaneous or surgical bleedings require accurate treatment schedules, and patients at high risk of severe hemorrhages may need prophylaxis from childhood onwards. The aim of the current review is to depict an updated summary of clinical phenotype, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment of inherited Factor VII deficiency.

  2. Factor VII Deficiency: Clinical Phenotype, Genotype and Therapy

    PubMed Central

    Napolitano, Mariasanta; Siragusa, Sergio; Mariani, Guglielmo

    2017-01-01

    Factor VII deficiency is the most common among rare inherited autosomal recessive bleeding disorders, and is a chameleon disease due to the lack of a direct correlation between plasma levels of coagulation Factor VII and bleeding manifestations. Clinical phenotypes range from asymptomatic condition—even in homozygous subjects—to severe life-threatening bleedings (central nervous system, gastrointestinal bleeding). Prediction of bleeding risk is thus based on multiple parameters that challenge disease management. Spontaneous or surgical bleedings require accurate treatment schedules, and patients at high risk of severe hemorrhages may need prophylaxis from childhood onwards. The aim of the current review is to depict an updated summary of clinical phenotype, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment of inherited Factor VII deficiency. PMID:28350321

  3. Genotype-phenotype correlation in primary hyperoxaluria type 1: the p.Gly170Arg AGXT mutation is associated with a better outcome.

    PubMed

    Harambat, Jérôme; Fargue, Sonia; Acquaviva, Cécile; Gagnadoux, Marie-France; Janssen, Françoise; Liutkus, Aurélia; Mourani, Chebl; Macher, Marie-Alice; Abramowicz, Daniel; Legendre, Christophe; Durrbach, Antoine; Tsimaratos, Michel; Nivet, Hubert; Girardin, Eric; Schott, Anne-Marie; Rolland, Marie-Odile; Cochat, Pierre

    2010-03-01

    We sought to ascertain the long-term outcome and genotype-phenotype correlations available for primary hyperoxaluria type 1 in a large retrospective cohort study. We examined the clinical history of 155 patients (129 families primarily from Western Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East) as well as the enzymatic or genetic diagnosis. The median age at first symptom was 4 years, and at diagnosis 7.7 years, at which time 43% had reached end-stage renal disease. Presentations included: (1) early nephrocalcinosis and infantile renal failure, (2) recurrent urolithiasis and progressive renal failure diagnosed during childhood, (3) late onset with occasional stone passage diagnosed in adulthood, (4) diagnosis occurring on post-transplantation recurrence, and (5) family screening. The cumulative patient survival was 95, 86, and 74% at ages 10, 30, and 50 years, respectively, with the cumulative renal survival of 81, 59, 41, and 10% at ages 10, 20, 30, and 50 years, respectively; 72 patients had undergone a total of 97 transplantations. Among the 136 patients with DNA analysis, the most common mutation was p.Gly170Arg (allelic frequency 21.5%), with a median age at end-stage renal disease of 47 years for homozygotes, 35 years for heterozygotes, and 21 years for other mutations. Our results underscore the severe prognosis of primary hyperoxaluria type 1 and the necessity for early diagnosis and treatment, as well as confirm a better prognosis of the p.Gly170Arg mutation.

  4. A European multi-centre External Quality Assessment (EQA) study on phenotypic and genotypic methods used for Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) drug resistance testing.

    PubMed

    Afshar, Baharak; Bibby, David F; Piorkowska, Renata; Ohemeng-Kumi, Natasha; Snoeck, Robert; Andrei, Graciela; Gillemot, Sarah; Morfin, Florence; Frobert, Emilie; Burrel, Sonia; Boutolleau, David; Crowley, Brendan; Mbisa, Jean L

    2017-11-01

    Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) drug resistance is a significant public health concern among immunocompromised individuals. Phenotypic assays are considered the gold standard method for detecting HSV drug resistance. However, plaque reduction assays (PRAs) are technically demanding, often with long turnaround times of up to four weeks. In contrast, genotypic tests can be performed within a few days. The development and coordination of the first European External Quality Assessment (EQA) study to evaluate phenotypic and genotypic methods used for HSV drug resistance testing in specialised reference laboratories. Four HSV-1 or HSV-2 strains with different antiviral susceptibility profiles were isolated from clinical samples. Isolates were quantified by qPCR, and aliquoted in culture medium. One isolate was distributed at two dilutions to help assess assay sensitivity. The panel was distributed to five European centres with a six-week deadline for the return of phenotypic and genotypic results, together with clinical reports. Four out of five participating labs returned results by the deadline. Limited results were later available from the fifth lab. Phenotypic and genotypic data were largely, but not completely, concordant. An unusual resistance profile shown by one of the samples was explained by the detection of a mixed virus population after extensive further investigation by one of the centres. Discordant clinical outputs reflecting the diversity of phenotypic methodologies demonstrated the utility of this exercise. With emerging genotypic technologies looking to supplant phenotyping, there is a need for curated public databases, accessible interpretation tools and standardised control materials for quality management. By establishing a network of testing laboratories, we hope that this EQA scheme will facilitate ongoing progress in this area. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. MLL2 mutation detection in 86 patients with Kabuki syndrome: a genotype-phenotype study.

    PubMed

    Makrythanasis, P; van Bon, B W; Steehouwer, M; Rodríguez-Santiago, B; Simpson, M; Dias, P; Anderlid, B M; Arts, P; Bhat, M; Augello, B; Biamino, E; Bongers, E M H F; Del Campo, M; Cordeiro, I; Cueto-González, A M; Cuscó, I; Deshpande, C; Frysira, E; Izatt, L; Flores, R; Galán, E; Gener, B; Gilissen, C; Granneman, S M; Hoyer, J; Yntema, H G; Kets, C M; Koolen, D A; Marcelis, C l; Medeira, A; Micale, L; Mohammed, S; de Munnik, S A; Nordgren, A; Psoni, S; Reardon, W; Revencu, N; Roscioli, T; Ruiterkamp-Versteeg, M; Santos, H G; Schoumans, J; Schuurs-Hoeijmakers, J H M; Silengo, M C; Toledo, L; Vendrell, T; van der Burgt, I; van Lier, B; Zweier, C; Reymond, A; Trembath, R C; Perez-Jurado, L; Dupont, J; de Vries, B B A; Brunner, H G; Veltman, J A; Merla, G; Antonarakis, S E; Hoischen, A

    2013-12-01

    Recently, pathogenic variants in the MLL2 gene were identified as the most common cause of Kabuki (Niikawa-Kuroki) syndrome (MIM#147920). To further elucidate the genotype-phenotype correlation, we studied a large cohort of 86 clinically defined patients with Kabuki syndrome (KS) for mutations in MLL2. All patients were assessed using a standardized phenotype list and all were scored using a newly developed clinical score list for KS (MLL2-Kabuki score 0-10). Sequencing of the full coding region and intron-exon boundaries of MLL2 identified a total of 45 likely pathogenic mutations (52%): 31 nonsense, 10 missense and four splice-site mutations, 34 of which were novel. In five additional patients, novel, i.e. non-dbSNP132 variants of clinically unknown relevance, were identified. Patients with likely pathogenic nonsense or missense MLL2 mutations were usually more severely affected (median 'MLL2-Kabuki score' of 6) as compared to the patients without MLL2 mutations (median 'MLL2-Kabuki score' of 5), a significant difference (p < 0.0014). Several typical facial features such as large dysplastic ears, arched eyebrows with sparse lateral third, blue sclerae, a flat nasal tip with a broad nasal root, and a thin upper and a full lower lip were observed more often in mutation positive patients. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Clinical Features of Childhood Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia by Genotype and Ultrastructural Phenotype

    PubMed Central

    Ferkol, Thomas W.; Rosenfeld, Margaret; Lee, Hye-Seung; Dell, Sharon D.; Sagel, Scott D.; Milla, Carlos; Zariwala, Maimoona A.; Pittman, Jessica E.; Shapiro, Adam J.; Carson, Johnny L.; Krischer, Jeffrey P.; Hazucha, Milan J.; Cooper, Matthew L.; Knowles, Michael R.; Leigh, Margaret W.

    2015-01-01

    Rationale: The relationship between clinical phenotype of childhood primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and ultrastructural defects and genotype is poorly defined. Objectives: To delineate clinical features of childhood PCD and their associations with ultrastructural defects and genotype. Methods: A total of 118 participants younger than 19 years old with PCD were evaluated prospectively at six centers in North America using standardized procedures for diagnostic testing, spirometry, chest computed tomography, respiratory cultures, and clinical phenotyping. Measurements and Main Results: Clinical features included neonatal respiratory distress (82%), chronic cough (99%), and chronic nasal congestion (97%). There were no differences in clinical features or respiratory pathogens in subjects with outer dynein arm (ODA) defects (ODA alone; n = 54) and ODA plus inner dynein arm (IDA) defects (ODA + IDA; n = 18) versus subjects with IDA and central apparatus defects with microtubular disorganization (IDA/CA/MTD; n = 40). Median FEV1 was worse in the IDA/CA/MTD group (72% predicted) versus the combined ODA groups (92% predicted; P = 0.003). Median body mass index was lower in the IDA/CA/MTD group (46th percentile) versus the ODA groups (70th percentile; P = 0.003). For all 118 subjects, median number of lobes with bronchiectasis was three and alveolar consolidation was two. However, the 5- to 11-year-old IDA/CA/MTD group had more lobes of bronchiectasis (median, 5; P = 0.0008) and consolidation (median, 3; P = 0.0001) compared with the ODA groups (median, 3 and 2, respectively). Similar findings were observed when limited to participants with biallelic mutations. Conclusions: Lung disease was heterogeneous across all ultrastructural and genotype groups, but worse in those with IDA/CA/MTD ultrastructural defects, most of whom had biallelic mutations in CCDC39 or CCDC40. PMID:25493340

  7. Genotypic Complexity of Fisher’s Geometric Model

    PubMed Central

    Hwang, Sungmin; Park, Su-Chan; Krug, Joachim

    2017-01-01

    Fisher’s geometric model was originally introduced to argue that complex adaptations must occur in small steps because of pleiotropic constraints. When supplemented with the assumption of additivity of mutational effects on phenotypic traits, it provides a simple mechanism for the emergence of genotypic epistasis from the nonlinear mapping of phenotypes to fitness. Of particular interest is the occurrence of reciprocal sign epistasis, which is a necessary condition for multipeaked genotypic fitness landscapes. Here we compute the probability that a pair of randomly chosen mutations interacts sign epistatically, which is found to decrease with increasing phenotypic dimension n, and varies nonmonotonically with the distance from the phenotypic optimum. We then derive expressions for the mean number of fitness maxima in genotypic landscapes comprised of all combinations of L random mutations. This number increases exponentially with L, and the corresponding growth rate is used as a measure of the complexity of the landscape. The dependence of the complexity on the model parameters is found to be surprisingly rich, and three distinct phases characterized by different landscape structures are identified. Our analysis shows that the phenotypic dimension, which is often referred to as phenotypic complexity, does not generally correlate with the complexity of fitness landscapes and that even organisms with a single phenotypic trait can have complex landscapes. Our results further inform the interpretation of experiments where the parameters of Fisher’s model have been inferred from data, and help to elucidate which features of empirical fitness landscapes can be described by this model. PMID:28450460

  8. Identification of 16 novel mutations in the argininosuccinate synthetase gene and genotype-phenotype correlation in 38 classical citrullinemia patients.

    PubMed

    Gao, Hong-Zhi; Kobayashi, Keiko; Tabata, Ayako; Tsuge, Hideaki; Iijima, Mikio; Yasuda, Tomotsugu; Kalkanoglu, H Serap; Dursun, Ali; Tokatli, Aysegul; Coskun, Turgay; Trefz, Friedrich K; Skladal, Daniela; Mandel, Hanna; Seidel, Joerg; Kodama, Soichi; Shirane, Seiko; Ichida, Takafumi; Makino, Shigeru; Yoshino, Makoto; Kang, Jong-Hon; Mizuguchi, Masashi; Barshop, Bruce A; Fuchinoue, Shohei; Seneca, Sara; Zeesman, Susan; Knerr, Ina; Rodés, Margarita; Wasant, Pornswan; Yoshida, Ichiro; De Meirleir, Linda; Abdul Jalil, Md; Begum, Laila; Horiuchi, Masahisa; Katunuma, Nobuhiko; Nakagawa, Shiro; Saheki, Takeyori

    2003-07-01

    postpartum. However, it is still difficult to prove the genotype-phenotype correlation, because many patients were compound heterozygotes (with two different mutations), lived in different environments at the time of diagnosis, and/or had several treatment regimes or various knowledge of the disease. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  9. The Barrett's Gland in Phenotype Space.

    PubMed

    McDonald, Stuart A C; Graham, Trevor A; Lavery, Danielle L; Wright, Nicholas A; Jansen, Marnix

    2015-01-01

    Barrett's esophagus is characterized by the erosive replacement of esophageal squamous epithelium by a range of metaplastic glandular phenotypes. These glandular phenotypes likely change over time, and their distribution varies along the Barrett's segment. Although much recent work has addressed Barrett's esophagus from the genomic viewpoint-its genotype space- the fact that the phenotype of Barrett's esophagus is nonstatic points to conversion between phenotypes and suggests that Barrett's esophagus also exists in phenotype space . Here we explore this latter concept, investigating the scope of glandular phenotypes in Barrett's esophagus and how they exist in physical and temporal space as well as their evolution and their life history. We conclude that individual Barrett's glands are clonal units; because of this important fact, we propose that it is the Barrett's gland that is the unit of selection in phenotypic and indeed neoplastic progression. Transition between metaplastic phenotypes may be governed by neutral drift akin to niche turnover in normal and dysplastic niches. In consequence, the phenotype of Barrett's glands assumes considerable importance, and we make a strong plea for the integration of the Barrett's gland in both genotype and phenotype space in future work.

  10. Severe Enterovirus Infections in Hospitalized Children in the South of England: Clinical Phenotypes and Causative Genotypes.

    PubMed

    de Graaf, Hans; Pelosi, Emanuela; Cooper, Andrea; Pappachan, John; Sykes, Kim; MacIntosh, Iain; Gbesemete, Diane; Clark, Tristan W; Patel, Sanjay V; Faust, Saul N; Tebruegge, Marc

    2016-07-01

    Most enterovirus surveillance studies lack detailed clinical data, which limits their clinical usefulness. This study aimed to describe the clinical spectrum and outcome of severe enterovirus infections in children, and to determine whether there are associations between causative enterovirus genotypes and clinical phenotypes. Retrospective analysis of microbiological and clinical data from a tertiary children's hospital in the South of England over a 17-month period (2012-2013). In total, 30 patients were identified, comprising sepsis (n = 9), myocarditis (n = 8), meningitis (n = 8) and encephalitis (n = 5). Cases with sepsis or myocarditis were significantly younger than those with central nervous system disease (median age 21 and 15 days vs. 79 days; P = 0.0244 and P = 0.0310, respectively). There was considerable diversity in the causative genotypes in each of the clinical phenotypes, with some predominance of echoviruses in the meningitis group, and coxsackie B viruses in the myocarditis group. Thirteen cases required mechanical ventilation, 11 cases inotropic support, 3 cases dialysis and 3 cases extracorporal membrane oxygenation. The overall mortality was 10% (sepsis group, n = 1; myocarditis group, n = 2). Of the survivors, 5 (19%) had long-term sequelae (myocardial dysfunction, n = 2; neurological sequelae, n = 3). Patients with encephalitis had the longest hospital stay (median: 16 days), compared with 9, 6 and 3 days in patients with myocarditis, sepsis and meningitis, respectively (P = 0.005). Enterovirus infections, particularly enteroviral myocarditis and encephalitis, can cause significant morbidity and mortality. The results show that there are currently no strong associations between clinical phenotypes and particular causative enterovirus genotypes in the South of England.

  11. Genotypic and phenotypic evaluation of off-type grasses in hybrid Bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. x C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy] putting greens using genotyping-by-sequencing and morphological characterization.

    PubMed

    Reasor, Eric H; Brosnan, James T; Staton, Margaret E; Lane, Thomas; Trigiano, Robert N; Wadl, Phillip A; Conner, Joann A; Schwartz, Brian M

    2018-01-01

    Interspecific hybrid bermudagrass [ Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. x C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy] is one of the most widely used grasses on golf courses, with cultivars derived from 'Tifgreen' or 'Tifdwarf' particularly used for putting greens. Many bermudagrass cultivars established for putting greens can be genetically unstable and lead to the occurrence of undesirable off-type grasses that vary in phenotype. The objective of this research was to genetically and phenotypically differentiate off-type grasses and hybrid cultivars. Beginning in 2013, off-type and desirable hybrid bermudagrass samples were collected from golf course putting greens in the southeastern United States and genetically and phenotypically characterized using genotyping-by-sequencing and morphology. Genotyping-by-sequencing determined that 11% (5) of off-type and desirable samples from putting greens were genetically divergent from standard cultivars such as Champion, MiniVerde, Tifdwarf, TifEagle, and Tifgreen. In addition, genotyping-by-sequencing was unable to genetically distinguish all standard cultivars from one another due to their similar origin and clonal propagation; however, over 90,000 potentially informative nucleotide variants were identified among the triploid hybrid cultivars. Although few genetic differences were found in this research, samples harvested from golf course putting greens had variable morphology and were clustered into three distinct phenotypic groups. The majority of off-type grasses in hybrid bermudagrass putting greens were genetically similar with variable morphological traits. Off-type grasses within golf course putting greens have the potential to compromise putting surface functionality and aesthetics.

  12. High genotypic and phenotypic similarity among Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O111 environmental and outbreak strains.

    PubMed

    Diodati, Michelle E; Bates, Anne H; Cooley, Michael B; Walker, Samarpita; Mandrell, Robert E; Brandl, Maria T

    2015-03-01

    Escherichia coli serogroup O111 is among the six most commonly reported non-O157:H7 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), which are emerging as important foodborne pathogens. We have assembled a collection of environmental and clinical strains of E. coli O111 from diverse sources and investigated various genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of these strains to gain a better understanding of the epidemiology and biology of this serogroup. Sixty-three percent of the strains (24/38) were of H-type 8, which dominated the environmental- and outbreak-strains group, whereas the sporadic-case strains were more heterogeneous in H-type. All of the environmental and outbreak strains harbored the Shiga toxin 1 gene (stx1), eae, and ehx, and a subset of these also carried the Shiga toxin 2 gene (stx2). Only 9 of 16 sporadic-case strains produced stx1 and/or stx2, and these were mostly of H-type 8 and 10. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis revealed a cluster of environmental, outbreak, and sporadic illness strains with high phylogenetic similarity. Strains in this pulsogroup were all of the H8 type and STEC pathotype, and carried eae and ehx. Smaller clusters of highly similar STEC O111 strains included outbreak and sporadic illness strains isolated during different time periods or from different geographical locations. A distinct aggregative behavior was observed in the cultures of all environmental and outbreak STEC O111 strains, but not in those of sporadic-case strains. Among environmental and outbreaks strains, aggregation was positively correlated with production of curli fimbriae and RpoS function, and negatively with cellulose synthesis, while the nonaggregative behavior of sporadic-case strains correlated (positively) only with cellulose production. Our results indicate that STEC O111 strains sharing high genotypic similarity and important phenotypic traits with STEC O111 outbreak strains are present in the agricultural environment and may contribute to the

  13. Integrating Multiple Correlated Phenotypes for Genetic Association Analysis by Maximizing Heritability

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Jin J.; Cho, Michael H.; Lange, Christoph; Lutz, Sharon; Silverman, Edwin K.; Laird, Nan M.

    2015-01-01

    Many correlated disease variables are analyzed jointly in genetic studies in the hope of increasing power to detect causal genetic variants. One approach involves assessing the relationship between each phenotype and each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) individually and using a Bonferroni correction for the effective number of tests conducted. Alternatively, one can apply a multivariate regression or a dimension reduction technique, such as principal component analysis (PCA), and test for the association with the principal components (PC) of the phenotypes rather than the individual phenotypes. Inspired by the previous approaches of combining phenotypes to maximize heritability at individual SNPs, in this paper, we propose to construct a maximally heritable phenotype (MaxH) by taking advantage of the estimated total heritability and co-heritability. The heritability and co-heritability only need to be estimated once, therefore our method is applicable to genome-wide scans. MaxH phenotype is a linear combination of the individual phenotypes with increased heritability and power over the phenotypes being combined. Simulations show that the heritability and power achieved agree well with the theory for large samples and two phenotypes. We compare our approach with commonly used methods and assess both the heritability and the power of the MaxH phenotype. Moreover we provide suggestions for how to choose the phenotypes for combination. An application of our approach to a COPD genome-wide association study shows the practical relevance. PMID:26111731

  14. Short communication prevalence of susceptibility to etravirine by genotype and phenotype in samples received for routine HIV type 1 resistance testing in the United States.

    PubMed

    Picchio, Gaston; Vingerhoets, Johan; Tambuyzer, Lotke; Coakley, Eoin; Haddad, Mojgan; Witek, James

    2011-12-01

    Abstract The prevalence of susceptibility to etravirine was investigated among clinical samples submitted for routine clinical testing in the United States using two separate weighted genotypic scoring systems. The presence of etravirine mutations and susceptibility to etravirine by phenotype of clinical samples from HIV-1-infected patients, submitted to Monogram Biosciences for routine resistance testing between June 2008 and June 2009, were analyzed. Susceptibility by genotype was determined using the Monogram and Tibotec etravirine-weighted genotypic scoring systems, with scores of ≤3 and ≤2, respectively, indicating full susceptibility. Susceptibility by phenotype was determined using the PhenoSense HIV assay, with lower and higher clinical cut-offs of 2.9 and 10, respectively. The frequency of individual etravirine mutations and the impact of the K103N mutation on susceptibility to etravirine by genotype were also determined. Among the 5482 samples with ≥1 defined nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) mutations associated with resistance, 67% were classed as susceptible to etravirine by genotype by both scoring systems. Susceptibility to etravirine by phenotype was higher (76%). The proportion of first-generation NNRTI-resistant samples with (n=3598) and without (n=1884) K103N with susceptibility to etravirine by genotype was 77% and 49%, respectively. Among samples susceptible to first-generation NNRTIs (n=9458), >99% of samples were susceptible to etravirine by phenotype (FC <2.9); the remaining samples had FC ≥2.9-10. In summary, among samples submitted for routine clinical testing in the United States, a high proportion of samples with first-generation NNRTI resistance was susceptible to etravirine by genotype and phenotype. A higher proportion of NNRTI-resistant samples with K103N than without was susceptible to etravirine.

  15. Poor phenotype-genotype association in a large series of patients with Type III Bartter syndrome.

    PubMed

    García Castaño, Alejandro; Pérez de Nanclares, Gustavo; Madariaga, Leire; Aguirre, Mireia; Madrid, Álvaro; Chocrón, Sara; Nadal, Inmaculada; Navarro, Mercedes; Lucas, Elena; Fijo, Julia; Espino, Mar; Espitaletta, Zilac; García Nieto, Víctor; Barajas de Frutos, David; Loza, Reyner; Pintos, Guillem; Castaño, Luis; Ariceta, Gema

    2017-01-01

    Type III Bartter syndrome (BS) is an autosomal recessive renal tubule disorder caused by loss-of-function mutations in the CLCNKB gene, which encodes the chloride channel protein ClC-Kb. In this study, we carried out a complete clinical and genetic characterization in a cohort of 30 patients, one of the largest series described. By comparing with other published populations, and considering that 80% of our patients presented the p.Ala204Thr Spanish founder mutation presumably associated with a common phenotype, we aimed to test the hypothesis that allelic differences could explain the wide phenotypic variability observed in patients with type III BS. Clinical data were retrieved from the referral centers. The exon regions and flanking intronic sequences of the CLCNKB gene were screened for mutations by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by direct Sanger sequencing. Presence of gross deletions or duplications in the region was checked for by MLPA and QMPSF analyses. Polyuria, polydipsia and dehydration were the main common symptoms. Metabolic alkalosis and hypokalemia of renal origin were detected in all patients at diagnosis. Calciuria levels were variable: hypercalciuria was detected in 31% of patients, while 23% had hypocalciuria. Nephrocalcinosis was diagnosed in 20% of the cohort. Two novel CLCNKB mutations were identified: a small homozygous deletion (c.753delG) in one patient and a small deletion (c.1026delC) in another. The latter was present in compound heterozygosis with the already previously described p.Glu442Gly mutation. No phenotypic association was obtained regarding the genotype. A poor correlation was found between a specific type of mutation in the CLCNKB gene and type III BS phenotype. Importantly, two CLCNKB mutations not previously described were found in our cohort.

  16. Poor phenotype-genotype association in a large series of patients with Type III Bartter syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Pérez de Nanclares, Gustavo; Madariaga, Leire; Aguirre, Mireia; Madrid, Álvaro; Chocrón, Sara; Nadal, Inmaculada; Navarro, Mercedes; Lucas, Elena; Fijo, Julia; Espino, Mar; Espitaletta, Zilac; García Nieto, Víctor; Barajas de Frutos, David; Loza, Reyner; Pintos, Guillem; Castaño, Luis; Ariceta, Gema

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Type III Bartter syndrome (BS) is an autosomal recessive renal tubule disorder caused by loss-of-function mutations in the CLCNKB gene, which encodes the chloride channel protein ClC-Kb. In this study, we carried out a complete clinical and genetic characterization in a cohort of 30 patients, one of the largest series described. By comparing with other published populations, and considering that 80% of our patients presented the p.Ala204Thr Spanish founder mutation presumably associated with a common phenotype, we aimed to test the hypothesis that allelic differences could explain the wide phenotypic variability observed in patients with type III BS. Methods Clinical data were retrieved from the referral centers. The exon regions and flanking intronic sequences of the CLCNKB gene were screened for mutations by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by direct Sanger sequencing. Presence of gross deletions or duplications in the region was checked for by MLPA and QMPSF analyses. Results Polyuria, polydipsia and dehydration were the main common symptoms. Metabolic alkalosis and hypokalemia of renal origin were detected in all patients at diagnosis. Calciuria levels were variable: hypercalciuria was detected in 31% of patients, while 23% had hypocalciuria. Nephrocalcinosis was diagnosed in 20% of the cohort. Two novel CLCNKB mutations were identified: a small homozygous deletion (c.753delG) in one patient and a small deletion (c.1026delC) in another. The latter was present in compound heterozygosis with the already previously described p.Glu442Gly mutation. No phenotypic association was obtained regarding the genotype. Conclusion A poor correlation was found between a specific type of mutation in the CLCNKB gene and type III BS phenotype. Importantly, two CLCNKB mutations not previously described were found in our cohort. PMID:28288174

  17. Effect of sporophytic PIRL9 genotype on post-meiotic expression of the Arabidopsis pirl1;pirl9 mutant pollen phenotype.

    PubMed

    Forsthoefel, Nancy R; Vernon, Daniel M

    2011-02-01

    Plant intracellular ras-group-related leucine-rich repeat proteins (PIRLs) are a novel class of plant leucine-rich repeat (LRR) proteins structurally related to animal ras-group LRRs involved in cell signaling and gene regulation. Gene knockout analysis has shown that two members of the Arabidopsis thaliana PIRL gene family, PIRL1 and PIRL9, are redundant and essential for pollen development and viability: pirl1;pirl9 microspores produced by pirl1/PIRL1;pirl9 plants consistently abort just before pollen mitosis I. qrt1 tetrad analysis demonstrated that the genes become essential after meiosis, during anther stage 10. In this study, we characterized the phenotype of pirl1;pirl9 pollen produced by plants heterozygous for pirl9 (pirl1;pirl9/PIRL9). Alexander's staining, scanning electron microscopy, and fluorescence microscopy indicated that pirl1;pirl9 double mutants produced by pirl9 heterozygotes have a less severe phenotype and more variable morphology than pirl1;pirl9 pollen from pirl1/PIRL1;pirl9 plants. Mutant pollen underwent developmental arrest with variable timing, often progressing beyond pollen mitosis I and arresting at the binucleate stage. Thus, although the pirl1 and pirl9 mutations act post-meiosis, the timing and expressivity of the pirl1;pirl9 pollen phenotype depends on the pirl9 genotype of the parent plant. These results suggest a continued requirement for PIRL1 and PIRL9 beyond the initiation of pollen mitosis. Furthermore, they reveal a modest but novel sporophytic effect in which parent plant genotype influences a mutant phenotype expressed in the haploid generation.

  18. Genotype-phenotype analysis of a rare type of osteogenesis imperfecta in four Chinese families with WNT1 mutations.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yi; Song, Lijie; Ma, Doudou; Lv, Fang; Xu, Xiaojie; Wang, Jianyi; Xia, Weibo; Jiang, Yan; Wang, Ou; Song, Yuwen; Xing, Xiaoping; Asan; Li, Mei

    2016-10-01

    Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare inherited disease characterized by increased bone fragility and vulnerability to fractures. Recently, WNT1 is identified as a new candidate gene for OI, here we detect pathogenic mutations in WNT1 and analyze the genotype-phenotype association in four Chinese families with OI. We designed a targeted next generation sequencing panel with known fourteen OI-related genes. We applied the approach to detect pathogenic mutations in OI patients and confirmed the mutations with Sanger sequencing and cosegregation analysis. Clinical fractures, bone mineral density (BMD) and the other clinical manifestations were evaluated. We also observed the effects of bisphosphonates in OI patients with WNT1 mutations. Four compound heterozygous mutations (c.110T>C; c.505 G>T; c. 385G>A; c.506 G>A) in WNT1 were detected in three unrelated families. These four mutations had not been reported yet. A recurrent homozygous mutation (c.506dupG) was identified in the other two families. These patients had moderate to severe OI, white to blue sclera, absence of dentinogenesis imperfecta and no brain malformation. We did not observe clear genotype-phenotype correlation in WNT1 mutated OI patients. Though bisphosphonates increased BMD in WNT1 related OI patients, height did not increase and fracture continued. We reported four novel heterozygous variants and confirmed a previous reported WNT1 mutation in four Chinese families with a clinical diagnosis of OI. Our study expanded OI spectrum and confirmed moderate to severe bone fragility induced by WNT1 defects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Discovery of four recessive developmental disorders using probabilistic genotype and phenotype matching among 4,125 families

    PubMed Central

    Ansari, Morad; Balasubramanian, Meena; Blyth, Moira; Brady, Angela F.; Clayton, Stephen; Cole, Trevor; Deshpande, Charu; Fitzgerald, Tomas W.; Foulds, Nicola; Francis, Richard; Gabriel, George; Gerety, Sebastian S.; Goodship, Judith; Hobson, Emma; Jones, Wendy D.; Joss, Shelagh; King, Daniel; Klena, Nikolai; Kumar, Ajith; Lees, Melissa; Lelliott, Chris; Lord, Jenny; McMullan, Dominic; O'Regan, Mary; Osio, Deborah; Piombo, Virginia; Prigmore, Elena; Rajan, Diana; Rosser, Elisabeth; Sifrim, Alejandro; Smith, Audrey; Swaminathan, Ganesh J.; Turnpenny, Peter; Whitworth, James; Wright, Caroline F.; Firth, Helen V.; Barrett, Jeffrey C.; Lo, Cecilia W.; FitzPatrick, David R.; Hurles, Matthew E.

    2018-01-01

    Discovery of most autosomal recessive disease genes has involved analysis of large, often consanguineous, multiplex families or small cohorts of unrelated individuals with a well-defined clinical condition. Discovery of novel dominant causes of rare, genetically heterogenous developmental disorders has been revolutionized by exome analysis of large cohorts of phenotypically diverse parent-offspring trios 1,2. Here we analysed 4,125 families with diverse, rare, genetically heterogeneous developmental disorders and identified four novel autosomal recessive disorders. These four disorders were identified by integrating Mendelian filtering (identifying probands with rare biallelic putatively damaging variants in the same gene) with statistical assessments of (i) the likelihood of sampling the observed genotypes from the general population, and (ii) the phenotypic similarity of patients with the same recessive candidate gene. This new paradigm promises to catalyse discovery of novel recessive disorders, especially those with less consistent or nonspecific clinical presentations, and those caused predominantly by compound heterozygous genotypes. PMID:26437029

  20. Discovery of four recessive developmental disorders using probabilistic genotype and phenotype matching among 4,125 families.

    PubMed

    Akawi, Nadia; McRae, Jeremy; Ansari, Morad; Balasubramanian, Meena; Blyth, Moira; Brady, Angela F; Clayton, Stephen; Cole, Trevor; Deshpande, Charu; Fitzgerald, Tomas W; Foulds, Nicola; Francis, Richard; Gabriel, George; Gerety, Sebastian S; Goodship, Judith; Hobson, Emma; Jones, Wendy D; Joss, Shelagh; King, Daniel; Klena, Nikolai; Kumar, Ajith; Lees, Melissa; Lelliott, Chris; Lord, Jenny; McMullan, Dominic; O'Regan, Mary; Osio, Deborah; Piombo, Virginia; Prigmore, Elena; Rajan, Diana; Rosser, Elisabeth; Sifrim, Alejandro; Smith, Audrey; Swaminathan, Ganesh J; Turnpenny, Peter; Whitworth, James; Wright, Caroline F; Firth, Helen V; Barrett, Jeffrey C; Lo, Cecilia W; FitzPatrick, David R; Hurles, Matthew E

    2015-11-01

    Discovery of most autosomal recessive disease-associated genes has involved analysis of large, often consanguineous multiplex families or small cohorts of unrelated individuals with a well-defined clinical condition. Discovery of new dominant causes of rare, genetically heterogeneous developmental disorders has been revolutionized by exome analysis of large cohorts of phenotypically diverse parent-offspring trios. Here we analyzed 4,125 families with diverse, rare and genetically heterogeneous developmental disorders and identified four new autosomal recessive disorders. These four disorders were identified by integrating Mendelian filtering (selecting probands with rare, biallelic and putatively damaging variants in the same gene) with statistical assessments of (i) the likelihood of sampling the observed genotypes from the general population and (ii) the phenotypic similarity of patients with recessive variants in the same candidate gene. This new paradigm promises to catalyze the discovery of novel recessive disorders, especially those with less consistent or nonspecific clinical presentations and those caused predominantly by compound heterozygous genotypes.

  1. Phylogenetic analysis of Newcastle disease viruses from Bangladesh suggests continuing evolution of genotype XIII.

    PubMed

    Barman, Lalita Rani; Nooruzzaman, Mohammed; Sarker, Rahul Deb; Rahman, Md Tazinur; Saife, Md Rajib Bin; Giasuddin, Mohammad; Das, Bidhan Chandra; Das, Priya Mohan; Chowdhury, Emdadul Haque; Islam, Mohammad Rafiqul

    2017-10-01

    A total of 23 Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolates from Bangladesh taken between 2010 and 2012 were characterized on the basis of partial F gene sequences. All the isolates belonged to genotype XIII of class II NDV but segregated into three sub-clusters. One sub-cluster with 17 isolates aligned with sub-genotype XIIIc. The other two sub-clusters were phylogenetically distinct from the previously described sub-genotypes XIIIa, XIIIb and XIIIc and could be candidates of new sub-genotypes; however, that needs to be validated through full-length F gene sequence data. The results of the present study suggest that genotype XIII NDVs are under continuing evolution in Bangladesh.

  2. Transferrin saturation phenotype and HFE genotype screening for hemochromatosis and primary iron overload: predictions from a model based on national, racial, and ethnic group composition in central Alabama.

    PubMed

    Barton, J C; Acton, R T

    2000-01-01

    There is interest in general population screening for hemochromatosis and other primary iron overload disorders, although not all persons are at equal risk. We developed a model to estimate the numbers of persons in national, racial, or ethnic population subgroups in Jefferson County, Alabama, who would be detected using transferrin saturation (phenotype) or HFE mutation analysis (genotype) screening. Approximately 62% are Caucasians, 37% are African Americans, and the remainder are Hispanics, Asians, or Native Americans. The predicted phenotype frequencies are greatest in a Caucasian subgroup, ethnicity unspecified, which consists predominantly of persons of Scotch and Irish descent (0.0065 men, 0.0046 women), and in African Americans (0.0089 men, 0.0085 women). Frequencies of the HFE genotype C282Y/C282Y > or = 0.0001 are predicted to occur only among Caucasians; the greatest frequency (0.0080) was predicted to occur in the ethnicity-unspecified Caucasian population. C282Y/C282Y frequency estimates were lower in Italian, Greek, and Jewish subgroups. There is excellent agreement in the numbers of the ethnicity-unspecified Caucasians who would be detected using phenotype and genotype criteria. Our model also indicates that phenotyping would identify more persons with primary iron overload than would genotyping in our Italian Caucasian, Hispanic, and African American subgroups. This is consistent with previous observations that indicate that primary iron overload disorders in persons of southern Italian descent and African Americans are largely attributable to non-HFE alleles. Because the proportions of population subgroups and their genetic constitution may differ significantly in other geographic regions, we suggest that models similar to the present one be constructed to predict optimal screening strategies for primary iron overload disorders.

  3. Molecular cytogenetics characterization of seven small supernumerary marker chromosomes derived from chromosome 19: Genotype-phenotype correlation and review of the literature.

    PubMed

    Recalcati, Maria Paola; Bonati, Maria Teresa; Beltrami, Nicola; Cardarelli, Laura; Catusi, Ilaria; Costa, Asia; Garzo, Maria; Mammi, Isabella; Mattina, Teresa; Nalesso, Elisa; Nardone, Anna Maria; Postorivo, Diana; Sajeva, Anna; Varricchio, Aminta; Verri, Annapia; Villa, Nicoletta; Larizza, Lidia; Giardino, Daniela

    2018-03-01

    Only a few subjects carrying supernumerary marker chromosomes derived from 19 chromosome (sSMC(19)) have been described to date and for a small portion of them the genic content has been defined at the molecular level. We present seven new different sSMCs(19) identified in eight individuals, seven of whom unrelated. The presence of the sSMC is associated with a clinical phenotype in five subjects, while the other three carriers, two of whom related, are normal. All sSMCs(19) have been characterized by means of conventional and molecular cytogenetics. We compare the sSMCs(19) carriers with a clinical phenotype to already described patients with gains (sSMCs or microduplications) of overlapping genomic regions with the aim to deepen the pathogenicity of the encountered imbalances and to assess the role of the involved genes on the phenotype. The present work supports the correlation between the gain of some chromosome 19 critical regions and specific phenotypes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  4. Genotypic and phenotypic β-lactam resistance and presence of PVL gene in Staphylococci from dry bovine udder

    PubMed Central

    Sivasailam, Asok; Sasidharan, Suchithra; Kollannur, Justin Davis; Syam, Radhika

    2017-01-01

    Dairy cows affected with subclinical mastitis can be sources of virulent, antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococci to humans because of the excretion of the bacteria through their milk. This study focussed on the phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic resistance patterns of Staphylococci isolated from dairy cows in early dry period. Among 96 isolates of Gram positive cocci from 157 cows, 76 were identified as Coagulase Negative Staphylococci and the remaining 20 were Staphylococcus aureus. Typical amplicons of coagulase gene were obtained for all 20 samples of S. aureus with three major coagulase types being identified as giving 627 bp (40%), 910 bp (35%) and 710 bp (25%) long PCR products. The groEL gene was amplified in PCR of all 76 isolates of Coagulase Negative Staphylococci, and incubation of PCR products with restriction enzyme PvuII yielded three distinct PCR-RFLP fragment patterns bearing resemblance to S. chromogenes and S. hyicus. Highest sensitivity of Coagulase Negative Staphylococci was noted for Azithromycin (92.5%) and the least to Tetracyclines (76.3%), whereas for S. aureus, it was Cefoperazone (95%) and Azithromycin (72.2%) respectively. Phenotypic resistance to Oxacillin (25 isolates), and Cefoxitin (11 isolates) was detected by dilution method with a commercial strip (Ezy MICTM). Genotypic resistance to β-Lactam antibiotics was found in 65 (34 with mecA gene and 31 with blaZ gene) isolates. Eighteen isolates possessed both the genes, with the PVL gene for virulence being detected in five of them. Nine isolates which had mecA gene were phenotypically susceptible to oxacillin while phenotypic resistance to oxacillin was observed in seven isolates that did not have either mecA or blaZ gene. This is the first report of persistent Staphylococcal infections possessing PVL gene and high level of genotypic resistance to β-Lactam antibiotics in small- holder dairy cattle from India. PMID:29091956

  5. Arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT2) mutations and their allelic linkage in unrelated caucasian individuals: Correlation with phenotypic activity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cascorbi, I.; Drakoulis, N.; Brockmoeller, J.

    1995-09-01

    The polymorphic arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT2; EC2.3.1.5) is supposed to be a susceptibility factor for several drug side effects and certain malignancies. A group of 844 unrelated German subjects was genotyped for their acetylation type, and 563 of them were also phenotyped. Seven mutations of the NAT2 gene were evaluated by allele-specific PCR (mutation 341C to T) and PCR-RFLP for mutations at nt positions 191, 282, 481, 590, 803, and 857. From the mutation pattern eight different alleles, including the wild type coding for rapid acetylation and seven alleles coding for slow phenotype, were determined. Four hundred ninety-seven subjects had amore » genotype of slow acetylation (58.9%; 95% confidence limits 55.5%-62.2%). Phenotypic acetylation capacity was expressed as the ratio of 5-acetylamino-6-formylamino-3-methyluracil and 1-methylxanthine in urine after caffeine intake. Some 6.7% of the cases deviated in genotype and phenotype, but sequencing DNA of these probands revealed no new mutations. Furthermore, linkage pattern of the mutations was always confirmed, as tested in 533 subjects. In vivo acetylation capacity of homozygous wild-type subjects (NAT2{sup *}4/{sup *}4) was significantly higher than in heterozygous genotypes (P = .001). All mutant alleles showed low in vivo acetylation capacities, including the previously not-yet-defined alleles {sup *}5A, {sup *}5C, and {sup *}13. Moreover, distinct slow genotypes differed significantly among each other, as reflected in lower acetylation capacity of {sup *}6A, {sup *}7B, and {sup *}13 alleles than the group of {sup *}5 alleles. The study demonstrated differential phenotypic activity of various NAT2 genes and gives a solid basis for clinical and molecular-epidemiological investigations. 34 refs., 4 figs., 7 tabs.« less

  6. Genotype-phenotype relations for the Parkinson's Disease genes Parkin, PINK1, DJ1: MDSGene Systematic Review.

    PubMed

    Kasten, Meike; Hartmann, Corinna; Hampf, Jennie; Schaake, Susen; Westenberger, Ana; Vollstedt, Eva-Juliane; Balck, Alexander; Domingo, Aloysius; Vulinovic, Franca; Dulovic, Marija; Zorn, Ingo; Madoev, Harutyun; Zehnle, Hanna; Lembeck, Christina M; Schawe, Leopold; Reginold, Jennifer; Huang, Jana; König, Inke R; Bertram, Lars; Marras, Connie; Lohmann, Katja; Lill, Christina M; Klein, Christine

    2018-04-11

    This first comprehensive MDSGene review is devoted to the 3 autosomal recessive Parkinson's disease forms: PARK-Parkin, PARK-PINK1, and PARK-DJ1. It followed MDSGene's standardized data extraction protocol and screened a total of 3652 citations and is based on fully curated phenotypic and genotypic data on >1100 patients with recessively inherited PD because of 221 different disease-causing mutations in Parkin, PINK1, or DJ1. All these data are also available in an easily searchable online database (www.mdsgene.org), which also provides descriptive summary statistics on phenotypic and genetic data. Despite the high degree of missingness of phenotypic features and unsystematic reporting of genotype data in the original literature, the present review recapitulates many of the previously described findings including early onset (median age at onset of ∼30 years for carriers of at least 2 mutations in any of the 3 genes) of an overall clinically typical form of PD with excellent treatment response, dystonia and dyskinesia being relatively common and cognitive decline relatively uncommon. However, when comparing actual data with common expert knowledge in previously published reviews, we detected several discrepancies. We conclude that systematic reporting of phenotypes is a pressing need in light of increasingly available molecular genetic testing and the emergence of first gene-specific therapies entering clinical trials. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

  7. Orphan missense mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator: A three-step biological approach to establishing a correlation between genotype and phenotype.

    PubMed

    Fresquet, Fleur; Clement, Romain; Norez, Caroline; Sterlin, Adélaïde; Melin, Patricia; Becq, Frédéric; Kitzis, Alain; Thoreau, Vincent; Bilan, Frédéric

    2011-09-01

    More than 1860 mutations have been found within the human cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene sequence. These mutations can be classified according to their degree of severity in CF disease. Although the most common mutations are well characterized, few data are available for rare mutations. Thus, genetic counseling is particularly difficult when fetuses or patients with CF present these orphan variations. We describe a three-step in vitro assay that can evaluate rare missense CFTR mutation consequences to establish a correlation between genotype and phenotype. By using a green fluorescent protein-tagged CFTR construct, we expressed mutated proteins in COS-7 cells. CFTR trafficking was visualized by confocal microscopy, and the cellular localization of CFTR was determined using intracellular markers. We studied the CFTR maturation process using Western blot analysis and evaluated CFTR channel activity by automated iodide efflux assays. Of six rare mutations that we studied, five have been isolated in our laboratory. The cellular and functional impact that we observed in each case was compared with the clinical data concerning the patients in whom we encountered these mutations. In conclusion, we propose that performing this type of analysis for orphan CFTR missense mutations can improve CF genetic counseling. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Investigative Pathology and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Correlation of ultra-widefield fundus autofluorescence patterns with the underlying genotype in retinal dystrophies and retinitis pigmentosa.

    PubMed

    Trichonas, George; Traboulsi, Elias I; Ehlers, Justis P

    2017-01-01

    Ultra-widefield fundus autofluorescence (UW-FAF) allows the characterization of the peripheral retinal features of vitreoretinal diseases. The purpose of this study was to examine possible genotypic/phenotypic correlations of UW-FAF patterns in patients with a variety of retinal dystrophies and retinitis pigmentosa (RP). An IRB-approved retrospective consecutive case series study was performed of genetically characterized retinal dystrophy or RP patients who underwent UW-FAF imaging. UW-FAF was performed with the Optos 200Tx system. Clinical variables, genotypic analysis, and phenotypic characteristics were reviewed. Seventeen patients were identified who had identified mutations in retinal dystrophy or RP genes and who also had undergone UW-FAF. Three patients had X-linked RP with RPGR mutations. Six patients had autosomal dominant RP (four with RHO mutations and one with a PRPF31 mutation, and one with RDS/PRPH2 mutation). Four patients had autosomal recessive RP (four with USH2A mutations). Three patients had Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA) with mutations including CRB1, CEP290, and RPGRIP1. Macular hyperautofluorescence was noted in all patients. A ring of hyperautofluorescence was clear in patients with RHO and USH2A mutations, and patients with USH2A mutations demonstrated a second ring of hyperautofluorescence. In the periphery, patients with RHO or RPGR mutations exhibited hyperautofluorescence with patchy areas of hypoautofluorescence. Patients with USH2A mutations had a distinctive pattern of diffuse and homogeneous peripheral hypoautofluorescence. UW-FAF may provide important information to facilitate diagnosis and further research is needed to better characterize this technology as an imaging biomarker for genotype association in retinal dystrophies and RP.

  9. Histotype-genotype correlation in 36 high-grade endometrial carcinomas.

    PubMed

    Hoang, Lien N; McConechy, Melissa K; Köbel, Martin; Han, Guangming; Rouzbahman, Marjan; Davidson, Ben; Irving, Julie; Ali, Rola H; Leung, Sam; McAlpine, Jessica N; Oliva, Esther; Nucci, Marisa R; Soslow, Robert A; Huntsman, David G; Gilks, C Blake; Lee, Cheng-Han

    2013-09-01

    Endometrioid, serous, and clear cell carcinomas are the major types of endometrial carcinoma. Histologic distinction between these different tumor types can be difficult in high-grade cases, in which significant interobserver diagnostic disagreement exists. Endometrioid and clear cell carcinomas frequently harbor ARID1A and/or PTEN mutations. Serous carcinoma acquires TP53 mutations/inactivation at onset, with a significant subset harboring an additional mutation in PPP2R1A. This study examines the correlation between tumor histotype and genotype in 36 previously genotyped high-grade endometrial carcinomas. This included 23 endometrioid/clear cell genotype and 13 serous genotype tumors. Eight subspecialty pathologists reviewed representative online slides and rendered diagnoses before and after receiving p53, p16, and estrogen receptor immunostaining results. κ statistics for histotype-genotype concordance were calculated. The average κ values for histotype-genotype concordance was 0.55 (range, 0.30 to 0.67) on the basis of morphologic evaluation alone and it improved to 0.68 (range, 0.54 to 0.81) after immunophenotype consideration (P<0.001). Genotype-incompatible diagnoses were rendered by at least 2 pathologists in 12 of 36 cases (33%) (3 cases by 2/8 pathologists, 2 by 3/8, 2 by 4/8, 3 by 6/8, 1 by 7/8, and 1 case by 8/8 pathologists). Six of the 12 were endometrioid/clear cell genotype tumors, and the other 6 were serous genotype tumors. The histopathologic features associated with histotype-genotype-discordant cases were reviewed, and specific diagnostic recommendations were made to improve concordance. This study found that although the majority of morphologic diagnoses are genotype concordant, genotype-incompatible diagnoses are made in a significant subset of cases. Judicious use and interpretation of p53 immunohistochemistry in selected scenarios can improve histotype-genotype concordance.

  10. Dystrophic Cardiomyopathy: Complex Pathobiological Processes to Generate Clinical Phenotype

    PubMed Central

    Tsuda, Takeshi; Fitzgerald, Kristi K.

    2017-01-01

    Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), and X-linked dilated cardiomyopathy (XL-DCM) consist of a unique clinical entity, the dystrophinopathies, which are due to variable mutations in the dystrophin gene. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common complication of dystrophinopathies, but the onset, progression, and severity of heart disease differ among these subgroups. Extensive molecular genetic studies have been conducted to assess genotype-phenotype correlation in DMD, BMD, and XL-DCM to understand the underlying mechanisms of these diseases, but the results are not always conclusive, suggesting the involvement of complex multi-layers of pathological processes that generate the final clinical phenotype. Dystrophin protein is a part of dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC) that is localized in skeletal muscles, myocardium, smooth muscles, and neuronal tissues. Diversity of cardiac phenotype in dystrophinopathies suggests multiple layers of pathogenetic mechanisms in forming dystrophic cardiomyopathy. In this review article, we review the complex molecular interactions involving the pathogenesis of dystrophic cardiomyopathy, including primary gene mutations and loss of structural integrity, secondary cellular responses, and certain epigenetic and other factors that modulate gene expressions. Involvement of epigenetic gene regulation appears to lead to specific cardiac phenotypes in dystrophic hearts. PMID:29367543

  11. Genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains, isolated on three different geography locations.

    PubMed

    Ostojić, Maja; Hukić, Mirsada

    2015-08-04

    Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections worldwide. Increased frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in hospitalized patients and possibility of vancomycin resistance requires rapid and reliable characterization of isolates and control of MRSA spread in hospitals. Typing of isolates helps to understand the route of a hospital pathogen spread. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of MRSA samples on three different geography locations. In addition, our aim was to evaluate three different methods of MRSA typing: spa-typing, agr-typing and GenoType MRSA.  We included 104 samples of MRSA, isolated in 3 different geographical locations in clinical hospitals in Zagreb, Mostar, and Heidelberg, during the period of six months. Genotyping and phenotyping were done by spa-typing, agr-typing and dipstick assay GenoType MRSA. We failed to type all our samples by spa-typing.  The most common spa-type in clinical hospital Zagreb was t041, in Mostar t001, and in Heidelberg t003.We analyzed 102/104 of our samples by agr-typing method. We did not find any agr-type IV in our locations. We analyzed all our samples by the dipstick assay GenoType MRSA. All isolates in our study were MRSA strains. In Zagreb there were no positive strains to PVL gene. In Mostar we have found 5/25 positive strains to PVL gene, in Heidelberg there was 1/49. PVL positive isolates were associated with spa-type t008 and agr-type I, thus, genetically, they were community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA). Dipstick assay GenoType MRSA has demonstrated sufficient specificity, sensibility, simple performance and low cost, so we could introduce it to work in smaller laboratories. Using this method may expedite MRSA screening, thus preventing its spread in hospitals.

  12. Seven novel mutations in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene and genotype/phenotype correlations in severe methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Goyette, P.; Frosst, P.; Rosenblatt, D.S.

    1995-05-01

    5-Methyltetrahydrofolate, the major form of folate in plasma, is a carbon donor for the remethylation of homocysteine to methionine. This form of folate is generated from 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate through the action of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), a cytosolic flavoprotein. Patients with an autosomal recessive severe deficiency of MTHFR have homocystinuria and a wide range of neurological and vascular disturbances. We have recently described the isolation of a cDNA for MTHFR and the identification of two mutations in patients with severe MTHFR deficiency. We report here the characterization of seven novel mutations in this gene: six missense mutations and a 5{prime} splice-site defectmore » that activates a cryptic splice in the coding sequence. We also present a preliminary analysis of the relationship between genotype and phenotype for all nine mutations identified thus far in this gene. A nonsense mutation and two missense mutations (proline to leucine and threonine to methionine) in the homozygous state are associated with extremely low activity (0%-3%) and onset of symptoms within the 1st year of age. Other missense mutations (arginine to cysteine and arginine to glutamine) are associated with higher enzyme activity and later onset of symptoms. 19 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.« less

  13. Genotype to Phenotype Mapping of the E. coli lac Promoter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Otwinowski, Jakub; Nemenman, Ilya

    2014-03-01

    Genotype-to-phenotype maps and the related fitness landscapes that include epistatic interactions are difficult to measure because of their high dimensional structure. Here we construct such a map using the recently collected corpora of high-throughput sequence data from the 75 base pairs long mutagenized E. coli lac promoter region, where each sequence is associated with induced transcriptional activity measured by a fluorescent reporter. We find that the additive (non-epistatic) contributions of individual mutations account for about two-thirds of the explainable phenotype variance, while pairwise epistasis explains about 7% of the variance for the full mutagenized sequence and about 15% for the subsequence associated with protein binding sites. Surprisingly, there is no evidence for third order epistatic contributions, and our inferred fitness landscape is essentially single peaked, with a small amount of antagonistic epistasis. We identify transcription factor (CRP) and RNA polymerase binding sites in the promotor region and their interactions. We conclude with a cautionary note that inferred properties of fitness landscapes may be severely influenced by biases in the sequence data. Funded in part by HFSP and James S. McDonnell Foundation.

  14. Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterization of Non-Starter Lactic Acid Bacteria in Mature Cheddar Cheese

    PubMed Central

    Fitzsimons, N. A.; Cogan, T. M.; Condon, S.; Beresford, T.

    1999-01-01

    Non-starter lactic acid bacteria were isolated from 14 premium-quality and 3 sensorially defective mature Irish Cheddar cheeses, obtained from six manufacturers. From countable plates of Lactobacillus-selective agar, 20 single isolated colonies were randomly picked per cheese. All 331 viable isolates were biochemically characterized as mesophilic (i.e., group II) Lactobacillus spp. Phenotypically, the isolates comprised 96.4% L. paracasei, 2.1% L. plantarum, 0.3% L. curvatus, 0.3% L. brevis, and 0.9% unidentified species. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to rapidly identify the dominant strain groups in nine cheeses from three of the factories, and through clustering by the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages, an average of seven strains were found per cheese. In general, strains isolated from cheese produced at the same factory clustered together. The majority of isolates associated with premium-quality cheese grouped together and apart from clusters of strains from defective-quality cheese. No correlation was found between the isomer of lactate produced and RAPD profiles, although isolates which did not ferment ribose clustered together. The phenotypic and genotypic methods employed were validated with a selection of 31 type and reference strains of mesophilic Lactobacillus spp. commonly found in Cheddar cheese. RAPD analysis was found to be a useful and rapid method for identifying isolates to the species level. The low homology exhibited between RAPD banding profiles for cheese isolates and collection strains demonstrated the heterogeneity of the L. paracasei complex. PMID:10427029

  15. Genotype-phenotype variability of retinal manifestation in primary hyperoxaluria type 1.

    PubMed

    Dulz, S; Bigdon, E; Atiskova, Y; Schuettauf, F; Cerkauskiene, R; Oh, J; Brinkert, F

    2018-04-01

    Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is a rare congenital metabolic disorder of the glyoxylate pathway, which manifests with nephrocalcinosis, urolithiasis, and end-stage renal failure (ESRD) as well as deposition of oxalate crystals within ocular tissues. This report demonstrates classical ocular features of PH1 of the posterior pole and furthermore highlights the ocular genotype-phenotype variability among siblings with identical compound heterozygous alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGXT) mutations. Two siblings, an 8-year-old boy and an 18-year-old girl, with genetically confirmed AGXT mutation (c.364C>T (p.R122X) and c.33dupC), but different renal phenotype underwent an ophthalmic examination, including slit-lamp examination and funduscopy as well as optical coherence tomography (OCT), near-infrared autofluorescence (NIA), and microperimetry examination. The 8-year-old boy presented with a best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/630. Fundus examination revealed bilateral, whitish oxalate deposits and prominent fibrotic macular scars. OCT imaging illustrated hyperdense deposits in all retinal layers and the choroid and the vitreous body along with a prominent dome-shaped macular fibrosis. NIA imaging outlined macular retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) atrophy with panretinal hyperreflective material. Bilateral symptomatic epiphora was putatively due to bilateral depositions of palpable nodular oxalate deposits at the level of the lacrimal sac. In contrary, the 18-year-old sister presented without any signs of ocular oxalate deposition and a BCVA of 20/20. PH1 is potentially accompanied with a considerable decline in visual acuity due to macular scaring and fibrosis, whereas a profound variability of ocular manifestations can be observed in PH1 patients with identical genotypes.

  16. Dystonia Genotype-Phenotype Correlation

    ClinicalTrials.gov

    2018-04-24

    Dystonia; Dystonia; Idiopathic; Dystonia, Primary; Dystonia, Secondary; Dystonia, Familial; Dystonia Disorder; Dystonias, Sporadic; Dystonia; Orofacial; Dystonia Lenticularis; Dystonia, Paroxysmal; Dystonia 6; Dystonia 5; Dystonia 8; Dystonia 9; Dystonia 19; Dystonia 10; Dystonia 11; Dystonia 20; Dystonia 12; Dystonia, Focal; Dystonia of Head; Dystonia, Diurnal

  17. In vivo and in vitro phenotypic differences between Great Lakes VHSV genotype IVb isolates with sequence types vcG001 and vcG002

    PubMed Central

    Imanse, Sierra M.; Cornwell, Emily R.; Getchell, Rodman G.; Kurath, Gael; Bowser, Paul R.

    2014-01-01

    Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is an aquatic rhabdovirus first recognized in farmed rainbow trout in Denmark. In the past decade, a new genotype of this virus, IVb was discovered in the Laurentian Great Lakes basin and has caused several massive die-offs in some of the 28 species of susceptible North American freshwater fishes. Since its colonization of the Great Lakes, several closely related sequence types within genotype IVb have been reported, the two most common of which are vcG001 and vcG002. These sequence types have different spatial distributions in the Great Lakes. The aim of this study was to determine whether the genotypic differences between representative vcG001 (isolate MI03) and vcG002 (isolate 2010-030 #91) isolates correspond to phenotypic differences in terms of virulence using both an in vitro and in vivo approach. In vitro infection of epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC), bluegill fry (BF-2), and Chinook salmon embryo (CHSE) cells demonstrated some differences in onset and rate of growth in EPC and BF-2 cells, without any difference in the quantity of RNA produced. In vivo infection of round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) via immersion exposure to different concentrations of vcG001 or vcG002 caused a significantly greater mortality in round gobies exposed to 102 plaque forming units ml−1 of vcG001. These experiments suggest that there are phenotypic differences between Great Lakes isolates of VHSV genotype IVb. PMID:25722533

  18. In vivo and in vitro phenotypic differences between Great Lakes VHSV genotype IVb isolates with sequence types vcG001 and vcG002

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Imanse, Sierra M.; Cornwell, Emily R.; Getchell, Rodman G.; Kurath, Gael; Bowser, Paul R.

    2014-01-01

    Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is an aquatic rhabdovirus first recognized in farmed rainbow trout in Denmark. In the past decade, a new genotype of this virus, IVb was discovered in the Laurentian Great Lakes basin and has caused several massive die-offs in some of the 28 species of susceptible North American freshwater fishes. Since its colonization of the Great Lakes, several closely related sequence types within genotype IVb have been reported, the two most common of which are vcG001 and vcG002. These sequence types have different spatial distributions in the Great Lakes. The aim of this study was to determine whether the genotypic differences between representative vcG001 (isolate MI03) and vcG002 (isolate 2010-030 #91) isolates correspond to phenotypic differences in terms of virulence using both in vitro and in vivo approaches. In vitro infection of epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC), bluegill fry (BF-2), and Chinook salmon embryo (CHSE) cells demonstrated some differences in onset and rate of growth in EPC and BF-2 cells, without any difference in the quantity of RNA produced. In vivo infection of round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) via immersion exposure to different concentrations of vcG001 or vcG002 caused a significantly greater mortality in round gobies exposed to 102 plaque forming units ml− 1 of vcG001. These experiments suggest that there are phenotypic differences between Great Lakes isolates of VHSV genotype IVb.

  19. The Genotype and Phenotype (GaP) registry: a living biobank for the analysis of quantitative traits.

    PubMed

    Gregersen, Peter K; Klein, Gila; Keogh, Mary; Kern, Marlena; DeFranco, Margaret; Simpfendorfer, Kim R; Kim, Sun Jung; Diamond, Betty

    2015-12-01

    We describe the development of the Genotype and Phenotype (GaP) Registry, a living biobank of normal volunteers who are genotyped for genetic markers related to human disease. Participants in the GaP can be recalled for hypothesis driven study of disease associated genetic variants. The GaP has facilitated functional studies of several autoimmune disease associated loci including Csk, Blk, PDRM1 (Blimp-1) and PTPN22. It is likely that expansion of such living biobank registries will play an important role in studying and understanding the function of disease associated alleles in complex disease.

  20. Genotypes and clinical phenotypes in children with cytochrome-c oxidase deficiency.

    PubMed

    Darin, N; Moslemi, A-R; Lebon, S; Rustin, P; Holme, E; Oldfors, A; Tulinius, M

    2003-12-01

    Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency has been associated with a wide spectrum of clinical features and may be caused by mutations in different genes of both the mitochondrial and the nuclear DNA. In an attempt to correlate the clinical phenotype with the genotype in 16 childhood cases, mtDNA was analysed for deletion, depletion, and mutations in the three genes encoding COX subunits and the 22 tRNA genes. Furthermore, nuclear DNA was analysed for mutations in the SURF1, SCO2, COX10, and COX17 genes and cases with mtDNA depletion were analysed for mutations in the TK2 gene. SURF1-mutations were identified in three out of four cases with Leigh syndrome while a mutation in the mitochondrial tRNA (trp) gene was identified in the fourth. One case with mtDNA depletion had mutations in the TK2 gene. In two cases with leukoencephalopathy, one case with encephalopathy, five cases with fatal infantile myopathy and cardiomyopathy, two cases with benign infantile myopathy, and one case with mtDNA depletion, no mutations were identified. We conclude that COX deficiency in childhood should be suspected in a wide range of clinical settings and although an increasing number of genetic defects have been identified, the underlying mutations remain unclear in the majority of the cases.

  1. Predicting phenotype from genotype: Improving accuracy through more robust experimental and computational modeling.

    PubMed

    Gallion, Jonathan; Koire, Amanda; Katsonis, Panagiotis; Schoenegge, Anne-Marie; Bouvier, Michel; Lichtarge, Olivier

    2017-05-01

    Computational prediction yields efficient and scalable initial assessments of how variants of unknown significance may affect human health. However, when discrepancies between these predictions and direct experimental measurements of functional impact arise, inaccurate computational predictions are frequently assumed as the source. Here, we present a methodological analysis indicating that shortcomings in both computational and biological data can contribute to these disagreements. We demonstrate that incomplete assaying of multifunctional proteins can affect the strength of correlations between prediction and experiments; a variant's full impact on function is better quantified by considering multiple assays that probe an ensemble of protein functions. Additionally, many variants predictions are sensitive to protein alignment construction and can be customized to maximize relevance of predictions to a specific experimental question. We conclude that inconsistencies between computation and experiment can often be attributed to the fact that they do not test identical hypotheses. Aligning the design of the computational input with the design of the experimental output will require cooperation between computational and biological scientists, but will also lead to improved estimations of computational prediction accuracy and a better understanding of the genotype-phenotype relationship. © 2017 The Authors. **Human Mutation published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Application of genotypic and phenotypic analyses to commercial probiotic strain identity and relatedness.

    PubMed

    Yeung, P S M; Kitts, C L; Cano, R; Tong, P S; Sanders, M E

    2004-01-01

    The objective of this study was to generate strain-specific genomic patterns of a bank of 67 commercial and reference probiotic strains, with a focus on probiotic lactobacilli. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used as the primary method for strain differentiation. This method was compared with carbohydrate fermentation analysis. To supplement visual comparison, PFGE patterns were analysed quantitatively by cluster analysis using unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages. SmaI, NotI and XbaI were found to effectively generate clear and easy-to-interpret PFGE patterns of a range of probiotic strains. Some probiotic strains from different sources shared highly similar PFGE patterns. Results document the value of genotypic strain identification methods, combined with phenotypic methods, for determining probiotic strain identity and relatedness. No correlation was found between relatedness determined by carbohydrate fermentation profiles alone compared with PFGE analysis alone. Some commercial strains are probably derived from similar sources. This approach is valuable to the probiotic industry to develop commercial strain identification patterns, to provide quality control of strain manufacturing production runs, to track use of protected strains and to determine the relatedness among different research and commercial probiotic strains.

  3. Utility of Phenotypic and Genotypic Testing in the Study of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Resistance to First-Line Anti-Tuberculosis drugs.

    PubMed

    Alba Álvarez, Luz María; García García, José María; Pérez Hernández, M Dolores; Martínez González, Susana; Palacios Gutiérrez, Juan José

    2017-04-01

    To determine the utility of molecular techniques in the diagnosis of resistance and the extent of resistance to first-line drugs in our region. From 2004 to 2013, 1,889 strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolated in Asturias, Spain, were studied using phenotypic (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines) and molecular (INNOLiPA RIF-TB © ; GenotypeMDRplus © ; GenotypeMDRsl © ) sensitivity tests. 1,759 strains (94.52%) were sensitive to all first-line drugs, and 102 strains (5.48%) showed some resistance: 81 strains (4.35%) were resistant to 1 single drug, 14 (0.75%) were polyresistant, and 7 (0.37%) were multiresistant (resistant to rifampicin and isoniazid). In total, 137 resistances were identified: 60 to isoniazid (3.22%), 7 to rifampicin (0.37%), 9 to pyrazinamide (0.48%), 11 to ethambutol (0.59%), and 50 to streptomycin (2.68%). Of the mutations detected, 75.9% (63/83) correlated with resistance, while 24.09% of mutations detected (20/83) were not associated with resistance; 16 of these involved a silent mutation at codon 514 of the rpoB gene. Between 0 and 90% of strains, depending on the drug under consideration, were resistant even when no gene mutations were detected using marketed systems. Molecular techniques are very useful, particularly for obtaining rapid results, but these must be confirmed with standard phenotypic sensitivity testing. The rate of resistance in our region is low and multi-drug resistantcases (0.37%) are sporadic. Copyright © 2016 SEPAR. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  4. Genotypes of Brassica rapa respond differently to plant-induced variation in air CO2 concentration in growth chambers with standard and enhanced venting.

    PubMed

    Edwards, Christine E; Haselhorst, Monia S H; McKnite, Autumn M; Ewers, Brent E; Williams, David G; Weinig, Cynthia

    2009-10-01

    Growth chambers allow measurement of phenotypic differences among genotypes under controlled environment conditions. However, unintended variation in growth chamber air CO2 concentration ([CO2]) may affect the expression of diverse phenotypic traits, and genotypes may differ in their response to variation in [CO2]. We monitored [CO2] and quantified phenotypic responses of 22 Brassica rapa genotypes in growth chambers with either standard or enhanced venting. [CO2] in chambers with standard venting dropped to 280 micromol mol(-1) during the period of maximum canopy development, approximately 80 micromol mol(-1) lower than in chambers with enhanced venting. The stable carbon isotope ratio of CO2 in chamber air (delta13C(air)) was negatively correlated with [CO2], suggesting that photosynthesis caused observed [CO2] decreases. Significant genotype x chamber-venting interactions were detected for 12 of 20 traits, likely due to differences in the extent to which [CO2] changed in relation to genotypes' phenology or differential sensitivity of genotypes to low [CO2]. One trait, 13C discrimination (delta13C), was particularly influenced by unaccounted-for fluctuations in delta13C(air) and [CO2]. Observed responses to [CO2] suggest that genetic variance components estimated in poorly vented growth chambers may be influenced by the expression of genes involved in CO2 stress responses; genotypic values estimated in these chambers may likewise be misleading such that some mapped quantitative trait loci may regulate responses to CO2 stress rather than a response to the environmental factor of interest. These results underscore the importance of monitoring, and where possible, controlling [CO2].

  5. Familial dysautonomia: History, genotype, phenotype and translational research.

    PubMed

    Norcliffe-Kaufmann, Lucy; Slaugenhaupt, Susan A; Kaufmann, Horacio

    2017-05-01

    Familial dysautonomia (FD) is a rare neurological disorder caused by a splice mutation in the IKBKAP gene. The mutation arose in the 1500s within the small Jewish founder population in Eastern Europe and became prevalent during the period of rapid population expansion within the Pale of Settlement. The carrier rate is 1:32 in Jews descending from this region. The mutation results in a tissue-specific deficiency in IKAP, a protein involved in the development and survival of neurons. Patients homozygous for the mutations are born with multiple lesions affecting mostly sensory (afferent) fibers, which leads to widespread organ dysfunction and increased mortality. Neurodegenerative features of the disease include progressive optic atrophy and worsening gait ataxia. Here we review the progress made in the last decade to better understand the genotype and phenotype. We also discuss the challenges of conducting controlled clinical trials in this rare medically fragile population. Meanwhile, the search for better treatments as well as a neuroprotective agent is ongoing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. A latent modeling approach to genotype–phenotype relationships: maternal problem behavior clusters, prenatal smoking, and MAOA genotype

    PubMed Central

    Mustanski, B.; Metzger, A.; Pine, D. S.; Kistner-Griffin, E.; Cook, E.; Wakschlag, L. S.

    2013-01-01

    This study illustrates the application of a latent modeling approach to genotype–phenotype relationships and gene×environment interactions, using a novel, multidimensional model of adult female problem behavior, including maternal prenatal smoking. The gene of interest is the mono-amine oxidase A (MAOA) gene which has been well studied in relation to antisocial behavior. Participants were adult women (N=192) who were sampled from a prospective pregnancy cohort of non-Hispanic, white individuals recruited from a neighborhood health clinic. Structural equation modeling was used to model a female problem behavior phenotype, which included conduct problems, substance use, impulsive-sensation seeking, interpersonal aggression, and prenatal smoking. All of the female problem behavior dimensions clustered together strongly, with the exception of prenatal smoking. A main effect of MAOA genotype and a MAOA× physical maltreatment interaction were detected with the Conduct Problems factor. Our phenotypic model showed that prenatal smoking is not simply a marker of other maternal problem behaviors. The risk variant in the MAOA main effect and interaction analyses was the high activity MAOA genotype, which is discrepant from consensus findings in male samples. This result contributes to an emerging literature on sex-specific interaction effects for MAOA. PMID:22610759

  7. Skin reaction and regeneration after single sodium lauryl sulfate exposure stratified by filaggrin genotype and atopic dermatitis phenotype.

    PubMed

    Bandier, J; Carlsen, B C; Rasmussen, M A; Petersen, L J; Johansen, J D

    2015-06-01

    Filaggrin is key for the integrity of the stratum corneum. Mutations in the filaggrin gene (FLGnull) play a prominent role in atopic dermatitis (AD) pathogenesis. People with AD have increased susceptibility to irritants. However, little is known about the effect of filaggrin genotype and AD phenotype on irritant response and skin regeneration. To investigate the role of FLGnull and AD groups for skin reaction and recovery after sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) irritation. This is a case-control study comprising 67 subjects, including healthy controls and patients with and without FLGnull and AD. Reactivity to different doses of SLS at 24, 48, 72 and 145 h after SLS application was measured by transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF). Reactivity was assessed univariately and by pattern analysis. All patient groups showed a higher degree of skin-barrier disruption and inflammation than did controls in response to SLS. Assessing reactivity by the delta value of the area under the curve for both TEWL and LDF showed significant differences between healthy controls and those with the AD phenotype, irrespective of filaggrin mutation. The poorest regeneration was among those with the AD phenotype. The two AD phenotype groups were separated by multivariate technique, due to earlier inflammatory reactivity among subjects with FLGnullplus AD compared with the AD phenotype alone. Both skin reaction and regeneration were significantly different between the patient population and the healthy controls. Additionally, response severity and regeneration depended more on AD phenotype than on filaggrin genotype, whereas the response was more rapid among the FLGnullplus AD individuals. © 2015 British Association of Dermatologists.

  8. Genotype-phenotype correlation and functional studies in patients with cystic fibrosis bearing CFTR complex alleles.

    PubMed

    Terlizzi, Vito; Castaldo, Giuseppe; Salvatore, Donatello; Lucarelli, Marco; Raia, Valeria; Angioni, Adriano; Carnovale, Vincenzo; Cirilli, Natalia; Casciaro, Rosaria; Colombo, Carla; Di Lullo, Antonella Miriam; Elce, Ausilia; Iacotucci, Paola; Comegna, Marika; Scorza, Manuela; Lucidi, Vincenzina; Perfetti, Anna; Cimino, Roberta; Quattrucci, Serena; Seia, Manuela; Sofia, Valentina Maria; Zarrilli, Federica; Amato, Felice

    2017-04-01

    The effect of complex alleles in cystic fibrosis (CF) is poorly defined for the lack of functional studies. To describe the genotype-phenotype correlation and the results of either in vitro and ex vivo studies performed on nasal epithelial cells (NEC) in a cohort of patients with CF carrying cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator ( CFTR ) complex alleles. We studied 70 homozygous, compound heterozygous or heterozygous for CFTR mutations: p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn], n=8; p.[Ile148Thr;Ile1023_Val1024del], n=5; p.[Arg117Leu;Leu997Phe], n=6; c.[1210-34TG[12];1210-12T[5];2930C>T], n=3; p.[Arg74Trp;Asp1270Asn], n=4; p.Asp1270Asn, n=2; p.Ile148Thr, n=6; p.Leu997Phe, n=36. In 39 patients, we analysed the CFTR gating activity on NEC in comparison with patients with CF (n=8) and carriers (n=4). Finally, we analysed in vitro the p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn] complex allele. The p.[Ile148Thr;Ile1023_Val1024del] caused severe CF in five compound heterozygous with a class I-II mutation. Their CFTR activity on NEC was comparable with patients with two class I-II mutations (mean 7.3% vs 6.9%). The p.[Arg74Trp;Asp1270Asn] and the p.Asp1270Asn have scarce functional effects, while p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn] caused mild CF in four of five subjects carrying a class I-II mutation in trans , or CFTR-related disorders (CFTR-RD) in three having in trans a class IV-V mutation. The p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn] causes significantly (p<0.001) higher CFTR activity compared with compound heterozygous for class I-II mutations. Furthermore, five of six compounds heterozygous with the p.[Arg117Leu;Leu997Phe] had mild CF, whereas the p.Leu997Phe, in trans with a class I-II CFTR mutation, caused CFTR-RD or a healthy status (CFTR activity: 21.3-36.9%). Finally, compounds heterozygous for the c.[1210-34TG[12];1210-12T[5];2930C>T] and a class I-II mutation had mild CF or CFTR-RD (gating activity: 18.5-19.0%). The effect of complex alleles partially depends on the

  9. Histopathology reveals correlative and unique phenotypes in a high-throughput mouse phenotyping screen

    PubMed Central

    Adissu, Hibret A.; Estabel, Jeanne; Sunter, David; Tuck, Elizabeth; Hooks, Yvette; Carragher, Damian M.; Clarke, Kay; Karp, Natasha A.; Project, Sanger Mouse Genetics; Newbigging, Susan; Jones, Nora; Morikawa, Lily; White, Jacqueline K.; McKerlie, Colin

    2014-01-01

    The Mouse Genetics Project (MGP) at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute aims to generate and phenotype over 800 genetically modified mouse lines over the next 5 years to gain a better understanding of mammalian gene function and provide an invaluable resource to the scientific community for follow-up studies. Phenotyping includes the generation of a standardized biobank of paraffin-embedded tissues for each mouse line, but histopathology is not routinely performed. In collaboration with the Pathology Core of the Centre for Modeling Human Disease (CMHD) we report the utility of histopathology in a high-throughput primary phenotyping screen. Histopathology was assessed in an unbiased selection of 50 mouse lines with (n=30) or without (n=20) clinical phenotypes detected by the standard MGP primary phenotyping screen. Our findings revealed that histopathology added correlating morphological data in 19 of 30 lines (63.3%) in which the primary screen detected a phenotype. In addition, seven of the 50 lines (14%) presented significant histopathology findings that were not associated with or predicted by the standard primary screen. Three of these seven lines had no clinical phenotype detected by the standard primary screen. Incidental and strain-associated background lesions were present in all mutant lines with good concordance to wild-type controls. These findings demonstrate the complementary and unique contribution of histopathology to high-throughput primary phenotyping of mutant mice. PMID:24652767

  10. TROCAI (Tropism Coreceptor Assay Information): a New Phenotypic Tropism Test and Its Correlation with Trofile Enhanced Sensitivity and Genotypic Approaches▿ †

    PubMed Central

    Gonzalez-Serna, Alejandro; Leal, Manuel; Genebat, Miguel; Abad, Maria Antonia; Garcia-Perganeda, Antonio; Ferrando-Martinez, Sara; Ruiz-Mateos, Ezequiel

    2010-01-01

    The only clinically validated assay available to determine HIV tropism is Trofile, an assay that possesses some limitations. Our first aim was to develop a new phenotypic tropism test (TROCAI [tropism coreceptor assay information]) and to categorize results generated by this test according to the virological response to a short-term exposure to the CCR5 receptor antagonist maraviroc (maraviroc clinical test). Our second aim was to compare TROCAI results to those obtained by Trofile enhanced sensitivity (ES) and to different genotypic algorithms. TROCAI assayed HIV tropism in 33 HIV-infected patient viral isolates obtained from a modified coculture, followed by multiple infection cycles of indicator cells. TROCAI obtained a reportable result in all patients with viral loads of >500 HIV RNA copies/ml and in 3/6 patients with <500 HIV RNA copies/ml (30/33 patients, 91.9%). Patients who responded to maraviroc had an X4-using virus proportion in indicator cell supernatant of 0 to 0.41%. Hence, we used the threshold of 0.5% to categorize TROCAI results as R5 (<0.5%) or dual/mixed (>0.5%). The concordance between TROCAI and Trofile (ES) was 22/24 (91.6%), and with genotypic approaches it was 22/26 (84.6%). TROCAI results, which were categorized in this study by the maraviroc clinical test, could be used as a test in addition to those currently used to select patients for treatment with CCR5 antagonists. PMID:20943871

  11. Phenotypic Effects of Salt and Heat Stress over Three Generations in Arabidopsis thaliana

    PubMed Central

    Suter, Léonie; Widmer, Alex

    2013-01-01

    Current and predicted environmental change will force many organisms to adapt to novel conditions, especially sessile organisms such as plants. It is therefore important to better understand how plants react to environmental stress and to what extent genotypes differ in such responses. It has been proposed that adaptation to novel conditions could be facilitated by heritable epigenetic changes induced by environmental stress, independent of genetic variation. Here we assessed phenotypic effects of heat and salt stress within and across three generations using four highly inbred Arabidopsis thaliana genotypes (Col, Cvi, Ler and Sha). Salt stress generally decreased fitness, but genotypes were differently affected, suggesting that susceptibility of A. thaliana to salt stress varies among genotypes. Heat stress at an early rosette stage had less detrimental effects but accelerated flowering in three out of four accessions. Additionally, we found three different modes of transgenerational effects on phenotypes, all harboring the potential of being adaptive: heat stress in previous generations induced faster rosette growth in Sha, both under heat and control conditions, resembling a tracking response, while in Cvi, the phenotypic variance of several traits increased, resembling diversified bet-hedging. Salt stress experienced in earlier generations altered plant architecture of Sha under salt but not control conditions, similar to transgenerational phenotypic plasticity. However, transgenerational phenotypic effects depended on the type of stress as well as on genotype, suggesting that such effects may not be a general response leading to adaptation to novel environmental conditions in A. thaliana. PMID:24244719

  12. Mapping disease-related missense mutations in the immunoglobulin-like fold domain of lamin A/C reveals novel genotype-phenotype associations for laminopathies.

    PubMed

    Scharner, Juergen; Lu, Hui-Chun; Fraternali, Franca; Ellis, Juliet A; Zammit, Peter S

    2014-06-01

    Mutations in A-type nuclear lamins cause laminopathies. However, genotype-phenotype correlations using the 340 missense mutations within the LMNA gene are unclear: partially due to the limited availability of three-dimensional structure. The immunoglobulin (Ig)-like fold domain has been solved, and using bioinformatics tools (including Polyphen-2, Fold X, Parameter OPtimized Surfaces, and PocketPicker) we characterized 56 missense mutations for position, surface exposure, change in charge and effect on Ig-like fold stability. We find that 21 of the 27 mutations associated with a skeletal muscle phenotype are distributed throughout the Ig-like fold, are nonsurface exposed and predicted to disrupt overall stability of the Ig-like fold domain. Intriguingly, the remaining 6 mutations clustered, had higher surface exposure, and did not affect stability. The majority of 9 lipodystrophy or 10 premature aging syndrome mutations also did not disrupt Ig-like fold domain stability and were surface exposed and clustered in distinct regions that overlap predicted binding pockets. Although buried, the 10 cardiac mutations had no other consistent properties. Finally, most lipodystrophy and premature aging mutations resulted in a -1 net charge change, whereas skeletal muscle mutations caused no consistent net charge changes. Since premature aging, lipodystrophy and the subset of 6 skeletal muscle mutations cluster tightly in distinct, charged regions, they likely affect lamin A/C -protein/DNA/RNA interactions: providing a consistent genotype-phenotype relationship for mutations in this domain. Thus, this subgroup of skeletal muscle laminopathies that we term the 'Skeletal muscle cluster', may have a distinct pathological mechanism. These novel associations refine the ability to predict clinical features caused by certain LMNA missense mutations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Cluster-distinguishing genotypic and phenotypic diversity of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria in solid-organ transplantation patients: a comparative study.

    PubMed

    Karampatakis, Theodoros; Geladari, Anastasia; Politi, Lida; Antachopoulos, Charalampos; Iosifidis, Elias; Tsiatsiou, Olga; Karyoti, Aggeliki; Papanikolaou, Vasileios; Tsakris, Athanassios; Roilides, Emmanuel

    2017-07-31

    Solid-organ transplant recipients may display high rates of colonization and/or infection by multidrug-resistant bacteria. We analysed and compared the phenotypic and genotypic diversity of carbapenem-resistant (CR) strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from patients in the Solid Organ Transplantation department of our hospital. Between March 2012 and August 2013, 56 CR strains from various biological fluids underwent antimicrobial susceptibility testing with VITEK 2, molecular analysis by PCR amplification and genotypic analysis with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). They were clustered according to antimicrobial drug susceptibility and genotypic profiles. Diversity analyses were performed by calculating Simpson's diversity index and applying computed rarefaction curves.Results/Key findings. Among K. pneumoniae, KP-producers predominated (57.1 %). VIM and OXA-23 carbapenemases prevailed among P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii (89.4 and 88.9 %, respectively). KPC-producing K. pneumoniae and OXA-23 A. baumannii were assigned in single PFGE pulsotypes. VIM-producing P. aeruginosa generated multiple pulsotypes. CR K. pneumoniae strains displayed phenotypic diversity in tigecycline, colistin (CS), amikacin (AMK), gentamicin (GEN) and co-trimoxazole (SXT) (16 clusters); P. aeruginosa displayed phenotypic diversity in cefepime (FEP), ceftazidime, aztreonam, piperacillin, piperacillin-tazobactam, AMK, GEN and CS (9 clusters); and A. baumannii displayed phenotypic diversity in AMK, GEN, SXT, FEP, tobramycin and rifampicin (8 clusters). The Simpson diversity indices for the interpretative phenotype and PFGE analysis were 0.89 and 0.6, respectively, for K. pneumoniae strains (P<0.001); 0.77 and 0.6 for P. aeruginosa (P=0.22); and 0.86 and 0.19 for A. baumannii (P=0.004). The presence of different antimicrobial susceptibility profiles does not preclude the possibility that two CR K. pneumoniae or A. baumannii

  14. Clinical heterogeneity and phenotype/genotype findings in 5 families with GYG1 deficiency

    PubMed Central

    Ben Yaou, Rabah; Hubert, Aurélie; Nelson, Isabelle; Dahlqvist, Julia R.; Gaist, David; Streichenberger, Nathalie; Beuvin, Maud; Krahn, Martin; Petiot, Philippe; Parisot, Frédéric; Michel, Fabrice; Malfatti, Edoardo; Romero, Norma; Carlier, Robert Yves; Eymard, Bruno; Labrune, Philippe; Duno, Morten; Krag, Thomas; Cerino, Mathieu; Bartoli, Marc; Bonne, Gisèle; Vissing, John; Laforet, Pascal

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To describe the variability of muscle symptoms in patients carrying mutations in the GYG1 gene, encoding glycogenin-1, an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of glycogen, and to discuss genotype-phenotype relations. Methods: We describe 9 patients from 5 families in whom muscle biopsies showed vacuoles with an abnormal accumulation of glycogen in muscle fibers, partially α-amylase resistant suggesting polyglucosan bodies. The patients had either progressive early-onset limb-girdle weakness or late-onset distal or scapuloperoneal muscle affection as shown by muscle imaging. No clear definite cardiac disease was found. Histologic and protein analysis investigations were performed on muscle. Results: Genetic analyses by direct or exome sequencing of the GYG1 gene revealed 6 different GYG1 mutations. Four of the mutations were novel. They were compound heterozygous in 3 families and homozygous in 2. Protein analysis revealed either the absence of glycogenin-1 or reduced glycogenin-1 expression with impaired glucosylation. Conclusions: Our report extends the genetic and clinical spectrum of glycogenin-1–related myopathies to include scapuloperoneal and distal affection with glycogen accumulation. PMID:29264399

  15. Clinical heterogeneity and phenotype/genotype findings in 5 families with GYG1 deficiency.

    PubMed

    Ben Yaou, Rabah; Hubert, Aurélie; Nelson, Isabelle; Dahlqvist, Julia R; Gaist, David; Streichenberger, Nathalie; Beuvin, Maud; Krahn, Martin; Petiot, Philippe; Parisot, Frédéric; Michel, Fabrice; Malfatti, Edoardo; Romero, Norma; Carlier, Robert Yves; Eymard, Bruno; Labrune, Philippe; Duno, Morten; Krag, Thomas; Cerino, Mathieu; Bartoli, Marc; Bonne, Gisèle; Vissing, John; Laforet, Pascal; Petit, François M

    2017-12-01

    To describe the variability of muscle symptoms in patients carrying mutations in the GYG1 gene, encoding glycogenin-1, an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of glycogen, and to discuss genotype-phenotype relations. We describe 9 patients from 5 families in whom muscle biopsies showed vacuoles with an abnormal accumulation of glycogen in muscle fibers, partially α-amylase resistant suggesting polyglucosan bodies. The patients had either progressive early-onset limb-girdle weakness or late-onset distal or scapuloperoneal muscle affection as shown by muscle imaging. No clear definite cardiac disease was found. Histologic and protein analysis investigations were performed on muscle. Genetic analyses by direct or exome sequencing of the GYG1 gene revealed 6 different GYG1 mutations. Four of the mutations were novel. They were compound heterozygous in 3 families and homozygous in 2. Protein analysis revealed either the absence of glycogenin-1 or reduced glycogenin-1 expression with impaired glucosylation. Our report extends the genetic and clinical spectrum of glycogenin-1-related myopathies to include scapuloperoneal and distal affection with glycogen accumulation.

  16. The use of imputed sibling genotypes in sibship-based association analysis: on modeling alternatives, power and model misspecification.

    PubMed

    Minică, Camelia C; Dolan, Conor V; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Willemsen, Gonneke; Vink, Jacqueline M; Boomsma, Dorret I

    2013-05-01

    When phenotypic, but no genotypic data are available for relatives of participants in genetic association studies, previous research has shown that family-based imputed genotypes can boost the statistical power when included in such studies. Here, using simulations, we compared the performance of two statistical approaches suitable to model imputed genotype data: the mixture approach, which involves the full distribution of the imputed genotypes and the dosage approach, where the mean of the conditional distribution features as the imputed genotype. Simulations were run by varying sibship size, size of the phenotypic correlations among siblings, imputation accuracy and minor allele frequency of the causal SNP. Furthermore, as imputing sibling data and extending the model to include sibships of size two or greater requires modeling the familial covariance matrix, we inquired whether model misspecification affects power. Finally, the results obtained via simulations were empirically verified in two datasets with continuous phenotype data (height) and with a dichotomous phenotype (smoking initiation). Across the settings considered, the mixture and the dosage approach are equally powerful and both produce unbiased parameter estimates. In addition, the likelihood-ratio test in the linear mixed model appears to be robust to the considered misspecification in the background covariance structure, given low to moderate phenotypic correlations among siblings. Empirical results show that the inclusion in association analysis of imputed sibling genotypes does not always result in larger test statistic. The actual test statistic may drop in value due to small effect sizes. That is, if the power benefit is small, that the change in distribution of the test statistic under the alternative is relatively small, the probability is greater of obtaining a smaller test statistic. As the genetic effects are typically hypothesized to be small, in practice, the decision on whether family

  17. Associations of MC1R Genotype and Patient Phenotypes with BRAF and NRAS Mutations in Melanoma.

    PubMed

    Thomas, Nancy E; Edmiston, Sharon N; Kanetsky, Peter A; Busam, Klaus J; Kricker, Anne; Armstrong, Bruce K; Cust, Anne E; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Gruber, Stephen B; Luo, Li; Orlow, Irene; Reiner, Anne S; Gallagher, Richard P; Zanetti, Roberto; Rosso, Stefano; Sacchetto, Lidia; Dwyer, Terence; Parrish, Eloise A; Hao, Honglin; Gibbs, David C; Frank, Jill S; Ollila, David W; Begg, Colin B; Berwick, Marianne; Conway, Kathleen

    2017-12-01

    Associations of MC1R with BRAF mutations in melanoma have been inconsistent between studies. We sought to determine for 1,227 participants in the international population-based Genes, Environment, and Melanoma (GEM) study whether MC1R and phenotypes were associated with melanoma BRAF/NRAS subtypes. We used logistic regression adjusted by age, sex, and study design features and examined effect modifications. BRAF + were associated with younger age, blond/light brown hair, increased nevi, and less freckling, and NRAS + with older age relative to the wild type (BRAF - /NRAS - ) melanomas (all P < 0.05). Comparing specific BRAF subtypes to the wild type, BRAF V600E was associated with younger age, blond/light brown hair, and increased nevi and V600K with increased nevi and less freckling (all P < 0.05). MC1R was positively associated with BRAF V600E cases but only among individuals with darker phototypes or darker hair (P interaction < 0.05) but inversely associated with BRAF V600K (P trend  = 0.006) with no significant effect modification by phenotypes. These results support distinct etiologies for BRAF V600E, BRAF V600K, NRAS + , and wild-type melanomas. MC1R's associations with BRAF V600E cases limited to individuals with darker phenotypes indicate that MC1R genotypes specifically provide information about BRAF V600E melanoma risk in those not considered high risk based on phenotype. Our results also suggest that melanin pathways deserve further study in BRAF V600E melanomagenesis. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Genotype–phenotype correlations in individuals with pathogenic RERE variants

    PubMed Central

    Jordan, Valerie K.; Fregeau, Brieana; Ge, Xiaoyan; Giordano, Jessica; Wapner, Ronald J.; Balci, Tugce B.; Carter, Melissa T.; Bernat, John A.; Moccia, Amanda N.; Srivastava, Anshika; Martin, Donna M.; Bielas, Stephanie L.; Pappas, John; Svoboda, Melissa D.; Rio, Marlène; Boddaert, Nathalie; Cantagrel, Vincent; Lewis, Andrea M.; Scaglia, Fernando; Kohler, Jennefer N.; Bernstein, Jonathan A.; Dries, Annika M.; Rosenfeld, Jill A.; DeFilippo, Colette; Thorson, Willa; Yang, Yaping; Sherr, Elliott H.; Bi, Weimin; Scott, Daryl A.

    2018-01-01

    Heterozygous variants in the arginine-glutamic acid dipeptide repeats gene (RERE) have been shown to cause neurodevelopmental disorder with or without anomalies of the brain, eye, or heart (NEDBEH). Here, we report nine individuals with NEDBEH who carry partial deletions or deleterious sequence variants in RERE. These variants were found to be de novo in all cases in which parental samples were available. An analysis of data from individuals with NEDBEH suggests that point mutations affecting the Atrophin-1 domain of RERE are associated with an increased risk of structural eye defects, congenital heart defects, renal anomalies, and sensorineural hearing loss when compared with loss-of-function variants that are likely to lead to haploinsufficiency. A high percentage of RERE pathogenic variants affect a histidine-rich region in the Atrophin-1 domain. We have also identified a recurrent two-amino-acid duplication in this region that is associated with the development of a CHARGE syndrome-like phenotype. We conclude that mutations affecting RERE result in a spectrum of clinical phenotypes. Genotype–phenotype correlations exist and can be used to guide medical decision making. Consideration should also be given to screening for RERE variants in individuals who fulfill diagnostic criteria for CHARGE syndrome but do not carry pathogenic variants in CHD7. PMID:29330883

  19. Genotype and phenotype in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome in Taiwan.

    PubMed

    Lin, Hsiang-Yu; Lin, Shuan-Pei; Chuang, Chih-Kuang; Chen, Ming-Ren; Yen, Jui-Lung; Lee, Yann-Jinn; Huang, Chi-Yu; Tsai, Li-Ping; Niu, Dau-Ming; Chao, Mei-Chyn; Kuo, Pao-Lin

    2007-06-01

    Several different genetic defects have been found to result in the characteristic phenotypic expression of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). We performed a retrospective analysis of 67 cases of molecularly confirmed PWS diagnosed from January 1980 through July 2006 in five medical centres in Taiwan. Clinical manifestations were compared between patients with deletion and those with maternal uniparental disomy (UPD). Deletion was present in 56 (84%), UPD in 10 (15%), and a probable imprinting centre deletion or imprinting defect in 1 (1%). PWS with deletion was more likely than that with UPD to be characterized by hypogonadism (p < 0.001), small hands and feet (p < 0.001), and hypopigmentation (p < 0.002). Both maternal (p = 0.015) and paternal age (p = 0.021) were higher in the UPD group. No other clinical features differed significantly different between the two groups. In contrast to most Western populations with a higher incidence of UPD, this study of PWS in Taiwan shows a higher incidence of deletion. There may be subtle phenotypic differences between the UPD and deletion genotypes, but its not clear that these are important clinically.

  20. New insights into genotype-phenotype correlations for the doublecortin-related lissencephaly spectrum.

    PubMed

    Bahi-Buisson, Nadia; Souville, Isabelle; Fourniol, Franck J; Toussaint, Aurelie; Moores, Carolyn A; Houdusse, Anne; Lemaitre, Jean Yves; Poirier, Karine; Khalaf-Nazzal, Reham; Hully, Marie; Leger, Pierre Louis; Elie, Caroline; Boddaert, Nathalie; Beldjord, Cherif; Chelly, Jamel; Francis, Fiona

    2013-01-01

    X-linked isolated lissencephaly sequence and subcortical band heterotopia are allelic human disorders associated with mutations of doublecortin (DCX), giving both familial and sporadic forms. DCX encodes a microtubule-associated protein involved in neuronal migration during brain development. Structural data show that mutations can fall either in surface residues, likely to impair partner interactions, or in buried residues, likely to impair protein stability. Despite the progress in understanding the molecular basis of these disorders, the prognosis value of the location and impact of individual DCX mutations has largely remained unclear. To clarify this point, we investigated a cohort of 180 patients who were referred with the agyria-pachygyria subcortical band heterotopia spectrum. DCX mutations were identified in 136 individuals. Analysis of the parents' DNA revealed the de novo occurrence of DCX mutations in 76 cases [62 of 70 females screened (88.5%) and 14 of 60 males screened (23%)], whereas in the remaining cases, mutations were inherited from asymptomatic (n = 14) or symptomatic mothers (n = 11). This represents 100% of families screened. Female patients with DCX mutation demonstrated three degrees of clinical-radiological severity: a severe form with a thick band (n = 54), a milder form (n = 24) with either an anterior thin or an intermediate thickness band and asymptomatic carrier females (n = 14) with normal magnetic resonance imaging results. A higher proportion of nonsense and frameshift mutations were identified in patients with de novo mutations. An analysis of predicted effects of missense mutations showed that those destabilizing the structure of the protein were often associated with more severe phenotypes. We identified several severe- and mild-effect mutations affecting surface residues and observed that the substituted amino acid is also critical in determining severity. Recurrent mutations representing 34.5% of all DCX mutations often lead

  1. Phenotypic and Genotypic Analysis of Antimicrobial Resistance among Listeria monocytogenes Isolated from Australian Food Production Chains

    PubMed Central

    Wilson, Annaleise; Gray, Jessica; Chandry, P. Scott; Fox, Edward M.

    2018-01-01

    The current global crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among important human bacterial pathogens has been amplified by an increased resistance prevalence. In recent years, a number of studies have reported higher resistance levels among Listeria monocytogenes isolates, which may have implications for treatment of listeriosis infection where resistance to key treatment antimicrobials is noted. This study examined the genotypic and phenotypic AMR patterns of 100 L. monocytogenes isolates originating from food production supplies in Australia and examined this in the context of global population trends. Low levels of resistance were noted to ciprofloxacin (2%) and erythromycin (1%); however, no resistance was observed to penicillin G or tetracycline. Resistance to ciprofloxacin was associated with a mutation in the fepR gene in one isolate; however, no genetic basis for resistance in the other isolate was identified. Resistance to erythromycin was correlated with the presence of the ermB resistance gene. Both resistant isolates belonged to clonal complex 1 (CC1), and analysis of these in the context of global CC1 isolates suggested that they were more similar to isolates from India rather than the other CC1 isolates included in this study. This study provides baseline AMR data for L. monocytogenes isolated in Australia, identifies key genetic markers underlying this resistance, and highlights the need for global molecular surveillance of resistance patterns to maintain control over the potential dissemination of AMR isolates. PMID:29425131

  2. Lactase persistence versus lactose intolerance: Is there an intermediate phenotype?

    PubMed

    Dzialanski, Zbigniew; Barany, Michael; Engfeldt, Peter; Magnuson, Anders; Olsson, Lovisa A; Nilsson, Torbjörn K

    2016-02-01

    According to the prevailing theory about the genetic background to lactose intolerance, there are three genotypes but only two adult physiological phenotypes: lactase persistence in individuals with the CT and TT genotypes and lactase non-persistence in individuals with the CC genotype. However, analysis of lactase activity from intestinal biopsies has revealed three distinct levels of activity, suggesting that an intermediate physiological phenotype may exist. To assess possible disparities between different genotypes with regard to biomarkers of lactase activity and physical symptoms during an oral lactose load test. A retrospective study using an oral lactose load test (n=487). Concentrations of hydrogen in exhaled air and blood glucose were measured. Afterwards, subjects were asked to provide oral mucosa samples for genotyping and answer a questionnaire (participation rate 56%, n=274). Mean hydrogen levels in exhaled air at 120min were significantly higher in the CT genotype than in the TT genotype. There was no significant difference in blood glucose levels between the two groups. Reported symptoms, with the possible exception of abdominal pain, were equally prevalent in both groups. Subjects with the CT and TT genotypes, hitherto classified as lactase-persistent, differ in their physiological response to lactose intake, indicating differences in phenotype which could have clinical significance. Copyright © 2015 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. GSTM1 null polymorphism at the glutathione S-transferase M1 locus: phenotype and genotype studies in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

    PubMed Central

    Davies, M H; Elias, E; Acharya, S; Cotton, W; Faulder, G C; Fryer, A A; Strange, R C

    1993-01-01

    Studies were carried out to test the hypothesis that the GSTM1 null phenotype at the mu (mu) class glutathione S-transferase 1 locus is associated with an increased predisposition to primary biliary cirrhosis. Starch gel electrophoresis was used to compare the prevalence of GSTM1 null phenotype 0 in patients with end stage primary biliary cirrhosis and a group of controls without evidence of liver disease. The prevalence of GSTM1 null phenotype in the primary biliary cirrhosis and control groups was similar; 39% and 45% respectively. In the primary biliary cirrhosis group all subjects were of the common GSTM1 0, GSTM1 A, GSTM1 B or GSTM1 A, B phenotypes while in the controls, one subject showed an isoform with an anodal mobility compatible with it being a product of the putative GSTM1*3 allele. As the GSTM1 phenotype might be changed by the disease process, the polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify the exon 4-exon 5 region of GSTM1 and show that in 13 control subjects and 11 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, GSTM1 positive and negative genotypes were associated with corresponding GSTM1 expressing and non-expressing phenotypes respectively. The control subject with GSTM1 3 phenotype showed a positive genotype. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 PMID:8491405

  4. Phenotypic and genotypic expression of self-incompatibility haplotypes in Arabidopsis lyrata suggests unique origin of alleles in different dominance classes.

    PubMed

    Prigoda, Nadia L; Nassuth, Annette; Mable, Barbara K

    2005-07-01

    The highly divergent alleles of the SRK gene in outcrossing Arabidopsis lyrata have provided important insights into the evolutionary history of self-incompatibility (SI) alleles and serve as an ideal model for studies of the evolutionary and molecular interactions between alleles in cell-cell recognition systems in general. One tantalizing question is how new specificities arise in systems that require coordination between male and female components. Allelic recruitment via gene conversion has been proposed as one possibility, based on the division of DNA sequences at the SRK locus into two distinctive groups: (1) sequences whose relationships are not well resolved and display the long branch lengths expected for a gene under balancing selection (Class A); and (2) sequences falling into a well-supported group with shorter branch lengths (Class B) that are closely related to an unlinked paralogous locus. The purpose of this study was to determine if differences in phenotype (site of expression assayed using allele-specific reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) or function (dominance relationships assayed through controlled pollinations) accompany the sequence-based classification. Expression of Class A alleles was restricted to floral tissues, as predicted for genes involved in the SI response. In contrast, Class B alleles, despite being tightly linked to the SI phenotype, were unexpectedly expressed in both leaves and floral tissues; the same pattern found for a related unlinked paralogous sequence. Whereas Class A included haplotypes in three different dominance classes, all Class B haplotypes were found to be recessive to all except one Class A haplotype. In addition, mapping of expression and dominance patterns onto an S-domain-based genealogy suggested that allelic dominance may be determined more by evolutionary history than by frequency-dependent selection for lowered dominance as some theories suggest. The possibility that interlocus gene

  5. Succession of Phenotypic, Genotypic, and Metabolic Community Characteristics during In Vitro Bioslurry Treatment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Sediments

    PubMed Central

    Ringelberg, David B.; Talley, Jeffrey W.; Perkins, Edward J.; Tucker, Samuel G.; Luthy, Richard G.; Bouwer, Edward J.; Fredrickson, Herbert L.

    2001-01-01

    Dredged harbor sediment contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was removed from the Milwaukee Confined Disposal Facility and examined for in situ biodegradative capacity. Molecular techniques were used to determine the successional characteristics of the indigenous microbiota during a 4-month bioslurry evaluation. Ester-linked phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA), multiplex PCR of targeted genes, and radiorespirometry techniques were used to define in situ microbial phenotypic, genotypic, and metabolic responses, respectively. Soxhlet extractions revealed a loss in total PAH concentrations of 52%. Individual PAHs showed reductions as great as 75% (i.e., acenapthene and fluorene). Rates of 14C-PAH mineralization (percent/day) were greatest for phenanthrene, followed by pyrene and then chrysene. There was no mineralization capacity for benzo[a]pyrene. Ester-linked phospholipid fatty acid analysis revealed a threefold increase in total microbial biomass and a dynamic microbial community composition that showed a strong correlation with observed changes in the PAH chemistry (canonical r2 of 0.999). Nucleic acid analyses showed copies of genes encoding PAH-degrading enzymes (extradiol dioxygenases, hydroxylases, and meta-cleavage enzymes) to increase by as much as 4 orders of magnitude. Shifts in gene copy numbers showed strong correlations with shifts in specific subsets of the extant microbial community. Specifically, declines in the concentrations of three-ring PAH moieties (i.e., phenanthrene) correlated with PLFA indicative of certain gram-negative bacteria (i.e., Rhodococcus spp. and/or actinomycetes) and genes encoding for naphthalene-, biphenyl-, and catechol-2,3-dioxygenase degradative enzymes. The results of this study suggest that the intrinsic biodegradative potential of an environmental site can be derived from the polyphasic characterization of the in situ microbial community. PMID:11282603

  6. Clonal Expansion of the Pseudogymnoascus destructans Genotype in North America Is Accompanied by Significant Variation in Phenotypic Expression

    PubMed Central

    Khankhet, Jordan; Vanderwolf, Karen J.; McAlpine, Donald F.; McBurney, Scott; Overy, David P.; Slavic, Durda; Xu, Jianping

    2014-01-01

    Pseudogymnoascus destructans is the causative agent of an emerging infectious disease that threatens populations of several North American bat species. The fungal disease was first observed in 2006 and has since caused the death of nearly six million bats. The disease, commonly known as white-nose syndrome, is characterized by a cutaneous infection with P. destructans causing erosions and ulcers in the skin of nose, ears and/or wings of bats. Previous studies based on sequences from eight loci have found that isolates of P. destructans from bats in the US all belong to one multilocus genotype. Using the same multilocus sequence typing method, we found that isolates from eastern and central Canada also had the same genotype as those from the US, consistent with the clonal expansion of P. destructans into Canada. However, our PCR fingerprinting revealed that among the 112 North American isolates we analyzed, three, all from Canada, showed minor genetic variation. Furthermore, we found significant variations among isolates in mycelial growth rate; the production of mycelial exudates; and pigment production and diffusion into agar media. These phenotypic differences were influenced by culture medium and incubation temperature, indicating significant variation in environmental condition - dependent phenotypic expression among isolates of the clonal P. destructans genotype in North America. PMID:25122221

  7. Clonal expansion of the Pseudogymnoascus destructans genotype in North America is accompanied by significant variation in phenotypic expression.

    PubMed

    Khankhet, Jordan; Vanderwolf, Karen J; McAlpine, Donald F; McBurney, Scott; Overy, David P; Slavic, Durda; Xu, Jianping

    2014-01-01

    Pseudogymnoascus destructans is the causative agent of an emerging infectious disease that threatens populations of several North American bat species. The fungal disease was first observed in 2006 and has since caused the death of nearly six million bats. The disease, commonly known as white-nose syndrome, is characterized by a cutaneous infection with P. destructans causing erosions and ulcers in the skin of nose, ears and/or wings of bats. Previous studies based on sequences from eight loci have found that isolates of P. destructans from bats in the US all belong to one multilocus genotype. Using the same multilocus sequence typing method, we found that isolates from eastern and central Canada also had the same genotype as those from the US, consistent with the clonal expansion of P. destructans into Canada. However, our PCR fingerprinting revealed that among the 112 North American isolates we analyzed, three, all from Canada, showed minor genetic variation. Furthermore, we found significant variations among isolates in mycelial growth rate; the production of mycelial exudates; and pigment production and diffusion into agar media. These phenotypic differences were influenced by culture medium and incubation temperature, indicating significant variation in environmental condition--dependent phenotypic expression among isolates of the clonal P. destructans genotype in North America.

  8. New insights into genotype–phenotype correlation for GLI3 mutations

    PubMed Central

    Démurger, Florence; Ichkou, Amale; Mougou-Zerelli, Soumaya; Le Merrer, Martine; Goudefroye, Géraldine; Delezoide, Anne-Lise; Quélin, Chloé; Manouvrier, Sylvie; Baujat, Geneviève; Fradin, Mélanie; Pasquier, Laurent; Megarbané, André; Faivre, Laurence; Baumann, Clarisse; Nampoothiri, Sheela; Roume, Joëlle; Isidor, Bertrand; Lacombe, Didier; Delrue, Marie-Ange; Mercier, Sandra; Philip, Nicole; Schaefer, Elise; Holder, Muriel; Krause, Amanda; Laffargue, Fanny; Sinico, Martine; Amram, Daniel; André, Gwenaelle; Liquier, Alain; Rossi, Massimiliano; Amiel, Jeanne; Giuliano, Fabienne; Boute, Odile; Dieux-Coeslier, Anne; Jacquemont, Marie-Line; Afenjar, Alexandra; Van Maldergem, Lionel; Lackmy-Port-Lis, Marylin; Vincent- Delorme, Catherine; Chauvet, Marie-Liesse; Cormier-Daire, Valérie; Devisme, Louise; Geneviève, David; Munnich, Arnold; Viot, Géraldine; Raoul, Odile; Romana, Serge; Gonzales, Marie; Encha-Razavi, Ferechte; Odent, Sylvie; Vekemans, Michel; Attie-Bitach, Tania

    2015-01-01

    The phenotypic spectrum of GLI3 mutations includes autosomal dominant Greig cephalopolysyndactyly syndrome (GCPS) and Pallister–Hall syndrome (PHS). PHS was first described as a lethal condition associating hypothalamic hamartoma, postaxial or central polydactyly, anal atresia and bifid epiglottis. Typical GCPS combines polysyndactyly of hands and feet and craniofacial features. Genotype–phenotype correlations have been found both for the location and the nature of GLI3 mutations, highlighting the bifunctional nature of GLI3 during development. Here we report on the molecular and clinical study of 76 cases from 55 families with either a GLI3 mutation (49 GCPS and 21 PHS), or a large deletion encompassing the GLI3 gene (6 GCPS cases). Most of mutations are novel and consistent with the previously reported genotype–phenotype correlation. Our results also show a correlation between the location of the mutation and abnormal corpus callosum observed in some patients with GCPS. Fetal PHS observations emphasize on the possible lethality of GLI3 mutations and extend the phenotypic spectrum of malformations such as agnathia and reductional limbs defects. GLI3 expression studied by in situ hybridization during human development confirms its early expression in target tissues. PMID:24736735

  9. Hsp90: A Global Regulator of the Genotype-to-Phenotype Map in Cancers.

    PubMed

    Jarosz, Daniel

    2016-01-01

    Cancer cells have the unusual capacity to limit the cost of the mutation load that they harbor and simultaneously harness its evolutionary potential. This property fuels drug resistance, a key failure mode in oncogene-directed therapy. However, the factors that regulate this capacity might also provide an Achilles' heel that could be exploited therapeutically. Recently, insight has come from a seemingly distant field: protein folding. It is now clear that protein homeostasis broadly supports malignancy and fuels the rapid evolution of drug resistance. Among protein homeostatic mechanisms that influence cancer biology, the essential ATP-driven molecular chaperone heat-shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is especially important. Hsp90 catalyzes folding of many proteins that regulate growth and development. These "client" kinases, transcription factors, and ubiquitin ligases often play critical roles in human disease, especially cancer. Studies in a wide range of systems-from single-celled organisms to human tumor samples-suggest that Hsp90 can broadly reshape the map between genotype and phenotype, acting as a "capacitor" and "potentiator" of genetic variation. Indeed, it has likely done so to such a degree that it has left an impress on diverse genome sequences. Hsp90 can constitute as much as 5% of total protein in transformed cells and increased levels of heat-shock activation correlate with poor prognosis in breast cancer. These findings and others have motivated a flurry of interest in Hsp90 inhibitors as cancer therapeutics, which have met with rather limited success as single agents, but may eventually prove invaluable in limiting the emergence of resistance to other chemotherapeutics, both genotoxic and molecularly targeted. Here, we provide an overview of Hsp90 function, review its relationship to genetic variation and the evolution of new traits, and discuss the importance of these findings for cancer biology and future efforts to drug this pathway. © 2016 Elsevier

  10. CONFIRMATIONAL IDENTIFICATION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI, A COMPARISON OF GENOTYPIC AND PHENOTYPIC ASSAYS FOR GLUTAMATE DECARBOXYLASE AND B-D-GLUCURONIDASE

    EPA Science Inventory

    Genotypic and phenotypic assays for glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) and B-D-glucuronidase (GUD) were compared for their abilities to detect various strains of Escherichia coli and to discriminate among other bacterial species. Test strains included nonpathogenic E.coli, three major...

  11. Mendel: a simple excel workbook to compare the observed and expected distributions of genotypes/phenotypes in transgenic and knockout mouse crosses involving up to three unlinked loci by means of a χ2 test.

    PubMed

    Montoliu, Lluís

    2012-06-01

    The analysis of transgenic and knockout mice always involves the establishment of matings with individuals carrying different loci, segregating independently, whose presence is expected among the progeny, according to a Mendelian distribution. The appearance of distorted inheritance ratios suggests the existence of unexpected lethal or sub-lethal phenotypes associated with some genotypes. These situations are common in a number of cases, including: testing transgenic founder mice for germ-line transmission of their transgenes; setting up heterozygous crosses to obtain homozygous individuals, both for transgenic and knockout mice; establishing matings between floxed mouse lines and suitable cre transgenic mouse lines, etc. The Pearson's χ(2) test can be used to assess the significance of the observed frequencies of genotypes/phenotypes in relation to the expected values, in order to determine whether the observed cases fit the expected distribution. Here, I describe a simple Excel workbook to compare the observed and expected distributions of genotypes/phenotypes in transgenic and knockout mouse crosses involving up to three unlinked loci by means of a χ(2) test. The file is freely available for download from my laboratory's web page at: http://www.cnb.csic.es/~montoliu/Mendel.xls .

  12. Joint analysis of phenotypic and molecular diversity provides new insights on the genetic variability of the Brazilian physic nut germplasm bank

    PubMed Central

    Alves, Alexandre Alonso; Bhering, Leonardo Lopes; Rosado, Tatiana Barbosa; Laviola, Bruno Galvêas; Formighieri, Eduardo Fernandes; Cruz, Cosme Damião

    2013-01-01

    The genetic variability of the Brazilian physic nut (Jatropha curcas) germplasm bank (117 accessions) was assessed using a combination of phenotypic and molecular data. The joint dissimilarity matrix showed moderate correlation with the original matrices of phenotypic and molecular data. However, the correlation between the phenotypic dissimilarity matrix and the genotypic dissimilarity matrix was low. This finding indicated that molecular markers (RAPD and SSR) did not adequately sample the genomic regions that were relevant for phenotypic differentiation of the accessions. The dissimilarity values of the joint dissimilarity matrix were used to measure phenotypic + molecular diversity. This diversity varied from 0 to 1.29 among the 117 accessions, with an average dissimilarity among genotypes of 0.51. Joint analysis of phenotypic and molecular diversity indicated that the genetic diversity of the physic nut germplasm was 156% and 64% higher than the diversity estimated from phenotypic and molecular data, respectively. These results show that Jatropha genetic variability in Brazil is not as limited as previously thought. PMID:24130445

  13. Joint analysis of phenotypic and molecular diversity provides new insights on the genetic variability of the Brazilian physic nut germplasm bank.

    PubMed

    Alves, Alexandre Alonso; Bhering, Leonardo Lopes; Rosado, Tatiana Barbosa; Laviola, Bruno Galvêas; Formighieri, Eduardo Fernandes; Cruz, Cosme Damião

    2013-09-01

    The genetic variability of the Brazilian physic nut (Jatropha curcas) germplasm bank (117 accessions) was assessed using a combination of phenotypic and molecular data. The joint dissimilarity matrix showed moderate correlation with the original matrices of phenotypic and molecular data. However, the correlation between the phenotypic dissimilarity matrix and the genotypic dissimilarity matrix was low. This finding indicated that molecular markers (RAPD and SSR) did not adequately sample the genomic regions that were relevant for phenotypic differentiation of the accessions. The dissimilarity values of the joint dissimilarity matrix were used to measure phenotypic + molecular diversity. This diversity varied from 0 to 1.29 among the 117 accessions, with an average dissimilarity among genotypes of 0.51. Joint analysis of phenotypic and molecular diversity indicated that the genetic diversity of the physic nut germplasm was 156% and 64% higher than the diversity estimated from phenotypic and molecular data, respectively. These results show that Jatropha genetic variability in Brazil is not as limited as previously thought.

  14. High-resolution mapping of genotype-phenotype relationships in cridu chat syndrome using array comparative genomic hybridization

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhang, Xiaoxiao; Snijders, Antoine; Segraves, Richard

    2007-07-03

    We have used array comparative genomic hybridization to map DNA copy-number changes in 94 patients with cri du chat syndrome who had been carefully evaluated for the presence of the characteristic cry, speech delay, facial dysmorphology, and level of mental retardation (MR). Most subjects had simple deletions involving 5p (67 terminal and 12 interstitial). Genotype-phenotype correlations localized the region associated with the cry to 1.5 Mb in distal 5p15.31, between bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) containing markers D5S2054 and D5S676; speech delay to 3.2 Mb in 5p15.32-15.33, between BACs containing D5S417 and D5S635; and the region associated with facial dysmorphology tomore » 2.4 Mb in 5p15.2-15.31, between BACs containing D5S208 and D5S2887. These results overlap and refine those reported in previous publications. MR depended approximately on the 5p deletion size and location, but there were many cases in which the retardation was disproportionately severe, given the 5p deletion. All 15 of these cases, approximately two-thirds of the severely retarded patients, were found to have copy-number aberrations in addition to the 5p deletion. Restriction of consideration to patients with only 5p deletions clarified the effect of such deletions and suggested the presence of three regions, MRI-III, with differing effect on retardation. Deletions including MRI, a 1.2-Mb region overlapping the previously defined cri du chat critical region but not including MRII and MRIII, produced a moderate level of retardation. Deletions restricted to MRII, located just proximal to MRI, produced a milder level of retardation, whereas deletions restricted to the still-more proximal MRIII produced no discernible phenotype. However, MR increased as deletions that included MRI extended progressively into MRII and MRIII, and MR became profound when all three regions were deleted.« less

  15. Post-transcriptional Mechanisms Contribute Little to Phenotypic Variation in Snake Venoms.

    PubMed

    Rokyta, Darin R; Margres, Mark J; Calvin, Kate

    2015-09-09

    Protein expression is a major link in the genotype-phenotype relationship, and processes affecting protein abundances, such as rates of transcription and translation, could contribute to phenotypic evolution if they generate heritable variation. Recent work has suggested that mRNA abundances do not accurately predict final protein abundances, which would imply that post-transcriptional regulatory processes contribute significantly to phenotypes. Post-transcriptional processes also appear to buffer changes in transcriptional patterns as species diverge, suggesting that the transcriptional changes have little or no effect on the phenotypes undergoing study. We tested for concordance between mRNA and protein expression levels in snake venoms by means of mRNA-seq and quantitative mass spectrometry for 11 snakes representing 10 species, six genera, and three families. In contrast to most previous work, we found high correlations between venom gland transcriptomes and venom proteomes for 10 of our 11 comparisons. We tested for protein-level buffering of transcriptional changes during species divergence by comparing the difference between transcript abundance and protein abundance for three pairs of species and one intraspecific pair. We found no evidence for buffering during divergence of our three species pairs but did find evidence for protein-level buffering for our single intraspecific comparison, suggesting that buffering, if present, was a transient phenomenon in venom divergence. Our results demonstrated that post-transcriptional mechanisms did not contribute significantly to phenotypic evolution in venoms and suggest a more prominent and direct role for cis-regulatory evolution in phenotypic variation, particularly for snake venoms. Copyright © 2015 Rokyta et al.

  16. Adaptation to an extraordinary environment by evolution of phenotypic plasticity and genetic assimilation.

    PubMed

    Lande, Russell

    2009-07-01

    Adaptation to a sudden extreme change in environment, beyond the usual range of background environmental fluctuations, is analysed using a quantitative genetic model of phenotypic plasticity. Generations are discrete, with time lag tau between a critical period for environmental influence on individual development and natural selection on adult phenotypes. The optimum phenotype, and genotypic norms of reaction, are linear functions of the environment. Reaction norm elevation and slope (plasticity) vary among genotypes. Initially, in the average background environment, the character is canalized with minimum genetic and phenotypic variance, and no correlation between reaction norm elevation and slope. The optimal plasticity is proportional to the predictability of environmental fluctuations over time lag tau. During the first generation in the new environment the mean fitness suddenly drops and the mean phenotype jumps towards the new optimum phenotype by plasticity. Subsequent adaptation occurs in two phases. Rapid evolution of increased plasticity allows the mean phenotype to closely approach the new optimum. The new phenotype then undergoes slow genetic assimilation, with reduction in plasticity compensated by genetic evolution of reaction norm elevation in the original environment.

  17. Mutation Spectrum and Phenotypic Features in Noonan Syndrome with PTPN11 Mutations: Definition of Two Novel Mutations.

    PubMed

    Atik, Tahir; Aykut, Ayca; Hazan, Filiz; Onay, Huseyin; Goksen, Damla; Darcan, Sukran; Tukun, Ajlan; Ozkinay, Ferda

    2016-06-01

    To evaluate the spectrum of PTPN11 gene mutations in Noonan syndrome patients and to study the genotype-phenotype associations. In this study, twenty Noonan syndrome patients with PTPN11 mutations were included. The patients underwent a detailed clinical and physical evaluation. To identify inherited cases, parents of all mutation positive patients were analyzed. Thirteen different PTPN11 mutations, two of them being novel, were detected in the study group. These mutations included eleven missense mutations: p.G60A, p.D61N, p.Y62D, p.Y63C, p.E69Q, p.Q79R, p.Y279C,p.N308D, p.N308S, p.M504V, p.Q510R and two novel missense mutations: p.I56V and p.I282M. The frequency of cardiac abnormalities and short stature were found to be 80 % and 80 %, respectively. Mental retardation was not observed in patients having exon 8 mutations. No significant correlations were detected between other phenotypic features and genotypes. By identifying genotype-phenotype correlations, this study provides information on phenotypes observed in NS patients with different PTPN11 mutations.

  18. EHR Big Data Deep Phenotyping

    PubMed Central

    Lenert, L.; Lopez-Campos, G.

    2014-01-01

    Summary Objectives Given the quickening speed of discovery of variant disease drivers from combined patient genotype and phenotype data, the objective is to provide methodology using big data technology to support the definition of deep phenotypes in medical records. Methods As the vast stores of genomic information increase with next generation sequencing, the importance of deep phenotyping increases. The growth of genomic data and adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) in medicine provides a unique opportunity to integrate phenotype and genotype data into medical records. The method by which collections of clinical findings and other health related data are leveraged to form meaningful phenotypes is an active area of research. Longitudinal data stored in EHRs provide a wealth of information that can be used to construct phenotypes of patients. We focus on a practical problem around data integration for deep phenotype identification within EHR data. The use of big data approaches are described that enable scalable markup of EHR events that can be used for semantic and temporal similarity analysis to support the identification of phenotype and genotype relationships. Conclusions Stead and colleagues’ 2005 concept of using light standards to increase the productivity of software systems by riding on the wave of hardware/processing power is described as a harbinger for designing future healthcare systems. The big data solution, using flexible markup, provides a route to improved utilization of processing power for organizing patient records in genotype and phenotype research. PMID:25123744

  19. [Tuberous sclerosis: clinical characteristics and their relationship to genotype/phenotype].

    PubMed

    Monteiro, T; Garrido, C; Pina, S; Chorão, R; Carrilho, I; Figueiroa, S; Santos, M; Temudo, T

    2014-11-01

    Tuberous sclerosis (TS) is an inherited disorder with multisystemic involvement and a high phenotypic variability. There are two genes that cause this condition: TSC1 and TSC2. Our goal was to clinically characterize patients with TS followed up in the Pediatric Neurology Clinic of a tertiary hospital during the last 10 years, and correlate the genotype with the severity of neurological manifestations and imaging studies. Retrospective analysis of patients with TS, including review of medical records and available MRI imaging. We studied 35 cases with a median age at diagnosis of ten months. Seizures were the first manifestation in 91.4% of cases, with a predominance of epileptic spasms. Over 50% had cognitive impairment and 49% behavioral disorders. A genetic study was performed on 24 children, and TSC2 mutations identified in 58.3% of them. Of the 11 cases of refractory epilepsy, six had the TSC2 gene mutation. In the group of eight patients with moderate/severe cognitive deficits, five had TSC2 mutations. We reviewed 26 MRI scans, in which it was observed that 76.9% had diffuse involvement of cerebral lobes, which reflects a greater burden of injury. Of the patients who had an MRI scan performed and had TSC2 mutations, all had a high tuber load, and5 of them had refractory epilepsy. In our sample we observe a high percentage of mutations in the TSC2 gene. This mutation carries a worse neurological prognosis, with drug-resistant epilepsy and a more severe cognitive impairment. Copyright © 2013 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  20. F7 gene variants modulate protein levels in a large cohort of patients with factor VII deficiency. Results from a genotype-phenotype study.

    PubMed

    Quintavalle, Gabriele; Riccardi, Federica; Rivolta, Gianna Franca; Martorana, Davide; Di Perna, Caterina; Percesepe, Antonio; Tagliaferri, Annarita

    2017-08-01

    Congenital factor VII (FVII) deficiency is a rare bleeding disorder caused by mutations in F7 gene with autosomal recessive inheritance. A clinical heterogeneity with poor correlation with FVII:C levels has been described. It was the objective of this study to identify genetic defects and to evaluate their relationships with phenotype in a large cohort of patients with FVII:C<50 %. One hundred twenty-three probands were genotyped for F7 mutations and three polymorphic variants and classified according to recently published clinical scores. Forty out of 123 patients (33 %) were symptomatic (43 bleedings). A severe bleeding tendency was observed only in patients with FVII:C<0.10 %. Epistaxis (11 %) and menorrhagia (32 % of females in fertile age) were the most frequent bleedings. Molecular analysis detected 48 mutations, 20 not reported in the F7 international databases. Most mutations (62 %) were missense, large deletions were 6.2 %. Compound heterozygotes/homozygotes for mutations presented lower FVII:C levels compared to the other classes (Chi 2 =43.709, p<0,001). The polymorphisms distribution was significantly different among the three F7 genotypic groups (Chi 2 =72.289, p<0,001). The presence of truncating mutations was associated with lowest FVII:C levels (Chi 2 =21.351, p=0.002). This study confirms the clinical and molecular variability of the disease and the type of symptoms. It shows a good correlation between the type of F7 mutation and/or polymorphisms and FVII:C levels, without a direct link between FVII:C and bleeding tendency. The results suggest that large deletions are underestimated and that they represent a common mechanism of F7 gene inactivation which should always be investigated in the diagnostic testing for FVII deficiency.

  1. Identification of a mutation that is associated with the saddle tan and black-and-tan phenotypes in Basset Hounds and Pembroke Welsh Corgis.

    PubMed

    Dreger, Dayna L; Parker, Heidi G; Ostrander, Elaine A; Schmutz, Sheila M

    2013-01-01

    The causative mutation for the black-and-tan (a (t) ) phenotype in dogs was previously shown to be a SINE insertion in the 5' region of Agouti Signaling Protein (ASIP). Dogs with the black-and-tan phenotype, as well as dogs with the saddle tan phenotype, genotype as a (t) /_ at this locus. We have identified a 16-bp duplication (g.1875_1890dupCCCCAGGTCAGAGTTT) in an intron of hnRNP associated with lethal yellow (RALY), which segregates with the black-and-tan phenotype in a group of 99 saddle tan and black-and-tan Basset Hounds and Pembroke Welsh Corgis. In these breeds, all dogs with the saddle tan phenotype had RALY genotypes of +/+ or +/dup, whereas dogs with the black-and-tan phenotype were homozygous for the duplication. The presence of an a (y) /_ fawn or e/e red genotype is epistatic to the +/_ saddle tan genotype. Genotypes from 10 wolves and 1 coyote indicated that the saddle tan (+) allele is the ancestral allele, suggesting that black-and-tan is a modification of saddle tan. An additional 95 dogs from breeds that never have the saddle tan phenotype have all three of the possible RALY genotypes. We suggest that a multi-gene interaction involving ASIP, RALY, MC1R, DEFB103, and a yet-unidentified modifier gene is required for expression of saddle tan.

  2. Laboratory-acquired infections of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi in South Africa: phenotypic and genotypic analysis of isolates.

    PubMed

    Smith, Anthony Marius; Smouse, Shannon Lucrecia; Tau, Nomsa Pauline; Bamford, Colleen; Moodley, Vineshree Mischka; Jacobs, Charlene; McCarthy, Kerrigan Mary; Lourens, Adré; Keddy, Karen Helena

    2017-09-29

    Workers in clinical microbiology laboratories are exposed to a variety of pathogenic microorganisms. Salmonella species is among the most commonly reported bacterial causes of laboratory-acquired infections. We report on three cases of laboratory-acquired Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (Salmonella Typhi) infection which occurred over the period 2012 to 2016 in South Africa. Laboratory investigation included phenotypic and genotypic characterization of isolates. Phenotypic analysis included standard microbiological identification techniques, serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Genotypic analysis included the molecular subtyping methodologies of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis, multilocus sequence typing and whole-genome sequencing (WGS); with WGS data analysis including phylogenetic analysis based upon comparison of single nucleotide polymorphism profiles of isolates. All cases of laboratory-acquired infection were most likely the result of lapses in good laboratory practice and laboratory safety. The following critical issues were highlighted. There was misdiagnosis and misreporting of Salmonella Typhi as nontyphoidal Salmonella by a diagnostic laboratory, with associated public health implications. We highlight issues concerning the importance of accurate fluoroquinolone susceptibility testing and interpretation of results according to updated guidelines. We describe potential shortcomings of a single disk susceptibility screening test for fluoroquinolone susceptibility and suggest that confirmatory minimum inhibitory concentration testing should always be performed in cases of invasive Salmonella infections. These antimicrobial susceptibility testing issues resulted in inappropriate ciprofloxacin therapy which may have been responsible for failure in clearance of pathogen from patients. Salmonella Typhi capsular polysaccharide vaccine was not protective in one case, possibly secondarily to a faulty vaccine. Molecular subtyping of

  3. Genotype-phenotype variations in five Spanish families with Norrie disease or X-linked FEVR.

    PubMed

    Riveiro-Alvarez, Rosa; Trujillo-Tiebas, Maria José; Gimenez-Pardo, Ascension; Garcia-Hoyos, Maria; Cantalapiedra, Diego; Lorda-Sanchez, Isabel; Rodriguez de Alba, Marta; Ramos, Carmen; Ayuso, Carmen

    2005-09-02

    Norrie disease (OMIM 310600) is a rare X-linked disorder characterized by congenital blindness in males. Approximately 40 to 50% of the cases develop deafness and mental retardation. X-linked familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (XL-FEVR) is a hereditary ocular disorder characterized by a failure of peripheral retinal vascularization. Both X-linked disorders are due to mutations in the NDP gene, which encodes a 133 amino acid protein called Norrin, but autosomal recessive (AR) and autosomal dominant (AD) forms of FEVR have also been described. In this study, we report the molecular findings and the related phenotype in five Spanish families affected with Norrie disease or XL-FEVR due to mutations of the NDP gene. The study was conducted in 45 subjects from five Spanish families. These families were clinically diagnosed with Norrie disease or similar conditions. The three exons of the NDP gene were analyzed by automatic DNA sequencing. Haplotype analyses were also performed. Two new nonsense mutations, apart from other mutations previously described in the NDP gene, were found in those patients affected with ND or X-linked FEVR. An important genotype-phenotype variation was found in relation to the different mutations of the NDP gene. In fact, the same mutation may be responsible for different phenotypes. We speculate that there might be other molecular factors that interact in the retina with Norrin, which contribute to the resultant phenotypes.

  4. Further insight into the phenotype associated with a mutation in the ORC6 gene, causing Meier-Gorlin syndrome 3.

    PubMed

    Shalev, Stavit Allon; Khayat, Morad; Etty, Daniel-Spiegl; Elpeleg, Orly

    2015-03-01

    Mutations in genes encoding the origin recognition complex subunits cause Meier-Gorlin syndrome. The disease manifests a triad of short stature, small ears, and small and/or absent patellae with variable expressivity. We report on the identification of a homozygous deleterious mutation in the ORC6 gene in previously described fetuses at the severe end of the Meier-Gorlin spectrum. The phenotype included severe intrauterine growth retardation, dislocation of knees, gracile bones, clubfeet, and small mandible and chest. To date, the clinical presentation of ORC6-associated Meier-Gorlin syndrome has been mild compared to other the phenotype associated with other loci. The present report expands the clinical phenotype associated with ORC6 mutations to include severely abnormal embryological development suggesting a possible genotype-phenotype correlation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. The differential view of genotype–phenotype relationships

    PubMed Central

    Orgogozo, Virginie; Morizot, Baptiste; Martin, Arnaud

    2015-01-01

    An integrative view of diversity and singularity in the living world requires a better understanding of the intricate link between genotypes and phenotypes. Here we re-emphasize the old standpoint that the genotype–phenotype (GP) relationship is best viewed as a connection between two differences, one at the genetic level and one at the phenotypic level. As of today, predominant thinking in biology research is that multiple genes interact with multiple environmental variables (such as abiotic factors, culture, or symbionts) to produce the phenotype. Often, the problem of linking genotypes and phenotypes is framed in terms of genotype and phenotype maps, and such graphical representations implicitly bring us away from the differential view of GP relationships. Here we show that the differential view of GP relationships is a useful explanatory framework in the context of pervasive pleiotropy, epistasis, and environmental effects. In such cases, it is relevant to view GP relationships as differences embedded into differences. Thinking in terms of differences clarifies the comparison between environmental and genetic effects on phenotypes and helps to further understand the connection between genotypes and phenotypes. PMID:26042146

  6. Infantile Alexander Disease: Spectrum of GFAP Mutations and Genotype-Phenotype Correlation

    PubMed Central

    Rodriguez, Diana; Gauthier, Fernande; Bertini, Enrico; Bugiani, Marianna; Brenner, Michael; N'guyen, Sylvie; Goizet, Cyril; Gelot, Antoinette; Surtees, Robert; Pedespan, Jean-Michel; Hernandorena, Xavier; Troncoso, Monica; Uziel, Graziela; Messing, Albee; Ponsot, Gérard; Pham-Dinh, Danielle; Dautigny, André; Boespflug-Tanguy, Odile

    2001-01-01

    Heterozygous, de novo mutations in the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) gene have recently been reported in 12 patients affected by neuropathologically proved Alexander disease. We searched for GFAP mutations in a series of patients who had heterogeneous clinical symptoms but were candidates for Alexander disease on the basis of suggestive neuroimaging abnormalities. Missense, heterozygous, de novo GFAP mutations were found in exons 1 or 4 for 14 of the 15 patients analyzed, including patients without macrocephaly. Nine patients carried arginine mutations (four had R79H; four had R239C; and one had R239H) that have been described elsewhere, whereas the other five had one of four novel mutations, of which two affect arginine (2R88C and 1R88S) and two affect nonarginine residues (1L76F and 1N77Y). All mutations were located in the rod domain of GFAP, and there is a correlation between clinical severity and the affected amino acid. These results confirm that GFAP mutations are a reliable molecular marker for the diagnosis of infantile Alexander disease, and they also form a basis for the recommendation of GFAP analysis for prenatal diagnosis to detect potential cases of germinal mosaicism. PMID:11567214

  7. Genotype-Phenotype Analysis, Neuropsychological Assessment, and Growth Hormone Response in a Patient with 18p Deletion Syndrome.

    PubMed

    Sun, Huihui; Wan, Naijun; Wang, Xinli; Chang, Liang; Cheng, Dazhi

    2018-01-01

    18p deletion syndrome is a rare chromosomal disease caused by deletion of the short arm of chromosome 18. By using cytogenetic and SNP array analysis, we identified a girl with 18p deletion syndrome exhibiting craniofacial anomalies, intellectual disability, and short stature. G-banding analysis of metaphase cells revealed an abnormal karyotype 46,XX,del(18)(p10). Further, SNP array detected a 15.3-Mb deletion at 18p11.21p11.32 (chr18:12842-15375878) including 61 OMIM genes. Genotype-phenotype correlation analysis showed that clinical manifestations of the patient were correlated with LAMA1, TWSG1, and GNAL deletions. Her neuropsychological assessment test demonstrated delay in most cognitive functions including impaired mathematics, linguistic skills, visual motor perception, respond speed, and executive function. Meanwhile, her integrated visual and auditory continuous performance test (IVA-CPT) indicated a severe comprehensive attention deficit. At age 7 and 1/12 years, her height was 110.8 cm (-2.5 SD height for age). Growth hormone (GH) treatment was initiated. After 27 months treatment, her height was increased to 129.6 cm (-1.0 SD height for age) at 9 and 4/12 years, indicating an effective response to GH treatment. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  8. Cytochrome b5 and NADH cytochrome b5 reductase: genotype-phenotype correlations for hydroxylamine reduction.

    PubMed

    Sacco, James C; Trepanier, Lauren A

    2010-01-01

    NADH cytochrome b5 reductase (b5R) and cytochrome b5 (b5) catalyze the reduction of sulfamethoxazole hydroxylamine (SMX-HA), which can contribute to sulfonamide hypersensitivity, to the parent drug sulfamethoxazole. Variability in hydroxylamine reduction could thus play a role in adverse drug reactions. The aim of this study was to characterize variability in SMX-HA reduction in 111 human livers, and investigate its association with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in b5 and b5R cDNA. Liver microsomes were assayed for SMX-HA reduction activity, and b5 and b5R expression was semiquantified by immunoblotting. The coding regions of the b5 (CYB5A) and b5R (CYB5R3) genes were resequenced. Hepatic SMX-HA reduction displayed a 19-fold range of individual variability (0.06-1.11 nmol/min/mg protein), and a 17-fold range in efficiency (Vmax/Km) among outliers. SMX-HA reduction was positively correlated with b5 and b5R protein content (P<0.0001, r=0.42; P=0.01, r=0.23, respectively), and expression of both proteins correlated with one another (P<0.0001; r=0.74). A novel cSNP in CYB5A (S5A) was associated with very low activity and protein expression. Two novel CYB5R3 SNPs, R59H and R297H, displayed atypical SMX-HA reduction kinetics and decreased SMX-HA reduction efficiency. These studies indicate that although novel cSNPs in CYB5A and CYB5R3 are associated with significantly altered protein expression and/or hydroxylamine reduction activities, these low-frequency cSNPs seem to only minimally impact overall observed phenotypic variability. Work is underway to characterize polymorphisms in other regions of these genes to further account for individual variability in hydroxylamine reduction.

  9. Genotypic and Phenotypic Characteristics Associated with Biofilm Formation by Human Clinical Escherichia coli Isolates of Different Pathotypes

    PubMed Central

    Schiebel, Juliane; Böhm, Alexander; Nitschke, Jörg; Burdukiewicz, Michał; Weinreich, Jörg; Ali, Aamir; Roggenbuck, Dirk; Rödiger, Stefan

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Bacterial biofilm formation is a widespread phenomenon and a complex process requiring a set of genes facilitating the initial adhesion, maturation, and production of the extracellular polymeric matrix and subsequent dispersal of bacteria. Most studies on Escherichia coli biofilm formation have investigated nonpathogenic E. coli K-12 strains. Due to the extensive focus on laboratory strains in most studies, there is poor information regarding biofilm formation by pathogenic E. coli isolates. In this study, we genotypically and phenotypically characterized 187 human clinical E. coli isolates representing various pathotypes (e.g., uropathogenic, enteropathogenic, and enteroaggregative E. coli). We investigated the presence of biofilm-associated genes (“genotype”) and phenotypically analyzed the isolates for motility and curli and cellulose production (“phenotype”). We developed a new screening method to examine the in vitro biofilm formation ability. In summary, we found a high prevalence of biofilm-associated genes. However, we could not detect a biofilm-associated gene or specific phenotype correlating with the biofilm formation ability. In contrast, we did identify an association of increased biofilm formation with a specific E. coli pathotype. Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) was found to exhibit the highest capacity for biofilm formation. Using our image-based technology for the screening of biofilm formation, we demonstrated the characteristic biofilm formation pattern of EAEC, consisting of thick bacterial aggregates. In summary, our results highlight the fact that biofilm-promoting factors shown to be critical for biofilm formation in nonpathogenic strains do not reflect their impact in clinical isolates and that the ability of biofilm formation is a defined characteristic of EAEC. IMPORTANCE Bacterial biofilms are ubiquitous and consist of sessile bacterial cells surrounded by a self-produced extracellular polymeric matrix. They cause

  10. Genotypic and Phenotypic Diversity Does Not Affect Productivity and Drought Response in Competitive Stands of Trifolium repens.

    PubMed

    Huber, Heidrun; During, Heinjo J; Bruine de Bruin, Fabienne; Vermeulen, Peter J; Anten, Niels P R

    2016-01-01

    Clonal plants can form dense canopies in which plants of different genetic origin are competing for the uptake of essential resources. The competitive relationships among these clones are likely to be affected by extreme environmental conditions, such as prolonged drought spells, which are predicted to occur more frequently due to global climate change. This, in turn, may alter characteristics of the ecological system and its associated functioning. We hypothesized that the relative success of individual clones will depend on the size of the ramets as ramets with larger leaves and longer petioles (large ramets) were predicted to have a competitive advantage in terms of increased light interception over smaller-sized ramets. Under drier conditions the relative performances of genotypes were expected to change leading to a change in genotype ranking. We also hypothesized that increased genotypic and phenotypic diversity will increase stand performance and resistance to drought. These hypotheses and the mechanisms responsible for shifts in competitive relationships were investigated by subjecting genotypes of the important pasture legume Trifolium repens to competition with either genetically identical clones, genetically different but similarly sized clones, or genetically as well as morphologically different clones under well-watered and dry conditions. Competitive relationships were affected by ramet size with large genotypes outperforming small genotypes in diverse stands in terms of biomass production. However, large genotypes also produced relatively fewer ramets than small genotypes and could not benefit in terms of clonal reproduction from competing with smaller genotypes, indicating that evolutionary shifts in genotype composition will depend on whether ramet size or ramet number is under selection. In contrast to our hypotheses, diversity did not increase stand performance under different selection regimes and genotype ranking was hardly affected by soil

  11. TATES: Efficient Multivariate Genotype-Phenotype Analysis for Genome-Wide Association Studies

    PubMed Central

    van der Sluis, Sophie; Posthuma, Danielle; Dolan, Conor V.

    2013-01-01

    To date, the genome-wide association study (GWAS) is the primary tool to identify genetic variants that cause phenotypic variation. As GWAS analyses are generally univariate in nature, multivariate phenotypic information is usually reduced to a single composite score. This practice often results in loss of statistical power to detect causal variants. Multivariate genotype–phenotype methods do exist but attain maximal power only in special circumstances. Here, we present a new multivariate method that we refer to as TATES (Trait-based Association Test that uses Extended Simes procedure), inspired by the GATES procedure proposed by Li et al (2011). For each component of a multivariate trait, TATES combines p-values obtained in standard univariate GWAS to acquire one trait-based p-value, while correcting for correlations between components. Extensive simulations, probing a wide variety of genotype–phenotype models, show that TATES's false positive rate is correct, and that TATES's statistical power to detect causal variants explaining 0.5% of the variance can be 2.5–9 times higher than the power of univariate tests based on composite scores and 1.5–2 times higher than the power of the standard MANOVA. Unlike other multivariate methods, TATES detects both genetic variants that are common to multiple phenotypes and genetic variants that are specific to a single phenotype, i.e. TATES provides a more complete view of the genetic architecture of complex traits. As the actual causal genotype–phenotype model is usually unknown and probably phenotypically and genetically complex, TATES, available as an open source program, constitutes a powerful new multivariate strategy that allows researchers to identify novel causal variants, while the complexity of traits is no longer a limiting factor. PMID:23359524

  12. Validation and discovery of genotype-phenotype associations in chronic diseases using linked data.

    PubMed

    Pathak, Jyotishman; Kiefer, Richard; Freimuth, Robert; Chute, Christopher

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates federated SPARQL queries over Linked Open Data (LOD) in the Semantic Web to validate existing, and potentially discover new genotype-phenotype associations from public datasets. In particular, we report our preliminary findings for identifying such associations for commonly occurring chronic diseases using the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) and Database for SNPs (dbSNP) within the LOD knowledgebase and compare them with Gene Wiki for coverage and completeness. Our results indicate that Semantic Web technologies can play an important role for in-silico identification of novel disease-gene-SNP associations, although additional verification is required before such information can be applied and used effectively.

  13. eCOMPAGT integrates mtDNA: import, validation and export of mitochondrial DNA profiles for population genetics, tumour dynamics and genotype-phenotype association studies.

    PubMed

    Weissensteiner, Hansi; Schönherr, Sebastian; Specht, Günther; Kronenberg, Florian; Brandstätter, Anita

    2010-03-09

    Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is widely being used for population genetics, forensic DNA fingerprinting and clinical disease association studies. The recent past has uncovered severe problems with mtDNA genotyping, not only due to the genotyping method itself, but mainly to the post-lab transcription, storage and report of mtDNA genotypes. eCOMPAGT, a system to store, administer and connect phenotype data to all kinds of genotype data is now enhanced by the possibility of storing mtDNA profiles and allowing their validation, linking to phenotypes and export as numerous formats. mtDNA profiles can be imported from different sequence evaluation programs, compared between evaluations and their haplogroup affiliations stored. Furthermore, eCOMPAGT has been improved in its sophisticated transparency (support of MySQL and Oracle), security aspects (by using database technology) and the option to import, manage and store genotypes derived from various genotyping methods (SNPlex, TaqMan, and STRs). It is a software solution designed for project management, laboratory work and the evaluation process all-in-one. The extended mtDNA version of eCOMPAGT was designed to enable error-free post-laboratory data handling of human mtDNA profiles. This software is suited for small to medium-sized human genetic, forensic and clinical genetic laboratories. The direct support of MySQL and the improved database security options render eCOMPAGT a powerful tool to build an automated workflow architecture for several genotyping methods. eCOMPAGT is freely available at http://dbis-informatik.uibk.ac.at/ecompagt.

  14. eCOMPAGT integrates mtDNA: import, validation and export of mitochondrial DNA profiles for population genetics, tumour dynamics and genotype-phenotype association studies

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is widely being used for population genetics, forensic DNA fingerprinting and clinical disease association studies. The recent past has uncovered severe problems with mtDNA genotyping, not only due to the genotyping method itself, but mainly to the post-lab transcription, storage and report of mtDNA genotypes. Description eCOMPAGT, a system to store, administer and connect phenotype data to all kinds of genotype data is now enhanced by the possibility of storing mtDNA profiles and allowing their validation, linking to phenotypes and export as numerous formats. mtDNA profiles can be imported from different sequence evaluation programs, compared between evaluations and their haplogroup affiliations stored. Furthermore, eCOMPAGT has been improved in its sophisticated transparency (support of MySQL and Oracle), security aspects (by using database technology) and the option to import, manage and store genotypes derived from various genotyping methods (SNPlex, TaqMan, and STRs). It is a software solution designed for project management, laboratory work and the evaluation process all-in-one. Conclusions The extended mtDNA version of eCOMPAGT was designed to enable error-free post-laboratory data handling of human mtDNA profiles. This software is suited for small to medium-sized human genetic, forensic and clinical genetic laboratories. The direct support of MySQL and the improved database security options render eCOMPAGT a powerful tool to build an automated workflow architecture for several genotyping methods. eCOMPAGT is freely available at http://dbis-informatik.uibk.ac.at/ecompagt. PMID:20214782

  15. The individual and combined influence of ACE and ACTN3 genotypes on muscle phenotypes before and after strength training.

    PubMed

    Erskine, R M; Williams, A G; Jones, D A; Stewart, C E; Degens, H

    2014-08-01

    Alternative measures of muscle size, strength, and power to those used in previous studies could help resolve the controversy surrounding associations between polymorphisms of the angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) and α-actinin-3 (ACTN3) genes and skeletal muscle phenotypes, and the responses to resistance training (RT). To this end, we measured quadriceps femoris muscle volume (Vm), physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA), maximum isometric force (Ft), specific force (Ft per unit PCSA), maximum isoinertial strength (1-RM), and maximum power (Wmax ; n = 40) before and after 9-week knee extension RT in 51 previously untrained young men, who were genotyped for the ACE I/D and ACTN3 R577X polymorphisms. ACTN3 R-allele carriers had greater Vm, 1-RM, and Wmax than XX homozygotes at baseline (all P < 0.05), but responses to RT were independent of ACTN3 genotype (all P > 0.05). Muscle phenotypes were independent of ACE genotype before (all P > 0.05) and after RT (all P > 0.01). However, people with the "optimal" ACE+ACTN3 genotype combination had greater baseline 1-RM and Wmax compared to those with the "suboptimal" profile (both P < 0.0125). We show for the first time that the ACTN3 R577X polymorphism is associated with human Vm and (independently and in combination with the ACE I/D polymorphism) influences 1-RM and Wmax. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Wnt signaling pathway involvement in genotypic and phenotypic variations in Waardenburg syndrome type 2 with MITF mutations.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xue-Ping; Liu, Ya-Lan; Mei, Ling-Yun; He, Chu-Feng; Niu, Zhi-Jie; Sun, Jie; Zhao, Yu-Lin; Feng, Yong; Zhang, Hua

    2018-05-01

    Mutation in the gene encoding microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) lead to Waardenburg syndrome 2 (WS2), an autosomal dominantly inherited syndrome with auditory-pigmentary abnormalities, which is clinically and genetically heterogeneous. Haploinsufficiency may be the underlying mechanism for WS2. However, the mechanisms explaining the genotypic and phenotypic variations in WS2 caused by MITF mutations are unclear. A previous study revealed that MITF interacts with LEF-1, an important factor in the Wnt signaling pathway, to regulate its own transcription through LEF-1-binding sites on the MITF promoter. In this study, four different WS2-associated MITF mutations (p.R217I, p.R217G, p.R255X, p.R217del) that are associated with highly variable clinical features were chosen. According to the results, LEF-1 can activate the expression of MITF on its own, but MITF proteins inhibited the activation. This inhibition weakens when the dosage of MITF is reduced. Except for p.R217I, p.R255X, p.R217G, and p.R217del lose the ability to activate TYR completely and do not inhibit the LEF-1-mediated activation of the MITF-M promoter, and the haploinsufficiency created by mutant MITF can be overcome; correspondingly, the mutants' associated phenotypes are less severe than that of p.R217I. The dominant negative of p.R217del made it have a second-most severe phenotype. This study's data imply that MITF has a negative feedback loop of regulation to stabilize MITF gene dosage that involves the Wnt signaling pathway and that the interaction of MITF mutants with this pathway drives the genotypic and phenotypic differences observed in Waardenburg syndrome type 2 associated with MITF mutations.

  17. Cerebral and non-cerebral coenurosis: on the genotypic and phenotypic diversity of Taenia multiceps.

    PubMed

    Christodoulopoulos, Georgios; Dinkel, Anke; Romig, Thomas; Ebi, Dennis; Mackenstedt, Ute; Loos-Frank, Brigitte

    2016-12-01

    We characterised the causative agents of cerebral and non-cerebral coenurosis in livestock by determining the mitochondrial genotypes and morphological phenotypes of 52 Taenia multiceps isolates from a wide geographical range in Europe, Africa, and western Asia. Three studies were conducted: (1) a morphological comparison of the rostellar hooks of cerebral and non-cerebral cysts of sheep and goats, (2) a morphological comparison of adult worms experimentally produced in dogs, and (3) a molecular analysis of three partial mitochondrial genes (nad1, cox1, and 12S rRNA) of the same isolates. No significant morphological or genetic differences were associated with the species of the intermediate host. Adult parasites originating from cerebral and non-cerebral cysts differed morphologically, e.g. the shape of the small hooks and the distribution of the testes in the mature proglottids. The phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial haplotypes produced three distinct clusters: one cluster including both cerebral isolates from Greece and non-cerebral isolates from tropical and subtropical countries, and two clusters including cerebral isolates from Greece. The majority of the non-cerebral specimens clustered together but did not form a monophyletic group. No monophyletic groups were observed based on geography, although specimens from the same region tended to cluster. The clustering indicates high intraspecific diversity. The phylogenetic analysis suggests that all variants of T. multiceps can cause cerebral coenurosis in sheep (which may be the ancestral phenotype), and some variants, predominantly from one genetic cluster, acquired the additional capacity to produce non-cerebral forms in goats and more rarely in sheep.

  18. Motor impairment: a new ethanol withdrawal phenotype in mice

    PubMed Central

    Philibin, Scott D.; Cameron, Andy J.; Metten, Pamela; Crabbe, John C.

    2015-01-01

    Alcoholism is a complex disorder with genetic and environmental risk factors. The presence of withdrawal symptoms is one criterion for alcohol dependence. Genetic animal models have followed a reductionist approach by quantifying various effects of ethanol withdrawal separately. Different ethanol withdrawal symptoms may have distinct genetic etiologies, and therefore differentiating distinct neurobiological mechanisms related to separate signs of withdrawal would increase our understanding of various aspects of the complex phenotype. This study establishes motor incoordination as a new phenotype of alcohol withdrawal in mice. Mice were made physically dependent on ethanol by exposure to ethanol vapor for 72 h. The effects of ethanol withdrawal in mice from different genetic backgrounds were measured on the accelerating rotarod, a simple motor task. Ethanol withdrawal disrupted accelerating rotarod behavior in mice. The disruptive effects of withdrawal suggest a performance rather than a learning deficit. Inbred strain comparisons suggest genetic differences in magnitude of this withdrawal phenotype. The withdrawal-induced deficits were not correlated with the selection response difference in handling convulsion severity in selectively bred Withdrawal Seizure-Prone and Withdrawal Seizure-Resistant lines. The accelerating rotarod seems to be a simple behavioral measure of ethanol withdrawal that is suitable for comparing genotypes. PMID:18690115

  19. A Genotypic-Oriented View of CFTR Genetics Highlights Specific Mutational Patterns Underlying Clinical Macrocategories of Cystic Fibrosis

    PubMed Central

    Lucarelli, Marco; Bruno, Sabina Maria; Pierandrei, Silvia; Ferraguti, Giampiero; Stamato, Antonella; Narzi, Fabiana; Amato, Annalisa; Cimino, Giuseppe; Bertasi, Serenella; Quattrucci, Serena; Strom, Roberto

    2015-01-01

    Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a monogenic disease caused by mutations of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. The genotype–phenotype relationship in this disease is still unclear, and diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic challenges persist. We enrolled 610 patients with different forms of CF and studied them from a clinical, biochemical, microbiological and genetic point of view. Overall, there were 125 different mutated alleles (11 with novel mutations and 10 with complex mutations) and 225 genotypes. A strong correlation between mutational patterns at the genotypic level and phenotypic macrocategories emerged. This specificity appears to largely depend on rare and individual mutations, as well as on the varying prevalence of common alleles in different clinical macrocategories. However, 19 genotypes appeared to underlie different clinical forms of the disease. The dissection of the pathway from the CFTR mutated genotype to the clinical phenotype allowed to identify at least two components of the variability usually found in the genotype–phenotype relationship. One component seems to depend on the genetic variation of CFTR, the other component on the cumulative effect of variations in other genes and cellular pathways independent from CFTR. The experimental dissection of the overall biological CFTR pathway appears to be a powerful approach for a better comprehension of the genotype–phenotype relationship. However, a change from an allele-oriented to a genotypic-oriented view of CFTR genetics is mandatory, as well as a better assessment of sources of variability within the CFTR pathway. PMID:25910067

  20. Two novel mutations of fibrillin-1 gene correlate with different phenotypes of Marfan syndrome in Chinese families.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Feng; Pan, Xinyuan; Zhao, Kanxing; Zhao, Chen

    2013-01-01

    To identify the causative mutations in two Chinese families with autosomal dominant Marfan syndrome and to describe the associated phenotypes. Complete physical, ophthalmic, and cardiovascular examinations were given to the patients and unaffected individuals in the two families. Exclusive linkage mapping was performed for transforming growth factor beta receptor II (TGFBR2) and fibrillin-1 (FBN1) loci in both families. The entire coding region and flanking splice sites of the FBN1 gene were screened for mutations in the two families with Sanger sequencing. The potential mutations of FBN1 were tested in 100 normal controls. Lens dislocation was observed in two out of ten patients in the MF1 family and all patients in the MF2 family. However, the MF1 family displayed more severe cardiovascular and skeletal system involvement compared with the MF2 family. The transforming growth factor beta receptor II locus was excluded in both families by linkage analysis. A maximum multipoint lod score score of 2.83 was obtained for marker D15S992 (located in the FBN1 gene) in the MF1 family and 1.51 for the same marker in the MF2 family. Two novel mutations of FBN1, p.C271* and p.C637Y, were identified in the MF1 and MF2 families, respectively. Genotype-phenotype correlations in this study indicate that nonsense mutations of FBN1 may correlate with relatively severe systemic phenotypes when compared with cysteine substitutions, the most common type of FBN1 mutations. Genetic diagnosis for patients with Marfan syndrome would help with genetic counseling, clinical intervention, and prognosis.

  1. Two novel mutations of fibrillin-1 gene correlate with different phenotypes of Marfan syndrome in Chinese families

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Feng; Pan, Xinyuan; Zhao, Kanxing

    2013-01-01

    Purpose To identify the causative mutations in two Chinese families with autosomal dominant Marfan syndrome and to describe the associated phenotypes. Methods Complete physical, ophthalmic, and cardiovascular examinations were given to the patients and unaffected individuals in the two families. Exclusive linkage mapping was performed for transforming growth factor beta receptor II (TGFBR2) and fibrillin-1 (FBN1) loci in both families. The entire coding region and flanking splice sites of the FBN1 gene were screened for mutations in the two families with Sanger sequencing. The potential mutations of FBN1 were tested in 100 normal controls. Results Lens dislocation was observed in two out of ten patients in the MF1 family and all patients in the MF2 family. However, the MF1 family displayed more severe cardiovascular and skeletal system involvement compared with the MF2 family. The transforming growth factor beta receptor II locus was excluded in both families by linkage analysis. A maximum multipoint lod score score of 2.83 was obtained for marker D15S992 (located in the FBN1 gene) in the MF1 family and 1.51 for the same marker in the MF2 family. Two novel mutations of FBN1, p.C271* and p.C637Y, were identified in the MF1 and MF2 families, respectively. Conclusions Genotype-phenotype correlations in this study indicate that nonsense mutations of FBN1 may correlate with relatively severe systemic phenotypes when compared with cysteine substitutions, the most common type of FBN1 mutations. Genetic diagnosis for patients with Marfan syndrome would help with genetic counseling, clinical intervention, and prognosis. PMID:23592911

  2. Leukotriene A4 Hydrolase Genotype and HIV Infection Influence Intracerebral Inflammation and Survival From Tuberculous Meningitis.

    PubMed

    Thuong, Nguyen T T; Heemskerk, Dorothee; Tram, Trinh T B; Thao, Le T P; Ramakrishnan, Lalita; Ha, Vu T N; Bang, Nguyen D; Chau, Tran T H; Lan, Nguyen H; Caws, Maxine; Dunstan, Sarah J; Chau, Nguyen V V; Wolbers, Marcel; Mai, Nguyen T H; Thwaites, Guy E

    2017-04-01

    Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most devastating form of tuberculosis, yet very little is known about the pathophysiology. We hypothesized that the genotype of leukotriene A4 hydrolase (encoded by LTA4H), which determines inflammatory eicosanoid expression, influences intracerebral inflammation, and predicts survival from TBM. We characterized the pretreatment clinical and intracerebral inflammatory phenotype and 9-month survival of 764 adults with TBM. All were genotyped for single-nucleotide polymorphism rs17525495, and inflammatory phenotype was defined by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leukocyte and cytokine concentrations. LTA4H genotype predicted survival of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-uninfected patients, with TT-genotype patients significantly more likely to survive TBM than CC-genotype patients, according to Cox regression analysis (univariate P = .040 and multivariable P = .037). HIV-uninfected, TT-genotype patients had high CSF proinflammatory cytokine concentrations, with intermediate and lower concentrations in those with CT and CC genotypes. Increased CSF cytokine concentrations correlated with more-severe disease, but patients with low CSF leukocytes and cytokine concentrations were more likely to die from TBM. HIV infection independently predicted death due to TBM (hazard ratio, 3.94; 95% confidence interval, 2.79-5.56) and was associated with globally increased CSF cytokine concentrations, independent of LTA4H genotype. LTA4H genotype and HIV infection influence pretreatment inflammatory phenotype and survival from TBM. LTA4H genotype may predict adjunctive corticosteroid responsiveness in HIV-uninfected individuals. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

  3. Formalising recall by genotype as an efficient approach to detailed phenotyping and causal inference.

    PubMed

    Corbin, Laura J; Tan, Vanessa Y; Hughes, David A; Wade, Kaitlin H; Paul, Dirk S; Tansey, Katherine E; Butcher, Frances; Dudbridge, Frank; Howson, Joanna M; Jallow, Momodou W; John, Catherine; Kingston, Nathalie; Lindgren, Cecilia M; O'Donavan, Michael; O'Rahilly, Stephen; Owen, Michael J; Palmer, Colin N A; Pearson, Ewan R; Scott, Robert A; van Heel, David A; Whittaker, John; Frayling, Tim; Tobin, Martin D; Wain, Louise V; Smith, George Davey; Evans, David M; Karpe, Fredrik; McCarthy, Mark I; Danesh, John; Franks, Paul W; Timpson, Nicholas J

    2018-02-19

    Detailed phenotyping is required to deepen our understanding of the biological mechanisms behind genetic associations. In addition, the impact of potentially modifiable risk factors on disease requires analytical frameworks that allow causal inference. Here, we discuss the characteristics of Recall-by-Genotype (RbG) as a study design aimed at addressing both these needs. We describe two broad scenarios for the application of RbG: studies using single variants and those using multiple variants. We consider the efficacy and practicality of the RbG approach, provide a catalogue of UK-based resources for such studies and present an online RbG study planner.

  4. 3D Laser Triangulation for Plant Phenotyping in Challenging Environments

    PubMed Central

    Kjaer, Katrine Heinsvig; Ottosen, Carl-Otto

    2015-01-01

    To increase the understanding of how the plant phenotype is formed by genotype and environmental interactions, simple and robust high-throughput plant phenotyping methods should be developed and considered. This would not only broaden the application range of phenotyping in the plant research community, but also increase the ability for researchers to study plants in their natural environments. By studying plants in their natural environment in high temporal resolution, more knowledge on how multiple stresses interact in defining the plant phenotype could lead to a better understanding of the interaction between plant responses and epigenetic regulation. In the present paper, we evaluate a commercial 3D NIR-laser scanner (PlantEye, Phenospex B.V., Herleen, The Netherlands) to track daily changes in plant growth with high precision in challenging environments. Firstly, we demonstrate that the NIR laser beam of the scanner does not affect plant photosynthetic performance. Secondly, we demonstrate that it is possible to estimate phenotypic variation amongst the growth pattern of ten genotypes of Brassica napus L. (rapeseed), using a simple linear correlation between scanned parameters and destructive growth measurements. Our results demonstrate the high potential of 3D laser triangulation for simple measurements of phenotypic variation in challenging environments and in a high temporal resolution. PMID:26066990

  5. HYPERMUCOVISCOUS KLEBSIELLA PNEUMONIAE ISOLATES FROM STRANDED AND WILD-CAUGHT MARINE MAMMALS OF THE US PACIFIC COAST: PREVALENCE, PHENOTYPE, AND GENOTYPE.

    PubMed

    Whitaker, Dane M; Reichley, Stephen R; Griffin, Matt J; Prager, Katherine; Richey, Christine A; Kenelty, Kirsten V; Stevens, Brittany N; Lloyd-Smith, James O; Johnson, Christine K; Duignan, Padraig; Johnson, Shawn; Rios, Carlos; DeLong, Robert; Halaska, Barbie; Rust, Lauren; Byrne, Barbara A; Struve, Carsten; Barnum, Samantha; Soto, Esteban

    2018-05-07

    Emergent hypermucoviscous (HMV) strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae have been reported in multiple marine mammal species; however, there is limited information regarding the epidemiology and pathogenesis of this infection in these species. We determined the prevalence of HMV K. pneumoniae in wild-caught and stranded marine mammal populations on the US Pacific Coast. Samples were collected from 270 free-ranging California sea lions (CSLs, Zalophus californianus) captured at three discrete sampling sites and from 336 stranded marine mammals of various species. We recovered HMV K. pneumoniae only from CSLs, with a prevalence of 1.5% (4 of 275) in stranded animals, compared with 1.1% (3 of 270) in wild-caught animals. We assessed the phenotypic and genotypic variability of recovered HMV K. pneumoniae isolates recovered from CSLs ( n=11) and of archival HMV and non-HMV isolates from stranded marine mammals ( n=19). All but two HMV isolates were of the K2 serotype, whereas none of the non-HMV isolates belonged to this serotype. Of the HMV isolates, 96% (24 of 25) were PCR positive for the HMV-associated gene p- rmpA, whereas 92% (23 of 25) were PCR positive for p- rmpA2. Genetic fingerprinting by repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR showed four discrete clusters, demonstrating genotypic variability that loosely correlated with phenotype. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed all isolates from stranded CSLs were susceptible to ceftiofur, indicating this antimicrobial agent is an appropriate choice for treatment of HMV K. pneumoniae infections in stranded CSLs. Our culture assay could reliably detect HMV K. pneumoniae from concentrations as low as 10 2 colony-forming units per milligram of feces. We identified the presence of HMV K. pneumoniae in both wild-caught and stranded CSLs from the US Pacific Coast and highlight the need for further studies to evaluate the potential impact of this pathogen on marine mammal health.

  6. Phenotypic and genotypic diversity of Lactobacillus buchneri strains isolated from spoiled, fermented cucumber.

    PubMed

    Daughtry, Katheryne V; Johanningsmeier, Suzanne D; Sanozky-Dawes, Rosemary; Klaenhammer, Todd R; Barrangou, Rodolphe

    2018-09-02

    Lactobacillus buchneri is a Gram-positive, obligate heterofermentative, facultative anaerobe commonly affiliated with spoilage of food products. Notably, L. buchneri is able to metabolize lactic acid into acetic acid and 1,2-propanediol. Although beneficial to the silage industry, this metabolic capability is detrimental to preservation of cucumbers by fermentation. The objective of this study was to characterize isolates of L. buchneri purified from both industrial and experimental fermented cucumber after the onset of secondary fermentation. Genotypic and phenotypic characterization included 16S rRNA sequencing, DiversiLab® rep-PCR, colony morphology, API 50 CH carbohydrate analysis, and ability to degrade lactic acid in modified MRS and fermented cucumber media. Distinct groups of isolates were identified with differing colony morphologies that varied in color (translucent white to opaque yellow), diameter (1 mm-11 mm), and shape (umbonate, flat, circular or irregular). Growth rates in MRS revealed strain differences, and a wide spectrum of carbon source utilization was observed. Some strains were able to ferment as many as 21 of 49 tested carbon sources, including inulin, fucose, gentiobiose, lactose, mannitol, potassium ketogluconate, saccharose, raffinose, galactose, and xylose, while others metabolized as few as eight carbohydrates as the sole source of carbon. All isolates degraded lactic acid in both fermented cucumber medium and modified MRS, but exhibited differences in the rate and extent of lactate degradation. Isolates clustered into eight distinct groups based on rep-PCR fingerprints with 20 of 36 of the isolates exhibiting >97% similarity. Although isolated from similar environmental niches, significant phenotypic and genotypic diversity was found among the L. buchneri cultures. A collection of unique L. buchneri strains was identified and characterized, providing the basis for further analysis of metabolic and genomic capabilities of this

  7. Characterization of G6PD Genotypes and Phenotypes on the Northwestern Thailand-Myanmar Border

    PubMed Central

    Somsakchaicharoen, Raweewan; Chowwiwat, Nongnud; Parker, Daniel M.; Charunwatthana, Prakaykaew; White, Nicholas J.; Nosten, François H.

    2014-01-01

    Mutations in the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) gene result in red blood cells with increased susceptibility to oxidative damage. Significant haemolysis can be caused by primaquine and other 8-aminoquinoline antimalarials used for the radical treatment of Plasmodium vivax malaria. The distribution and phenotypes of mutations causing G6PD deficiency in the male population of migrants and refugees in a malaria endemic region on the Thailand-Myanmar border were characterized. Blood samples for G6PD fluorescent spot test (FST), G6PD genotyping, and malaria testing were taken from 504 unrelated males of Karen and Burman ethnicities presenting to the outpatient clinics. The overall frequency of G6PD deficiency by the FST was 13.7%. Among the deficient subjects, almost 90% had the Mahidol variant (487G>A) genotype. The remaining subjects had Chinese-4 (392G>T), Viangchan (871G>A), Açores (595A>G), Seattle (844G>C) and Mediterranean (563C>T) variants. Quantification of G6PD activity was performed using a modification of the standard spectrophotometric assay on a subset of 24 samples with Mahidol, Viangchan, Seattle and Chinese-4 mutations; all samples showed a residual enzymatic activity below 10% of normal and were diagnosed correctly by the FST. Further studies are needed to characterise the haemolytic risk of using 8-aminoquinolines in patients with these genotypes. PMID:25536053

  8. Wolfram Syndrome: New Mutations, Different Phenotype

    PubMed Central

    Pasquali, Lorenzo; Lugani, Francesca; Perri, Katia; Russo, Chiara; Tallone, Ramona; Ghiggeri, Gian Marco; Lorini, Renata; d'Annunzio, Giuseppe

    2012-01-01

    Background Wolfram Syndrome (WS) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by Diabetes Insipidus, Diabetes Mellitus, Optic Atrophy, and Deafness identified by the acronym “DIDMOAD”. The WS gene, WFS1, encodes a transmembrane protein called Wolframin, which recent evidence suggests may serve as a novel endoplasmic reticulum calcium channel in pancreatic β-cells and neurons. WS is a rare disease, with an estimated prevalence of 1/550.000 children, with a carrier frequency of 1/354. The aim of our study was to determine the genotype of WS patients in order to establish a genotype/phenotype correlation. Methodology/Principal Findings We clinically evaluated 9 young patients from 9 unrelated families (6 males, 3 females). Basic criteria for WS clinical diagnosis were coexistence of insulin-treated diabetes mellitus and optic atrophy occurring before 15 years of age. Genetic analysis for WFS1 was performed by direct sequencing. Molecular sequencing revealed 5 heterozygous compound and 3 homozygous mutations. All of them were located in exon 8, except one in exon 4. In one proband only an heterozygous mutation (A684V) was found. Two new variants c.2663 C>A and c.1381 A>C were detected. Conclusions/Significance Our study increases the spectrum of WFS1 mutations with two novel variants. The male patient carrying the compound mutation [c.1060_1062delTTC]+[c.2663 C>A] showed the most severe phenotype: diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy (visual acuity 5/10), deafness with deep auditory bilaterally 8000 Hz, diabetes insipidus associated to reduced volume of posterior pituitary and pons. He died in bed at the age of 13 years. The other patient carrying the compound mutation [c.409_424dup16]+[c.1381 A>C] showed a less severe phenotype (DM, OA). PMID:22238590

  9. Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterisation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Presenting Before the Age of 2 years

    PubMed Central

    Dziubak, Robert; Pescarin, Matilde; Drury, Suzanne; Godwin, Heather; Reeve, Kate; Chadokufa, Sibongile; Huggett, Bonita; Sider, Sara; James, Chela; Acton, Nikki; Cernat, Elena; Gasparetto, Marco; Noble-Jamieson, Gabi; Kiparissi, Fevronia; Elawad, Mamoun; Beales, Phil L.; Sebire, Neil J.; Gilmour, Kimberly; Uhlig, Holm H.; Bacchelli, Chiara; Shah, Neil

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Objectives: Inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] presenting in early childhood is extremely rare. More recently, progress has been made to identify children with monogenic forms of IBD predominantly presenting very early in life. In this study, we describe the heterogeneous phenotypes and genotypes of patients with IBD presenting before the age of 2 years and establish phenotypic features associated with underlying monogenicity. Methods: Phenotype data of 62 children with disease onset before the age of 2 years presenting over the past 20 years were reviewed. Children without previously established genetic diagnosis were prospectively recruited for next-generation sequencing. Results: In all, 62 patients [55% male] were identified. The median disease onset was 3 months of age (interquartile range [IQR]: 1 to 11). Conventional IBD classification only applied to 15 patients with Crohn’s disease [CD]-like [24%] and three with ulcerative colitis [UC]-like [5%] phenotype; 44 patients [71%] were diagnosed with otherwise unclassifiable IBD. Patients frequently required parenteral nutrition [40%], extensive immunosuppression [31%], haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation [29%], and abdominal surgery [19%]. In 31% of patients, underlying monogenic diseases were established [EPCAM, IL10, IL10RA, IL10RB, FOXP3, LRBA, SKIV2L, TTC37, TTC7A]. Phenotypic features significantly more prevalent in monogenic IBD were: consanguinity, disease onset before the 6th month of life, stunting, extensive intestinal disease and histological evidence of epithelial abnormalities. Conclusions: IBD in children with disease onset before the age of 2 years is frequently unclassifiable into Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, particularly treatment resistant, and can be indistinguishable from monogenic diseases with IBD-like phenotype. PMID:27302973

  10. Phenotypic and Genotypic Eligible Methods for Salmonella Typhimurium Source Tracking

    PubMed Central

    Ferrari, Rafaela G.; Panzenhagen, Pedro H. N.; Conte-Junior, Carlos A.

    2017-01-01

    Salmonellosis is one of the most common causes of foodborne infection and a leading cause of human gastroenteritis. Throughout the last decade, Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (ST) has shown an increase report with the simultaneous emergence of multidrug-resistant isolates, as phage type DT104. Therefore, to successfully control this microorganism, it is important to attribute salmonellosis to the exact source. Studies of Salmonella source attribution have been performed to determine the main food/food-production animals involved, toward which, control efforts should be correctly directed. Hence, the election of a ST subtyping method depends on the particular problem that efforts must be directed, the resources and the data available. Generally, before choosing a molecular subtyping, phenotyping approaches such as serotyping, phage typing, and antimicrobial resistance profiling are implemented as a screening of an investigation, and the results are computed using frequency-matching models (i.e., Dutch, Hald and Asymmetric Island models). Actually, due to the advancement of molecular tools as PFGE, MLVA, MLST, CRISPR, and WGS more precise results have been obtained, but even with these technologies, there are still gaps to be elucidated. To address this issue, an important question needs to be answered: what are the currently suitable subtyping methods to source attribute ST. This review presents the most frequently applied subtyping methods used to characterize ST, analyses the major available microbial subtyping attribution models and ponders the use of conventional phenotyping methods, as well as, the most applied genotypic tools in the context of their potential applicability to investigates ST source tracking. PMID:29312260

  11. Phenotypic and Genotypic Eligible Methods for Salmonella Typhimurium Source Tracking.

    PubMed

    Ferrari, Rafaela G; Panzenhagen, Pedro H N; Conte-Junior, Carlos A

    2017-01-01

    Salmonellosis is one of the most common causes of foodborne infection and a leading cause of human gastroenteritis. Throughout the last decade, Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (ST) has shown an increase report with the simultaneous emergence of multidrug-resistant isolates, as phage type DT104. Therefore, to successfully control this microorganism, it is important to attribute salmonellosis to the exact source. Studies of Salmonella source attribution have been performed to determine the main food/food-production animals involved, toward which, control efforts should be correctly directed. Hence, the election of a ST subtyping method depends on the particular problem that efforts must be directed, the resources and the data available. Generally, before choosing a molecular subtyping, phenotyping approaches such as serotyping, phage typing, and antimicrobial resistance profiling are implemented as a screening of an investigation, and the results are computed using frequency-matching models (i.e., Dutch, Hald and Asymmetric Island models). Actually, due to the advancement of molecular tools as PFGE, MLVA, MLST, CRISPR, and WGS more precise results have been obtained, but even with these technologies, there are still gaps to be elucidated. To address this issue, an important question needs to be answered: what are the currently suitable subtyping methods to source attribute ST. This review presents the most frequently applied subtyping methods used to characterize ST, analyses the major available microbial subtyping attribution models and ponders the use of conventional phenotyping methods, as well as, the most applied genotypic tools in the context of their potential applicability to investigates ST source tracking.

  12. Biomass Allocation Patterns Are Linked to Genotypic Differences in Whole-Plant Transpiration Efficiency in Sunflower

    PubMed Central

    Velázquez, Luciano; Alberdi, Ignacio; Paz, Cosme; Aguirrezábal, Luis

    2017-01-01

    Increased transpiration efficiency (the ratio of biomass to water transpired, TE) could lead to increased drought tolerance under some water deficit scenarios. Intrinsic (i.e., leaf-level) TE is usually considered as the primary source of variation in whole-plant TE, but empirical data usually contradict this assumption. Sunflower has a significant variability in TE, but a better knowledge of the effect of leaf and plant-level traits could be helpful to obtain more efficient genotypes for water use. The objective of this study was, therefore, to assess if genotypic variation in whole-plant TE is better related to leaf- or plant-level traits. Three experiments were conducted, aimed at verifying the existence of variability in whole-plant TE and whole-plant and leaf-level traits, and to assess their correlation. Sunflower public inbred lines and a segregating population of recombinant inbred lines were grown under controlled conditions and subjected to well-watered and water-deficit treatments. Significant genotypic variation was found for TE and related traits. These differences in whole-plant transpiration efficiency, both between genotypes and between plants within each genotype, showed no association to leaf-level traits, but were significantly and negatively correlated to biomass allocation to leaves and to the ratio of leaf area to total biomass. These associations are likely of a physiological origin, and not only a consequence of genetic linkage in the studied population. These results suggest that genotypic variation for biomass allocation could be potentially exploited as a source for increased transpiration efficiency in sunflower breeding programmes. It is also suggested that phenotyping for TE in this species should not be restricted to leaf-level measurements, but also include measurements of plant-level traits, especially those related to biomass allocation between photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic organs. PMID:29204153

  13. Biomass Allocation Patterns Are Linked to Genotypic Differences in Whole-Plant Transpiration Efficiency in Sunflower.

    PubMed

    Velázquez, Luciano; Alberdi, Ignacio; Paz, Cosme; Aguirrezábal, Luis; Pereyra Irujo, Gustavo

    2017-01-01

    Increased transpiration efficiency (the ratio of biomass to water transpired, TE) could lead to increased drought tolerance under some water deficit scenarios. Intrinsic (i.e., leaf-level) TE is usually considered as the primary source of variation in whole-plant TE, but empirical data usually contradict this assumption. Sunflower has a significant variability in TE, but a better knowledge of the effect of leaf and plant-level traits could be helpful to obtain more efficient genotypes for water use. The objective of this study was, therefore, to assess if genotypic variation in whole-plant TE is better related to leaf- or plant-level traits. Three experiments were conducted, aimed at verifying the existence of variability in whole-plant TE and whole-plant and leaf-level traits, and to assess their correlation. Sunflower public inbred lines and a segregating population of recombinant inbred lines were grown under controlled conditions and subjected to well-watered and water-deficit treatments. Significant genotypic variation was found for TE and related traits. These differences in whole-plant transpiration efficiency, both between genotypes and between plants within each genotype, showed no association to leaf-level traits, but were significantly and negatively correlated to biomass allocation to leaves and to the ratio of leaf area to total biomass. These associations are likely of a physiological origin, and not only a consequence of genetic linkage in the studied population. These results suggest that genotypic variation for biomass allocation could be potentially exploited as a source for increased transpiration efficiency in sunflower breeding programmes. It is also suggested that phenotyping for TE in this species should not be restricted to leaf-level measurements, but also include measurements of plant-level traits, especially those related to biomass allocation between photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic organs.

  14. Precision and Error of Three-dimensional Phenotypic Measures Acquired from 3dMD Photogrammetric Images

    PubMed Central

    Aldridge, Kristina; Boyadjiev, Simeon A.; Capone, George T.; DeLeon, Valerie B.; Richtsmeier, Joan T.

    2015-01-01

    The genetic basis for complex phenotypes is currently of great interest for both clinical investigators and basic scientists. In order to acquire a thorough understanding of the translation from genotype to phenotype, highly precise measures of phenotypic variation are required. New technologies, such as 3D photogrammetry are being implemented in phenotypic studies due to their ability to collect data rapidly and non-invasively. Before these systems can be broadly implemented the error associated with data collected from images acquired using these technologies must be assessed. This study investigates the precision, error, and repeatability associated with anthropometric landmark coordinate data collected from 3D digital photogrammetric images acquired with the 3dMDface System. Precision, error due to the imaging system, error due to digitization of the images, and repeatability are assessed in a sample of children and adults (N=15). Results show that data collected from images with the 3dMDface System are highly repeatable and precise. The average error associated with the placement of landmarks is sub-millimeter; both the error due to digitization and to the imaging system are very low. The few measures showing a higher degree of error include those crossing the labial fissure, which are influenced by even subtle movement of the mandible. These results suggest that 3D anthropometric data collected using the 3dMDface System are highly reliable and therefore useful for evaluation of clinical dysmorphology and surgery, analyses of genotype-phenotype correlations, and inheritance of complex phenotypes. PMID:16158436

  15. Genetics of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome: a review of mutation spectrum and suggested approach for genetic testing.

    PubMed

    Joshi, S; Andersen, R; Jespersen, B; Rittig, S

    2013-09-01

    Identification of genes, associated mutations and genotype-phenotype correlations in steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) is being translated to clinical practice through genetic testing. This review provides an update on the genes and mutations associated with SRNS along with a suggested approach for genetic testing in patients with SRNS. The number of indentified genes associated with SRNS is increasing along with our understanding of their impact on treatment response and risk of recurrence. A systematic approach to genetic testing in patients with SRNS might aid the physician in selecting appropriate treatment. ©2013 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Beyond mean allelic effects: A locus at the major color gene MC1R associates also with differing levels of phenotypic and genetic (co)variance for coloration in barn owls.

    PubMed

    San-Jose, Luis M; Ducret, Valérie; Ducrest, Anne-Lyse; Simon, Céline; Roulin, Alexandre

    2017-10-01

    The mean phenotypic effects of a discovered variant help to predict major aspects of the evolution and inheritance of a phenotype. However, differences in the phenotypic variance associated to distinct genotypes are often overlooked despite being suggestive of processes that largely influence phenotypic evolution, such as interactions between the genotypes with the environment or the genetic background. We present empirical evidence for a mutation at the melanocortin-1-receptor gene, a major vertebrate coloration gene, affecting phenotypic variance in the barn owl, Tyto alba. The white MC1R allele, which associates with whiter plumage coloration, also associates with a pronounced phenotypic and additive genetic variance for distinct color traits. Contrarily, the rufous allele, associated with a rufous coloration, relates to a lower phenotypic and additive genetic variance, suggesting that this allele may be epistatic over other color loci. Variance differences between genotypes entailed differences in the strength of phenotypic and genetic associations between color traits, suggesting that differences in variance also alter the level of integration between traits. This study highlights that addressing variance differences of genotypes in wild populations provides interesting new insights into the evolutionary mechanisms and the genetic architecture underlying the phenotype. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  17. Adaptive phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation for temperature tolerance in freshwater zooplankton

    PubMed Central

    Yampolsky, Lev Y.; Schaer, Tobias M. M.; Ebert, Dieter

    2014-01-01

    Many organisms have geographical distributions extending from the tropics to near polar regions or can experience up to 30°C temperature variation within the lifespan of an individual. Two forms of evolutionary adaptation to such wide ranges in ambient temperatures are frequently discussed: local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity. The freshwater planktonic crustacean Daphnia magna, whose range extends from South Africa to near arctic sites, shows strong phenotypic and genotypic variation in response to temperature. In this study, we use D. magna clones from 22 populations (one clone per population) ranging from latitude 0° (Kenya) to 66° North (White Sea) to explore the contributions of phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation to high temperature tolerance. Temperature tolerance was studied as knockout time (time until immobilization, Timm) at 37°C in clones acclimatized to either 20°C or 28°C. Acclimatization to 28°C strongly increased Timm, testifying to adaptive phenotypic plasticity. At the same time, Timm significantly correlated with average high temperature at the clones’ sites of origin, suggesting local adaptation. As earlier studies have found that haemoglobin expression contributes to temperature tolerance, we also quantified haemoglobin concentration in experimental animals and found that both acclimatization temperature (AccT) and temperature at the site of origin are positively correlated with haemoglobin concentration. Furthermore, Daphnia from warmer climates upregulate haemoglobin much more strongly in response to AccT, suggesting local adaptation for plasticity in haemoglobin expression. Our results show that both local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity contribute to temperature tolerance, and elucidate a possible role of haemoglobin in mediating these effects that differs along a cold–warm gradient. PMID:24352948

  18. Cafe Variome: general-purpose software for making genotype-phenotype data discoverable in restricted or open access contexts.

    PubMed

    Lancaster, Owen; Beck, Tim; Atlan, David; Swertz, Morris; Thangavelu, Dhiwagaran; Veal, Colin; Dalgleish, Raymond; Brookes, Anthony J

    2015-10-01

    Biomedical data sharing is desirable, but problematic. Data "discovery" approaches-which establish the existence rather than the substance of data-precisely connect data owners with data seekers, and thereby promote data sharing. Cafe Variome (http://www.cafevariome.org) was therefore designed to provide a general-purpose, Web-based, data discovery tool that can be quickly installed by any genotype-phenotype data owner, or network of data owners, to make safe or sensitive content appropriately discoverable. Data fields or content of any type can be accommodated, from simple ID and label fields through to extensive genotype and phenotype details based on ontologies. The system provides a "shop window" in front of data, with main interfaces being a simple search box and a powerful "query-builder" that enable very elaborate queries to be formulated. After a successful search, counts of records are reported grouped by "openAccess" (data may be directly accessed), "linkedAccess" (a source link is provided), and "restrictedAccess" (facilitated data requests and subsequent provision of approved records). An administrator interface provides a wide range of options for system configuration, enabling highly customized single-site or federated networks to be established. Current uses include rare disease data discovery, patient matchmaking, and a Beacon Web service. © 2015 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

  19. dbVOR: a database system for importing pedigree, phenotype and genotype data and exporting selected subsets.

    PubMed

    Baron, Robert V; Conley, Yvette P; Gorin, Michael B; Weeks, Daniel E

    2015-03-18

    When studying the genetics of a human trait, we typically have to manage both genome-wide and targeted genotype data. There can be overlap of both people and markers from different genotyping experiments; the overlap can introduce several kinds of problems. Most times the overlapping genotypes are the same, but sometimes they are different. Occasionally, the lab will return genotypes using a different allele labeling scheme (for example 1/2 vs A/C). Sometimes, the genotype for a person/marker index is unreliable or missing. Further, over time some markers are merged and bad samples are re-run under a different sample name. We need a consistent picture of the subset of data we have chosen to work with even though there might possibly be conflicting measurements from multiple data sources. We have developed the dbVOR database, which is designed to hold data efficiently for both genome-wide and targeted experiments. The data are indexed for fast retrieval by person and marker. In addition, we store pedigree and phenotype data for our subjects. The dbVOR database allows us to select subsets of the data by several different criteria and to merge their results into a coherent and consistent whole. Data may be filtered by: family, person, trait value, markers, chromosomes, and chromosome ranges. The results can be presented in columnar, Mega2, or PLINK format. dbVOR serves our needs well. It is freely available from https://watson.hgen.pitt.edu/register . Documentation for dbVOR can be found at https://watson.hgen.pitt.edu/register/docs/dbvor.html .

  20. Phenotype-genotype correlation in potential female carriers of X-linked developmental cataract (Nance-Horan syndrome).

    PubMed

    Khan, Arif O; Aldahmesh, Mohammed A; Mohamed, Jawahir Y; Alkuraya, Fowzan S

    2012-06-01

    To correlate clinical examination with underlying genotype in asymptomatic females who are potential carriers of X-linked developmental cataract (Nance-Horan syndrome). An ophthalmologist blind to the pedigree performed comprehensive ophthalmic examination for 16 available family members (two affected and six asymptomatic females, five affected and three asymptomatic males). Facial features were also noted. Venous blood was collected for sequencing of the gene NHS. All seven affected family members had congenital or infantile cataract and facial dysmorphism (long face, bulbous nose, abnormal dentition). The six asymptomatic females ranged in age from 4-35 years old. Four had posterior Y-suture centered lens opacities; these four also exhibited the facial dysmorphism of the seven affected family members. The fifth asymptomatic girl had scattered fine punctate lens opacities (not centered on the Y-suture) while the sixth had clear lenses, and neither exhibited the facial dysmorphism. A novel NHS mutation (p.Lys744AsnfsX15 [c.2232delG]) was found in the seven patients with congenital or infantile cataract. This mutation was also present in the four asymptomatic girls with Y-centered lens opacities but not in the other two asymptomatic girls or in the three asymptomatic males (who had clear lenses). Lens opacities centered around the posterior Y-suture in the context of certain facial features were sensitive and specific clinical signs of carrier status for NHS mutation in asymptomatic females. Lens opacities that did not have this characteristic morphology in a suspected female carrier were not a carrier sign, even in the context of her affected family members.

  1. Genotypic and phenotypic analysis of 396 individuals with mutations in Sonic Hedgehog.

    PubMed

    Solomon, Benjamin D; Bear, Kelly A; Wyllie, Adrian; Keaton, Amelia A; Dubourg, Christele; David, Veronique; Mercier, Sandra; Odent, Sylvie; Hehr, Ute; Paulussen, Aimee; Clegg, Nancy J; Delgado, Mauricio R; Bale, Sherri J; Lacbawan, Felicitas; Ardinger, Holly H; Aylsworth, Arthur S; Bhengu, Ntombenhle Louisa; Braddock, Stephen; Brookhyser, Karen; Burton, Barbara; Gaspar, Harald; Grix, Art; Horovitz, Dafne; Kanetzke, Erin; Kayserili, Hulya; Lev, Dorit; Nikkel, Sarah M; Norton, Mary; Roberts, Richard; Saal, Howard; Schaefer, G B; Schneider, Adele; Smith, Erika K; Sowry, Ellen; Spence, M Anne; Shalev, Stavit A; Steiner, Carlos E; Thompson, Elizabeth M; Winder, Thomas L; Balog, Joan Z; Hadley, Donald W; Zhou, Nan; Pineda-Alvarez, Daniel E; Roessler, Erich; Muenke, Maximilian

    2012-07-01

    Holoprosencephaly (HPE), the most common malformation of the human forebrain, may result from mutations in over 12 genes. Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) was the first such gene discovered; mutations in SHH remain the most common cause of non-chromosomal HPE. The severity spectrum is wide, ranging from incompatibility with extrauterine life to isolated midline facial differences. To characterise genetic and clinical findings in individuals with SHH mutations. Through the National Institutes of Health and collaborating centres, DNA from approximately 2000 individuals with HPE spectrum disorders were analysed for SHH variations. Clinical details were examined and combined with published cases. This study describes 396 individuals, representing 157 unrelated kindreds, with SHH mutations; 141 (36%) have not been previously reported. SHH mutations more commonly resulted in non-HPE (64%) than frank HPE (36%), and non-HPE was significantly more common in patients with SHH than in those with mutations in the other common HPE related genes (p<0.0001 compared to ZIC2 or SIX3). Individuals with truncating mutations were significantly more likely to have frank HPE than those with non-truncating mutations (49% vs 35%, respectively; p=0.012). While mutations were significantly more common in the N-terminus than in the C-terminus (including accounting for the relative size of the coding regions, p=0.00010), no specific genotype-phenotype correlations could be established regarding mutation location. SHH mutations overall result in milder disease than mutations in other common HPE related genes. HPE is more frequent in individuals with truncating mutations, but clinical predictions at the individual level remain elusive.

  2. Justification of Fuzzy Declustering Vector Quantization Modeling in Classification of Genotype-Image Phenotypes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ng, Theam Foo; Pham, Tuan D.; Zhou, Xiaobo

    2010-01-01

    With the fast development of multi-dimensional data compression and pattern classification techniques, vector quantization (VQ) has become a system that allows large reduction of data storage and computational effort. One of the most recent VQ techniques that handle the poor estimation of vector centroids due to biased data from undersampling is to use fuzzy declustering-based vector quantization (FDVQ) technique. Therefore, in this paper, we are motivated to propose a justification of FDVQ based hidden Markov model (HMM) for investigating its effectiveness and efficiency in classification of genotype-image phenotypes. The performance evaluation and comparison of the recognition accuracy between a proposed FDVQ based HMM (FDVQ-HMM) and a well-known LBG (Linde, Buzo, Gray) vector quantization based HMM (LBG-HMM) will be carried out. The experimental results show that the performances of both FDVQ-HMM and LBG-HMM are almost similar. Finally, we have justified the competitiveness of FDVQ-HMM in classification of cellular phenotype image database by using hypotheses t-test. As a result, we have validated that the FDVQ algorithm is a robust and an efficient classification technique in the application of RNAi genome-wide screening image data.

  3. The correlation between serum AMH and HOMA-IR among PCOS phenotypes.

    PubMed

    Wiweko, Budi; Indra, Indra; Susanto, Cynthia; Natadisastra, Muharam; Hestiantoro, Andon

    2018-02-09

    Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is known to be one of the most prevalent endocrine disorders affecting reproductive age women. One of the endocrine disorder is hyperinsulinemia, which corresponds with the severity of PCOS. However, the pathogenesis of PCOS is not fully understood, but one theory of anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) has been proposed as one of the factor related to the degree of severity of PCOS. However, there are no clear correlation between levels of AMH with the incidence of insulin resistance in PCOS patients especially in Indonesia. This is a cross-sectional study involving reproductive age women aged 18-35 years. Subjects were recruited consecutively at Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital between 2011 until 2014. PCOS women diagnosed using 2003 Rotterdam criteria were categorized into four different PCOS phenotypes. Subsequently, serum level of AMH and HOMA-IR was measured and evaluated with correlation tests performed using SPSS 11.0 RESULTS: A total of 125 PCOS patients were included in a study conducted within a 3-year period. Phenotype 1 (anovulation, hyperandrogenism, and polycystic ovaries) shows the highest levels of AMH and HOMA-IR, which decreases in accordance to severity level (p < 0.005). The positive correlation between AMH and HOMA-IR persisted even after adjusting for BMI in multivariate analysis. There was a positive correlation between serum AMH and HOMA IR levels. Serum AMH and HOMA IR levels were significantly different across the four PCOS phenotypes; with the highest values were present with phenotype 1.

  4. Multidrug resistance in epilepsy and polymorphisms in the voltage-gated sodium channel genes SCN1A, SCN2A, and SCN3A: correlation among phenotype, genotype, and mRNA expression.

    PubMed

    Kwan, Patrick; Poon, Wai Sang; Ng, Ho-Keung; Kang, David E; Wong, Virginia; Ng, Ping Wing; Lui, Colin H T; Sin, Ngai Chuen; Wong, Ka S; Baum, Larry

    2008-11-01

    Many antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) prevent seizures by blocking voltage-gated brain sodium channels. However, treatment is ineffective in 30% of epilepsy patients, which might, at least in part, result from polymorphisms of the sodium channel genes. We investigated the association of AED responsiveness with genetic polymorphisms and correlated any association with mRNA expression of the neuronal sodium channels. We performed genotyping of tagging and candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of SCN1A, 2A, and 3A in 471 Chinese epilepsy patients (272 drug responsive and 199 drug resistant). A total of 27 SNPs were selected based on the HapMap database. Genotype distributions in drug-responsive and drug-resistant patients were compared. SCN2A mRNA was quantified by real-time PCR in 24 brain and 57 blood samples. Its level was compared between patients with different genotypes of an SCN2A SNP found to be associated with drug responsiveness. SCN2A IVS7-32A>G (rs2304016) A alleles were associated with drug resistance (odds ratio = 2.1, 95% confidence interval: 1.2-3.7, P=0.007). Haplotypes containing the IVS7-32A>G allele A were also associated with drug resistance. IVS7-32A>G is located within the putative splicing branch site for splicing exons 7 and 9. PCR of reverse-transcribed RNA from blood or brain of patients with different IVS7-32A>G genotypes using primers in exons 7 and 9 showed no skipping of exon 8, and real-time PCR showed no difference in SCN2A mRNA levels among genotypes. Results of this study suggest an association between SCN2A IVS7-32A>G and AED responsiveness, without evidence of an effect on splicing or mRNA expression.

  5. Comparison of phenotypic and genotypic methods for detection of diphtheria toxin among isolates of pathogenic corynebacteria.

    PubMed

    Efstratiou, A; Engler, K H; Dawes, C S; Sesardic, D

    1998-11-01

    We have compared molecular, immunochemical, and cytotoxic assays for the detection of diphtheria toxin from 55 isolates of Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans originally isolated in five different countries. The suitabilities and accuracies of these assays for the laboratory diagnosis of diphtheria were compared and evaluated against the "gold standard" in vivo methods. The in vivo and Vero cell cytotoxicity assays were accurate in their abilities to detect diphtheria toxin but were time-consuming; however, the cytotoxicity assay is a suitable in vitro alternative to the in vivo virulence test. There was complete concordance between all the phenotypic methods. Genotypic tests based upon PCR were rapid; however, PCR must be used with caution because some isolates of C. diphtheriae possessed toxin genes but failed to express a biologically active toxin. Therefore, phenotypic confirmation of toxigenicity for the microbiological diagnosis of diphtheria is recommended.

  6. [Complex heterogeneity phenotypes and genotypes of glutaric aciduria type 1].

    PubMed

    Wang, Qiao; Yang, Yan-Ling

    2016-05-01

    Glutaric aciduria type 1 is a rare autosomal recessive disorder. GCDH gene mutations cause glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency and accumulation of glutaric acid and 3-hydroxyglutaric acid, resulting in damage of striatum and other brain nucleus and neurodegeneration. Patients with glutaric aciduria type 1 present with complex heterogeneous phenotypes and genotypes. The symptoms are extremely variable. The ages of the clinical onset of the patients range from the fetus period to adulthood. The patients with mild glutaric aciduria type 1 are almost asymptomatic before onset, however, severe glutaric aciduria type 1 may cause death or disability due to acute encephalopathy. Acute metabolic crisis in patients with underlying glutaric aciduria type 1 is often triggered by febrile illnesses, trauma, hunger, high-protein foods and vaccination during a vulnerable period of brain development in infancy or early childhood. The early-onset patients usually have a poor prognosis. Urinary organic acids analysis, blood acylcarnitines analysis and GCDH study are important for the diagnosis of this disorder. Neonatal screening is essential for the early diagnosis and the improvement of prognosis.

  7. Genetic variation in Southern USA rice genotypes for seedling salinity tolerance

    PubMed Central

    De Leon, Teresa B.; Linscombe, Steven; Gregorio, Glenn; Subudhi, Prasanta K.

    2015-01-01

    The success of a rice breeding program in developing salt tolerant varieties depends on genetic variation and the salt stress response of adapted and donor rice germplasm. In this study, we used a combination of morphological and physiological traits in multivariate analyses to elucidate the phenotypic and genetic variation in salinity tolerance of 30 Southern USA rice genotypes, along with 19 donor genotypes with varying degree of tolerance. Significant genotypic variation and correlations were found among the salt injury score (SIS), ion leakage, chlorophyll reduction, shoot length reduction, shoot K+ concentration, and shoot Na+/K+ ratio. Using these parameters, the combined methods of cluster analysis and discriminant analysis validated the salinity response of known genotypes and classified most of the USA varieties into sensitive groups, except for three and seven varieties placed in the tolerant and moderately tolerant groups, respectively. Discriminant function and MANOVA delineated the differences in tolerance and suggested no differences between sensitive and highly sensitive (HS) groups. DNA profiling using simple sequence repeat markers showed narrow genetic diversity among USA genotypes. However, the overall genetic clustering was mostly due to subspecies and grain type differentiation and not by varietal grouping based on salinity tolerance. Among the donor genotypes, Nona Bokra, Pokkali, and its derived breeding lines remained the donors of choice for improving salinity tolerance during the seedling stage. However, due to undesirable agronomic attributes and photosensitivity of these donors, alternative genotypes such as TCCP266, Geumgangbyeo, and R609 are recommended as useful and novel sources of salinity tolerance for USA rice breeding programs. PMID:26074937

  8. Genetic basis for correction of very-long-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency by bezafibrate in patient fibroblasts: toward a genotype-based therapy.

    PubMed

    Gobin-Limballe, S; Djouadi, F; Aubey, F; Olpin, S; Andresen, B S; Yamaguchi, S; Mandel, H; Fukao, T; Ruiter, J P N; Wanders, R J A; McAndrew, R; Kim, J J; Bastin, J

    2007-12-01

    Very-long-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (VLCAD) deficiency is an inborn mitochondrial fatty-acid beta-oxidation (FAO) defect associated with a broad mutational spectrum, with phenotypes ranging from fatal cardiopathy in infancy to adolescent-onset myopathy, and for which there is no established treatment. Recent data suggest that bezafibrate could improve the FAO capacities in beta-oxidation-deficient cells, by enhancing the residual level of mutant enzyme activity via gene-expression stimulation. Since VLCAD-deficient patients frequently harbor missense mutations with unpredictable effects on enzyme activity, we investigated the response to bezafibrate as a function of genotype in 33 VLCAD-deficient fibroblasts representing 45 different mutations. Treatment with bezafibrate (400 microM for 48 h) resulted in a marked increase in FAO capacities, often leading to restoration of normal values, for 21 genotypes that mainly corresponded to patients with the myopathic phenotype. In contrast, bezafibrate induced no changes in FAO for 11 genotypes corresponding to severe neonatal or infantile phenotypes. This pattern of response was not due to differential inductions of VLCAD messenger RNA, as shown by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, but reflected variable increases in measured VLCAD residual enzyme activity in response to bezafibrate. Genotype cross-analysis allowed the identification of alleles carrying missense mutations, which could account for these different pharmacological profiles and, on this basis, led to the characterization of 9 mild and 11 severe missense mutations. Altogether, the responses to bezafibrate reflected the severity of the metabolic blockage in various genotypes, which appeared to be correlated with the phenotype, thus providing a new approach for analysis of genetic heterogeneity. Finally, this study emphasizes the potential of bezafibrate, a widely prescribed hypolipidemic drug, for the correction of VLCAD deficiency and

  9. Genetic diversity in soybean genotypes using phenotypic characters and enzymatic markers.

    PubMed

    Zambiazzi, E V; Bruzi, A T; Sales, A P; Borges, I M M; Guilherme, S R; Zuffo, A M; Lima, J G; Ribeiro, F O; Mendes, A E S; Godinho, S H M; Carvalho, M L M

    2017-09-21

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of soybean cultivars by adopting phenotypic traits and enzymatic markers, the relative contribution of agronomic traits to diversity, as well as diversity between the level of technology used in soybean cultivars and genetic breeding programs in which cultivars were inserted. The experiments were conducted on the field at the Center for Scientific and Technological Development in crop-livestock production and the Electrophoresis Laboratory of Lavras Federal University. The agronomic traits adopted were grain yield, plant height, first legume insertion, plant lodging, the mass of one thousand seeds, and days for complete maturation, in which the Euclidean distance, grouped by Tocher and UPGMA criteria, was obtained. After electrophorese gels for enzymatic systems, dehydrogenase alcohol, esterase, superoxide dismutase, and peroxidase were performed. The genetic similarity estimative was also obtained between genotypes by the Jaccard coefficient with subsequent grouping by the UPGMA method. The formation of two groups was shown using phenotypic characters in the genetic diversity study and individually discriminating the cultivar 97R73 RR. The character with the greatest contribution to the genetic divergence was grain yield with contribution higher than 90.0%. To obtain six different groups, individually discriminating the cultivars CG 8166 RR, FPS Jupiter RR, and BRS MG 780 RR, enzymatic markers were used. Cultivars carrying the RR technology presented more divergence than conventional cultivars and IPRO cultivars.

  10. Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterisation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Presenting Before the Age of 2 years.

    PubMed

    Kammermeier, Jochen; Dziubak, Robert; Pescarin, Matilde; Drury, Suzanne; Godwin, Heather; Reeve, Kate; Chadokufa, Sibongile; Huggett, Bonita; Sider, Sara; James, Chela; Acton, Nikki; Cernat, Elena; Gasparetto, Marco; Noble-Jamieson, Gabi; Kiparissi, Fevronia; Elawad, Mamoun; Beales, Phil L; Sebire, Neil J; Gilmour, Kimberly; Uhlig, Holm H; Bacchelli, Chiara; Shah, Neil

    2017-01-01

    Inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] presenting in early childhood is extremely rare. More recently, progress has been made to identify children with monogenic forms of IBD predominantly presenting very early in life. In this study, we describe the heterogeneous phenotypes and genotypes of patients with IBD presenting before the age of 2 years and establish phenotypic features associated with underlying monogenicity. Phenotype data of 62 children with disease onset before the age of 2 years presenting over the past 20 years were reviewed. Children without previously established genetic diagnosis were prospectively recruited for next-generation sequencing. In all, 62 patients [55% male] were identified. The median disease onset was 3 months of age (interquartile range [IQR]: 1 to 11). Conventional IBD classification only applied to 15 patients with Crohn's disease [CD]-like [24%] and three with ulcerative colitis [UC]-like [5%] phenotype; 44 patients [71%] were diagnosed with otherwise unclassifiable IBD. Patients frequently required parenteral nutrition [40%], extensive immunosuppression [31%], haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation [29%], and abdominal surgery [19%]. In 31% of patients, underlying monogenic diseases were established [EPCAM, IL10, IL10RA, IL10RB, FOXP3, LRBA, SKIV2L, TTC37, TTC7A]. Phenotypic features significantly more prevalent in monogenic IBD were: consanguinity, disease onset before the 6th month of life, stunting, extensive intestinal disease and histological evidence of epithelial abnormalities. IBD in children with disease onset before the age of 2 years is frequently unclassifiable into Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, particularly treatment resistant, and can be indistinguishable from monogenic diseases with IBD-like phenotype. Copyright © 2016 European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Truncating mutations of HIBCH tend to cause severe phenotypes in cases with HIBCH deficiency: a case report and brief literature review.

    PubMed

    Tan, Hu; Chen, Xin; Lv, Weigang; Linpeng, Siyuan; Liang, Desheng; Wu, Lingqian

    2018-04-27

    3-hydroxyisobutryl-CoA hydrolase (HIBCH) deficiency is a rare inborn error of valine metabolism characterized by neurodegenerative symptoms and caused by recessive mutations in the HIBCH gene. In this study, utilizing whole exome sequencing, we identified two novel splicing mutations of HIBCH (c.304+3A>G; c.1010_1011+3delTGGTA) in a Chinese patient with characterized neurodegenerative features of HIBCH deficiency and bilateral syndactyly which was not reported in previous studies. Functional tests showed that both of these two mutations destroyed the normal splicing and reduced the expression of HIBCH protein. Through a literature review, a potential phenotype-genotype correlation was found that patients carrying truncating mutations tended to have more severe phenotypes compared with those with missense mutations. Our findings would widen the mutation spectrum of HIBCH causing HIBCH deficiency and the phenotypic spectrum of the disease. The potential genotype-phenotype correlation would be profitable for the treatment and management of patients with HIBCH deficiency.

  12. The impact of phenotypic and genotypic G6PD deficiency on risk of plasmodium vivax infection: a case-control study amongst Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

    PubMed

    Leslie, Toby; Briceño, Marnie; Mayan, Ismail; Mohammed, Nasir; Klinkenberg, Eveline; Sibley, Carol Hopkins; Whitty, Christopher J M; Rowland, Mark

    2010-05-25

    The most common form of malaria outside Africa, Plasmodium vivax, is more difficult to control than P. falciparum because of the latent liver hypnozoite stage, which causes multiple relapses and provides an infectious reservoir. The African (A-) G6PD (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) deficiency confers partial protection against severe P. falciparum. Recent evidence suggests that the deficiency also confers protection against P. vivax, which could explain its wide geographical distribution in human populations. The deficiency has a potentially serious interaction with antirelapse therapies (8-aminoquinolines such as primaquine). If the level of protection was sufficient, antirelapse therapy could become more widely available. We therefore tested the hypothesis that G6PD deficiency is protective against vivax malaria infection. A case-control study design was used amongst Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The frequency of phenotypic and genotypic G6PD deficiency in individuals with vivax malaria was compared against controls who had not had malaria in the previous two years. Phenotypic G6PD deficiency was less common amongst cases than controls (cases: 4/372 [1.1%] versus controls 42/743 [5.7%]; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.18 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.06-0.52], p = 0.001). Genetic analysis demonstrated that the G6PD deficiency allele identified (Mediterranean type) was associated with protection in hemizygous deficient males (AOR = 0.12 [95% CI 0.02-0.92], p = 0.041). The deficiency was also protective in females carrying the deficiency gene as heterozygotes or homozygotes (pooled AOR = 0.37 [95% CI 0.15-0.94], p = 0.037). G6PD deficiency (Mediterranean type) conferred significant protection against vivax malaria infection in this population whether measured by phenotype or genotype, indicating a possible evolutionary role for vivax malaria in the selective retention of the G6PD deficiency trait in human populations. Further work is required on the genotypic

  13. Heterosis Is a Systemic Property Emerging From Non-linear Genotype-Phenotype Relationships: Evidence From in Vitro Genetics and Computer Simulations.

    PubMed

    Fiévet, Julie B; Nidelet, Thibault; Dillmann, Christine; de Vienne, Dominique

    2018-01-01

    Heterosis, the superiority of hybrids over their parents for quantitative traits, represents a crucial issue in plant and animal breeding as well as evolutionary biology. Heterosis has given rise to countless genetic, genomic and molecular studies, but has rarely been investigated from the point of view of systems biology. We hypothesized that heterosis is an emergent property of living systems resulting from frequent concave relationships between genotypic variables and phenotypes, or between different phenotypic levels. We chose the enzyme-flux relationship as a model of the concave genotype-phenotype (GP) relationship, and showed that heterosis can be easily created in the laboratory. First, we reconstituted in vitro the upper part of glycolysis. We simulated genetic variability of enzyme activity by varying enzyme concentrations in test tubes. Mixing the content of "parental" tubes resulted in "hybrids," whose fluxes were compared to the parental fluxes. Frequent heterotic fluxes were observed, under conditions that were determined analytically and confirmed by computer simulation. Second, to test this model in a more realistic situation, we modeled the glycolysis/fermentation network in yeast by considering one input flux, glucose, and two output fluxes, glycerol and acetaldehyde. We simulated genetic variability by randomly drawing parental enzyme concentrations under various conditions, and computed the parental and hybrid fluxes using a system of differential equations. Again we found that a majority of hybrids exhibited positive heterosis for metabolic fluxes. Cases of negative heterosis were due to local convexity between certain enzyme concentrations and fluxes. In both approaches, heterosis was maximized when the parents were phenotypically close and when the distributions of parental enzyme concentrations were contrasted and constrained. These conclusions are not restricted to metabolic systems: they only depend on the concavity of the GP relationship

  14. Lessons from Cuba for Global Precision Medicine: CYP2D6 Genotype Is Not a Robust Predictor of CYP2D6 Ultrarapid Metabolism.

    PubMed

    Dorado, Pedro; González, Idilio; Naranjo, María Eugenia G; de Andrés, Fernando; Peñas-Lledó, Eva María; Calzadilla, Luis Ramón; LLerena, Adrián

    2017-01-01

    A long-standing question and dilemma in precision medicine is whether and to what extent genotyping or phenotyping drug metabolizing enzymes such as CYP2D6 can be used in real-life global clinical and societal settings. Although in an ideal world using both genotype and phenotype biomarkers are desirable, this is not always feasible for economic and practical reasons. Moreover, an additional barrier for clinical implementation of precision medicine is the lack of correlation between genotype and phenotype, considering that most of the current methods include only genotyping. Thus, the present study evaluated, using dextromethorphan as a phenotyping probe, the relationship between CYP2D6 phenotype and CYP2D6 genotype, especially for the ultrarapid metabolizer (UM) phenotype. We report in this study, to the best of our knowledge, the first comparative clinical pharmacogenomics study in a Cuban population sample (N = 174 healthy volunteers) and show that the CYP2D6 genotype is not a robust predictor of the CYP2D6 ultrarapid metabolizer (mUM) status in Cubans. Importantly, the ultrarapid CYP2D6 phenotype can result in a host of health outcomes, such as drug resistance associated with subtherapeutic drug concentrations, overexposure to active drug metabolites, and altered sensitivity to certain human diseases by virtue of altered metabolism of endogenous substrates of CYP2D6. Hence, phenotyping tests for CYP2D6 UMs appear to be a particular necessity for precision medicine in the Cuban population. Finally, in consideration of ethical and inclusive representation in global science, we recommend further precision medicine biomarker research and funding in support of neglected or understudied populations worldwide.

  15. Genotype and phenotype correlations in Iranian patients with hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia.

    PubMed

    Senniappan, Senthil; Sadeghizadeh, Atefeh; Flanagan, Sarah E; Ellard, Sian; Hashemipour, Mahin; Hosseinzadeh, Majid; Salehi, Mansour; Hussain, Khalid

    2015-08-13

    Hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia (HH) is a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders characterized by unregulated insulin secretion. Abnormalities in nine different genes (ABCC8, KCNJ11, GLUD1, GCK, HADH, SLC16A1, HNF4A, UCP2 and HNF1A) have been reported in HH, the most common being ABCC8 and KCNJ11. We describe the genetic aetiology and phenotype of Iranian patients with HH. Retrospective clinical, biochemical and genetic information was collected on 23 patients with biochemically confirmed HH. Mutation analysis was carried out for the ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channel genes (ABCC8 and KCNJ11), GLUD1, GCK, HADH and HNF4A. 78% of the patients were identified to have a genetic cause for HH. 48% of patients had mutation in HADH, whilst ABCC8/KCNJ11 mutations were identified in 30% of patients. Among the diazoxide-responsive patients (18/23), mutations were identified in 72%. These include two novel homozygous ABCC8 mutations. Of the five patients with diazoxide-unresponsive HH, three had homozygous ABCC8 mutation, one had heterozygous ABCC8 mutation inherited from an unaffected father and one had homozygous KCNJ11 mutation. 52% of children in our cohort were born to consanguineous parents. Patients with ABCC8/KCNJ11 mutations were noted to be significantly heavier than those with HADH mutation (p = 0.002). Our results revealed neurodevelopmental deficits in 30% and epilepsy in 52% of all patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind in Iran. We found disease-causing mutations in 78% of HH patients. The predominance of HADH mutation might be due to a high incidence of consanguineous marriage in this population. Further research involving a larger cohort of HH patients is required in Iranian population.

  16. Structural and Functional Cerebral Correlates of Hypnotic Suggestibility

    PubMed Central

    Huber, Alexa; Lui, Fausta; Duzzi, Davide; Pagnoni, Giuseppe; Porro, Carlo Adolfo

    2014-01-01

    Little is known about the neural bases of hypnotic suggestibility, a cognitive trait referring to the tendency to respond to hypnotic suggestions. In the present magnetic resonance imaging study, we performed regression analyses to assess hypnotic suggestibility-related differences in local gray matter volume, using voxel-based morphometry, and in waking resting state functional connectivity of 10 resting state networks, in 37 healthy women. Hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with gray matter volume in portions of the left superior and medial frontal gyri, roughly overlapping with the supplementary and pre-supplementary motor area, and negatively correlated with gray matter volume in the left superior temporal gyrus and insula. In the functional connectivity analysis, hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with functional connectivity between medial posterior areas, including bilateral posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, and both the lateral visual network and the left fronto-parietal network; a positive correlation was also found with functional connectivity between the executive-control network and a right postcentral/parietal area. In contrast, hypnotic suggestibility was negatively correlated with functional connectivity between the right fronto-parietal network and the right lateral thalamus. These findings demonstrate for the first time a correlation between hypnotic suggestibility, the structural features of specific cortical regions, and the functional connectivity during the normal resting state of brain structures involved in imagery and self-monitoring activity. PMID:24671130

  17. Structural and functional cerebral correlates of hypnotic suggestibility.

    PubMed

    Huber, Alexa; Lui, Fausta; Duzzi, Davide; Pagnoni, Giuseppe; Porro, Carlo Adolfo

    2014-01-01

    Little is known about the neural bases of hypnotic suggestibility, a cognitive trait referring to the tendency to respond to hypnotic suggestions. In the present magnetic resonance imaging study, we performed regression analyses to assess hypnotic suggestibility-related differences in local gray matter volume, using voxel-based morphometry, and in waking resting state functional connectivity of 10 resting state networks, in 37 healthy women. Hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with gray matter volume in portions of the left superior and medial frontal gyri, roughly overlapping with the supplementary and pre-supplementary motor area, and negatively correlated with gray matter volume in the left superior temporal gyrus and insula. In the functional connectivity analysis, hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with functional connectivity between medial posterior areas, including bilateral posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, and both the lateral visual network and the left fronto-parietal network; a positive correlation was also found with functional connectivity between the executive-control network and a right postcentral/parietal area. In contrast, hypnotic suggestibility was negatively correlated with functional connectivity between the right fronto-parietal network and the right lateral thalamus. These findings demonstrate for the first time a correlation between hypnotic suggestibility, the structural features of specific cortical regions, and the functional connectivity during the normal resting state of brain structures involved in imagery and self-monitoring activity.

  18. High-Density SNP Genotyping to Define β-Globin Locus Haplotypes

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Li; Muralidhar, Shalini; Singh, Manisha; Sylvan, Caprice; Kalra, Inderdeep S.; Quinn, Charles T.; Onyekwere, Onyinye C.; Pace, Betty S.

    2014-01-01

    Five major β-globin locus haplotypes have been established in individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) from the Benin, Bantu, Senegal, Cameroon, and Arab-Indian populations. Historically, β-haplotypes were established using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis across the β-locus, which consists of five functional β-like globin genes located on chromosome 11. Previous attempts to correlate these haplotypes as robust predictors of clinical phenotypes observed in SCD have not been successful. We speculate that the coverage and distribution of the RFLP sites located proximal to or within the globin genes are not sufficiently dense to accurately reflect the complexity of this region. To test our hypothesis, we performed RFLP analysis and high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping across the β-locus using DNA samples from either healthy African Americans with normal hemoglobin A (HbAA) or individuals with homozygous SS (HbSS) disease. Using the genotyping data from 88 SNPs and Haploview analysis, we generated a greater number of haplotypes than that observed with RFLP analysis alone. Furthermore, a unique pattern of long-range linkage disequilibrium between the locus control region and the β-like globin genes was observed in the HbSS group. Interestingly, we observed multiple SNPs within the HindIII restriction site located in the Gγ-globin intervening sequence II which produced the same RFLP pattern. These findings illustrated the inability of RFLP analysis to decipher the complexity of sequence variations that impacts genomic structure in this region. Our data suggest that high density SNP mapping may be required to accurately define β-haplotypes that correlate with the different clinical phenotypes observed in SCD. PMID:18829352

  19. [Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Vibrio cholerae O1].

    PubMed

    Giono-Cerezo, S; Rodríguez Angeles, M G; Gutiérrez-Cogco, L; Valdespino-Gómez, J L

    1994-01-01

    We made 52180 tests for isolation and identification of toxigenic V. cholerae O1 from rectal swabs and reference strains. We isolated 17.6% V. cholerae O1 strains in 1991, 43.5% in 1992 and 38.9% in 1993. The main serovar in 1991 was Inaba, whereas in 1993 a similar percentage was serovar Ogawa. The phenotype of V. cholerae strains was determined by hemolysis test, Voges-Proskauer test, polymyxin B resistance and phages 4 and 5 resistance. All of the mexican strains were El Tor. There were 2.9-0.75% hemolytic strains from 1991 to 1993, but they were negative when the test was made in tube with human erythrocytes. The resistotypes were performed in 24526 selected strains by Kirby-Bauer method and MIC tests. All of the strains were sensitive, except more than 100 strains isolated in Veracruz that were resistant to tetracycline and doxycycline. Detection of cholera toxin was made by ELISA and on culture of Vero and CHO cells. All the V. cholerae O1 strains were toxigenic. The genotype was determined by PCR and ribotyping. The PCR amplified one 564 pb fragment on V. cholerae O1. The ribotypes of mexican strains were 5 and 6a.

  20. Ontology-guided data preparation for discovering genotype-phenotype relationships.

    PubMed

    Coulet, Adrien; Smaïl-Tabbone, Malika; Benlian, Pascale; Napoli, Amedeo; Devignes, Marie-Dominique

    2008-04-25

    Complexity and amount of post-genomic data constitute two major factors limiting the application of Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) methods in life sciences. Bio-ontologies may nowadays play key roles in knowledge discovery in life science providing semantics to data and to extracted units, by taking advantage of the progress of Semantic Web technologies concerning the understanding and availability of tools for knowledge representation, extraction, and reasoning. This paper presents a method that exploits bio-ontologies for guiding data selection within the preparation step of the KDD process. We propose three scenarios in which domain knowledge and ontology elements such as subsumption, properties, class descriptions, are taken into account for data selection, before the data mining step. Each of these scenarios is illustrated within a case-study relative to the search of genotype-phenotype relationships in a familial hypercholesterolemia dataset. The guiding of data selection based on domain knowledge is analysed and shows a direct influence on the volume and significance of the data mining results. The method proposed in this paper is an efficient alternative to numerical methods for data selection based on domain knowledge. In turn, the results of this study may be reused in ontology modelling and data integration.

  1. Comparison of Phenotypic and Genotypic Methods for Detection of Diphtheria Toxin among Isolates of Pathogenic Corynebacteria

    PubMed Central

    Efstratiou, Androulla; Engler, Kathryn H.; Dawes, Charlotte S.; Sesardic, Dorothea

    1998-01-01

    We have compared molecular, immunochemical, and cytotoxic assays for the detection of diphtheria toxin from 55 isolates of Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans originally isolated in five different countries. The suitabilities and accuracies of these assays for the laboratory diagnosis of diphtheria were compared and evaluated against the “gold standard” in vivo methods. The in vivo and Vero cell cytotoxicity assays were accurate in their abilities to detect diphtheria toxin but were time-consuming; however, the cytotoxicity assay is a suitable in vitro alternative to the in vivo virulence test. There was complete concordance between all the phenotypic methods. Genotypic tests based upon PCR were rapid; however, PCR must be used with caution because some isolates of C. diphtheriae possessed toxin genes but failed to express a biologically active toxin. Therefore, phenotypic confirmation of toxigenicity for the microbiological diagnosis of diphtheria is recommended. PMID:9774560

  2. Response to Drs. Shastry and Trese: Phenotype-genotype correlations in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kaplan, J.; Munnich, A.

    1996-11-11

    Shastry and Trese recently reported on a large kindred with X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) characterized by a loss of central vision and preserved peripheral function. In their report, the disease had an early onset with severe myopia and a loss of central vision, while night blindness occurred later. Genetic analysis suggested that the disease was linked to the RP2 locus, and the authors raised the question of whether other cases linked to RP2 could display a similar loss of central vision. Three years ago, we reported on 4 large XLRP pedigrees with a very early onset with severe myopia andmore » early loss of visual acuity, while in 5 other families the disease started later with night blindness. We showed that the first clinical form was linked to RP2, while the second was linked to RP3. Thus, the major difference between the two forms concerns the initial symptom, information which can be obtained from the parents and patients after careful questioning. By contrast, in adult life, no difference in either severity of disease or aspect of the fundus was observed in our series, regardless of the clinical subtype of XLRP. Some months later, Jacobson et al. reported on a pedigree with an RP2 genotype, and their data support the notion that in XLRP of RP2 type 1, cone dysfunction takes place first, and as the disease advances both rods and cones are affected. We were very happy, therefore, to read that the study of Shastry and Trese fully confirmed our previous findings. 3 refs.« less

  3. Correlation of normal-range FMR1 repeat length or genotypes and reproductive parameters.

    PubMed

    Maslow, Bat-Sheva L; Davis, Stephanie; Engmann, Lawrence; Nulsen, John C; Benadiva, Claudio A

    2016-09-01

    This study aims to ascertain whether the length of normal-ranged CGG repeats on the FMR1 gene correlates with abnormal reproductive parameters. We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study of all FMR1 carrier screening performed as part of routine care at a large university-based fertility center from January 2011 to March 2014. Correlations were performed between normal-range FMR1 length and baseline serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), cycle day 3 follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), ovarian volumes (OV), antral follicle counts (AFC), and incidence of diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), while controlling for the effect of age. Six hundred three FMR1 screening results were collected. One subject was found to be a pre-mutation carrier and was excluded from the study. Baseline serum AMH, cycle day 3 FSH, OV, and AFC data were collected for the 602 subjects with normal-ranged CGG repeats. No significant difference in median age was noted amongst any of the FMR1 repeat genotypes. No significant correlation or association was found between any allele length or genotype, with any of the reproductive parameters or with incidence of DOR at any age (p > 0.05). However, subjects who were less than 35 years old with low/low genotype were significantly more likely to have below average AMH levels compared to those with normal/normal genotype (RR 3.82; 95 % CI 1.38-10.56). This large study did not demonstrate any substantial association between normal-range FMR1 repeat lengths and reproductive parameters.

  4. Mild phenotype associated with Inv Dup 8 (q21.2-q22.3) of maternal origin

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tupler, R.; Pagliano, E.; Barbierato, L.

    1996-03-15

    We report on a girl with a de novo inverted duplication of chromosome 8 (q21.2-q22.3) associated with a mild phenotype. We were able to establish the maternal origin of the rearranged chromosome. We discuss the correlation between genotype and phenotype on the basis of a review of the findings from individuals with partial dup(8q). 6 refs., 4 figs.

  5. Richieri-Costa-Pereira syndrome: Expanding its phenotypic and genotypic spectrum.

    PubMed

    Bertola, D R; Hsia, G; Alvizi, L; Gardham, A; Wakeling, E L; Yamamoto, G L; Honjo, R S; Oliveira, L A N; Di Francesco, R C; Perez, B A; Kim, C A; Passos-Bueno, M R

    2018-04-01

    Richieri-Costa-Pereira syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive acrofacial dysostosis that has been mainly described in Brazilian individuals. The cardinal features include Robin sequence, cleft mandible, laryngeal anomalies and limb defects. A biallelic expansion of a complex repeated motif in the 5' untranslated region of EIF4A3 has been shown to cause this syndrome, commonly with 15 or 16 repeats. The only patient with mild clinical findings harbored a 14-repeat expansion in 1 allele and a point mutation in the other allele. This proband is described here in more details, as well as is his affected sister, and 5 new individuals with Richieri-Costa-Pereira syndrome, including a patient from England, of African ancestry. This study has expanded the phenotype in this syndrome by the observation of microcephaly, better characterization of skeletal abnormalities, less severe phenotype with only mild facial dysmorphisms and limb anomalies, as well as the absence of cleft mandible, which is a hallmark of the syndrome. Although the most frequent mutation in this study was the recurrent 16-repeat expansion in EIF4A3, there was an overrepresentation of the 14-repeat expansion, with mild phenotypic expression, thus suggesting that the number of these motifs could play a role in phenotypic delineation. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Correlation and path analysis of biomass sorghum production.

    PubMed

    Vendruscolo, T P S; Barelli, M A A; Castrillon, M A S; da Silva, R S; de Oliveira, F T; Corrêa, C L; Zago, B W; Tardin, F D

    2016-12-23

    Sorghum biomass is an interesting raw material for bioenergy production due to its versatility, potential of being a renewable energy source, and low-cost of production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic variability of biomass sorghum genotypes and to estimate genotypic, phenotypic, and environmental correlations, and direct and indirect effects of seven agronomic traits through path analysis. Thirty-four biomass sorghum genotypes and two forage sorghum genotypes were cultivated in a randomized block design with three replicates. The following morpho-agronomic traits were evaluated: flowering date, stem diameter, number of stems, plant height, number of leaves, green mass production, and dry matter production. There were significant differences at the 1% level for all traits. The highest genotypic correlation was found between the traits green mass production and dry matter production. The path analysis demonstrated that green mass production and number of leaves can assist in the selection of dry matter production.

  7. Cystic Fibrosis: A Review of Associated Phenotypes, Use of Molecular Diagnostic Approaches, Genetic Characteristics, Progress, and Dilemmas.

    PubMed

    Brennan, Marie-Luise; Schrijver, Iris

    2016-01-01

    Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease with significant associated morbidity and mortality. It is now appreciated that the broad phenotypic CF spectrum is not explained by obvious genotype-phenotype correlations, suggesting that CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)-related disease may occur because of multiple additive effects. These contributing effects include complex CFTR alleles, modifier genes, mutations in alternative genes that produce CF-like phenotypes, epigenetic factors, and environmental influences. Most patients in the United States are now diagnosed through newborn screening and use of molecular testing methods. We review the molecular testing approaches and laboratory guidelines for carrier screening, prenatal testing, newborn screening, and clinical diagnostic testing, as well as recent developments in CF treatment, and reasons for the lack of a molecular diagnosis in some patients. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Investigative Pathology and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Evidence for biochemical and physiological differences between enzyme genotypes in Drosophila melanogaster.

    PubMed Central

    Cavener, D R; Clegg, M T

    1981-01-01

    The in vivo flux of carbon through the pentose shunt is investigated as a function of different 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6Pgd) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6pd) genotypes by using differential radioactive labeling of the C-1 and C-6 positions of glucose. Alternative 6Pgd-G6pd genotypes are shown to differ in relative in vivo carbon flux through the pentose shunt. The relative in vitro specific activity differences between the 6PgdSS and 6PgdFF genotypes appear to be primarily responsible for these differences. In addition, the pentose-shunt activity is correlated with the rate of lipid synthesis. This correlation is consistent with the major metabolic function of the pathway, which is to produce NADPH for lipid synthesis. Taken together, the results of these experiments show that different genotypes of 6Pgd are associated with measurable biochemical and physiological differences. Higher order phenotypic differences of this kind must be demonstrated to support the hypothesis that natural selection can discriminate among allozymes of a given genetic locus. PMID:6794031

  9. Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of the O-linked protein glycosylation system reveals high glycan diversity in paired meningococcal carriage isolates.

    PubMed

    Børud, Bente; Bårnes, Guro K; Brynildsrud, Ola Brønstad; Fritzsønn, Elisabeth; Caugant, Dominique A

    2018-03-19

    Species within the genus Neisseria display significant glycan diversity associated with the O -linked protein glycosylation ( pgl ) systems due to phase variation, polymorphic genes and gene content. The aim of this study was to examine in detail the pgl genotype and glycosylation phenotype in meningococcal isolates and the changes occurring during short-term asymptomatic carriage. Paired meningococcal isolates derived from 50 asymptomatic meningococcal carriers, taken about two months apart, were analyzed with whole genome sequencing. The O -linked protein glycosylation genes were characterized in detail using the Genome Comparator tool at the PubMLST.org database. Immunoblotting with glycan specific antibodies were used to investigate the protein glycosylation phenotype. All major pgl locus polymorphisms identified in N. meningitidis to date were present in our isolate collection, with the variable presence of pglG-pglH, both in combination with either pglB or pglB2. We identified significant changes and diversity in the pgl genotype and/or glycan phenotype in 96% of the paired isolates. There was also a high degree of glycan microheterogeneity, in which different variants of glycan structures were found at a given glycoprotein. The main mechanism responsible for the observed differences was phase variable expression of the involved glycosyltransferases and the O-acetyltransferase. To our knowledge, this is the first characterization of the pgl genotype and glycosylation phenotype in a larger strain collection. This study thus provides important insight into glycan diversity in N. meningitidis and phase variability changes that influence the expressed glycoform repertoire during meningococcal carriage. Importance Bacterial meningitis is a serious global health problem and one of the major causative organisms is Neisseria meningitidis , which is also a common commensal in the upper respiratory tract of healthy humans. In bacteria, numerous loci involved in

  10. Genotyping and phenotyping of CYP2D6 and CYP3A isoenzymes in patients with alcohol use disorder: correlation with haloperidol plasma concentration.

    PubMed

    Sychev, Dmitry A; Zastrozhin, Mikhail S; Miroshnichenko, Igor I; Baymeeva, Natalia V; Smirnov, Valery V; Grishina, Elena A; Ryzhikova, Kristina A; Mirzaev, Karin B; Markov, Dmitry D; Skryabin, Valentin Y; Snalina, Nataliya E; Nosikova, Polina G; Savchenko, Ludmila M; Bryun, Evgeny A

    2017-09-26

    Haloperidol is used for the treatment of alcohol use disorders in patients with signs of alcohol-related psychosis. Haloperidol therapy poses a high risk of adverse drug reactions (ADR). Contradictory data, which include the effects of genetic polymorphisms in genes encoding the elements of haloperidol biotransformation system on haloperidol metabolism rate and plasma drug concentration ratio, are described in patients with different genotypes. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effects of CYP2D6 and CYP3A5 genetic polymorphisms on haloperidol equilibrium concentration in patients with alcohol use disorder. The study included 69 male patients with alcohol use disorder. Genotyping was performed using the allele-specific real-time PCR. CYP2D6 and CYP3A were phenotyped with HPLC-MS using the concentration of endogenous substrate of the enzyme and its urinary metabolites [6-hydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline(6-HO-THBC) to pinoline ratio for CYP2D6 and 6-β-hydroxycortisol to cortisol ratio for CYP3A]. The equilibrium plasma concentration was determined using LC-MS-MS. Results indicated that both C/D indexes and equilibrium concentration levels depend on CYP2D6 genetic polymorphism, but only in patients receiving haloperidol intramuscular injections [0.26 (0.09; 0.48) vs. 0.54 (0.44; 0.74), p=0.037]. The study demonstrates that CYP2D6 genetic polymorphism (1846G>A) can affect haloperidol concentration levels in patients with alcohol use disorder.

  11. Clear relationship between ETF/ETFDH genotype and phenotype in patients with multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenation deficiency.

    PubMed

    Olsen, Rikke K J; Andresen, Brage S; Christensen, Ernst; Bross, Peter; Skovby, Flemming; Gregersen, Niels

    2003-07-01

    Mutations in electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) and its dehydrogenase (ETFDH) are the molecular basis of multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenation deficiency (MADD), an autosomal recessively inherited and clinically heterogeneous disease that has been divided into three clinical forms: a neonatal-onset form with congenital anomalies (type I), a neonatal-onset form without congenital anomalies (type II), and a late-onset form (type III). To examine whether these different clinical forms could be explained by different ETF/ETFDH mutations that result in different levels of residual ETF/ETFDH enzyme activity, we have investigated the molecular genetic basis for disease development in nine patients representing the phenotypic spectrum of MADD. We report the genomic structures of the ETFA, ETFB, and ETFDH genes and the identification and characterization of seven novel and three previously reported disease-causing mutations. Our molecular genetic investigations of these nine patients are consistent with three clinical forms of MADD showing a clear relationship between the nature of the mutations and the severity of disease. Interestingly, our data suggest that homozygosity for two null mutations causes fetal development of congenital anomalies resulting in a type I disease phenotype. Even minute amounts of residual ETF/ETFDH activity seem to be sufficient to prevent embryonic development of congenital anomalies giving rise to type II disease. Overexpression studies of an ETFB-D128N missense mutation identified in a patient with type III disease showed that the residual activity of the mutant enzyme could be rescued up to 59% of that of wild-type activity when ETFB-D128N-transformed E. coli cells were grown at low temperature. This indicates that the effect of the ETF/ETFDH genotype in patients with milder forms of MADD, in whom residual enzyme activity allows modulation of the enzymatic phenotype, may be influenced by environmental factors like cellular temperature. Copyright

  12. Genomic Sequences of Five Helicoverpa armigera Nucleopolyhedrovirus Genotypes from Spain That Differ in Their Insecticidal Properties

    PubMed Central

    Arrizubieta, Maite; Williams, Trevor; Caballero, Primitivo

    2015-01-01

    Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV) has proved effective as the basis for various biological insecticides. Complete genome sequences of five Spanish HearNPV genotypes differed principally in the homologous regions (hrs) and the baculovirus repeat open reading frame (bro) genes, suggesting that they may be involved in the phenotypic differences observed among genotypes. PMID:26067949

  13. Genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity suggest therapeutic implications in SCN2A-related disorders.

    PubMed

    Wolff, Markus; Johannesen, Katrine M; Hedrich, Ulrike B S; Masnada, Silvia; Rubboli, Guido; Gardella, Elena; Lesca, Gaetan; Ville, Dorothée; Milh, Mathieu; Villard, Laurent; Afenjar, Alexandra; Chantot-Bastaraud, Sandra; Mignot, Cyril; Lardennois, Caroline; Nava, Caroline; Schwarz, Niklas; Gérard, Marion; Perrin, Laurence; Doummar, Diane; Auvin, Stéphane; Miranda, Maria J; Hempel, Maja; Brilstra, Eva; Knoers, Nine; Verbeek, Nienke; van Kempen, Marjan; Braun, Kees P; Mancini, Grazia; Biskup, Saskia; Hörtnagel, Konstanze; Döcker, Miriam; Bast, Thomas; Loddenkemper, Tobias; Wong-Kisiel, Lily; Baumeister, Friedrich M; Fazeli, Walid; Striano, Pasquale; Dilena, Robertino; Fontana, Elena; Zara, Federico; Kurlemann, Gerhard; Klepper, Joerg; Thoene, Jess G; Arndt, Daniel H; Deconinck, Nicolas; Schmitt-Mechelke, Thomas; Maier, Oliver; Muhle, Hiltrud; Wical, Beverly; Finetti, Claudio; Brückner, Reinhard; Pietz, Joachim; Golla, Günther; Jillella, Dinesh; Linnet, Karen M; Charles, Perrine; Moog, Ute; Õiglane-Shlik, Eve; Mantovani, John F; Park, Kristen; Deprez, Marie; Lederer, Damien; Mary, Sandrine; Scalais, Emmanuel; Selim, Laila; Van Coster, Rudy; Lagae, Lieven; Nikanorova, Marina; Hjalgrim, Helle; Korenke, G Christoph; Trivisano, Marina; Specchio, Nicola; Ceulemans, Berten; Dorn, Thomas; Helbig, Katherine L; Hardies, Katia; Stamberger, Hannah; de Jonghe, Peter; Weckhuysen, Sarah; Lemke, Johannes R; Krägeloh-Mann, Ingeborg; Helbig, Ingo; Kluger, Gerhard; Lerche, Holger; Møller, Rikke S

    2017-05-01

    Mutations in SCN2A, a gene encoding the voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.2, have been associated with a spectrum of epilepsies and neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we report the phenotypes of 71 patients and review 130 previously reported patients. We found that (i) encephalopathies with infantile/childhood onset epilepsies (≥3 months of age) occur almost as often as those with an early infantile onset (<3 months), and are thus more frequent than previously reported; (ii) distinct phenotypes can be seen within the late onset group, including myoclonic-atonic epilepsy (two patients), Lennox-Gastaut not emerging from West syndrome (two patients), and focal epilepsies with an electrical status epilepticus during slow sleep-like EEG pattern (six patients); and (iii) West syndrome constitutes a common phenotype with a major recurring mutation (p.Arg853Gln: two new and four previously reported children). Other known phenotypes include Ohtahara syndrome, epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures, and intellectual disability or autism without epilepsy. To assess the response to antiepileptic therapy, we retrospectively reviewed the treatment regimen and the course of the epilepsy in 66 patients for which well-documented medical information was available. We find that the use of sodium channel blockers was often associated with clinically relevant seizure reduction or seizure freedom in children with early infantile epilepsies (<3 months), whereas other antiepileptic drugs were less effective. In contrast, sodium channel blockers were rarely effective in epilepsies with later onset (≥3 months) and sometimes induced seizure worsening. Regarding the genetic findings, truncating mutations were exclusively seen in patients with late onset epilepsies and lack of response to sodium channel blockers. Functional characterization of four selected missense mutations using whole cell patch-clamping in tsA201 cells-together with data from the literature-suggest that

  14. Linking genotype to phenotype in a changing ocean: inferring the genomic architecture of a blue mussel stress response with genome-wide association.

    PubMed

    Kingston, S E; Martino, P; Melendy, M; Reed, F A; Carlon, D B

    2018-03-01

    A key component to understanding the evolutionary response to a changing climate is linking underlying genetic variation to phenotypic variation in stress response. Here, we use a genome-wide association approach (GWAS) to understand the genetic architecture of calcification rates under simulated climate stress. We take advantage of the genomic gradient across the blue mussel hybrid zone (Mytilus edulis and Mytilus trossulus) in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) to link genetic variation with variance in calcification rates in response to simulated climate change. Falling calcium carbonate saturation states are predicted to negatively impact many marine organisms that build calcium carbonate shells - like blue mussels. We sampled wild mussels and measured net calcification phenotypes after exposing mussels to a 'climate change' common garden, where we raised temperature by 3°C, decreased pH by 0.2 units and limited food supply by filtering out planktonic particles >5 μm, compared to ambient GOM conditions in the summer. This climate change exposure greatly increased phenotypic variation in net calcification rates compared to ambient conditions. We then used regression models to link the phenotypic variation with over 170 000 single nucleotide polymorphism loci (SNPs) generated by genotype by sequencing to identify genomic locations associated with calcification phenotype, and estimate heritability and architecture of the trait. We identified at least one of potentially 2-10 genomic regions responsible for 30% of the phenotypic variation in calcification rates that are potential targets of natural selection by climate change. Our simulations suggest a power of 13.7% with our study's average effective sample size of 118 individuals and rare alleles, but a power of >90% when effective sample size is 900. © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  15. Variability in clinical phenotypes of PRPF8-linked autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa correlates with differential PRPF8/SNRNP200 interactions.

    PubMed

    Escher, Pascal; Passarin, Olga; Munier, Francis L; Tran, Viet H; Vaclavik, Veronika

    2018-01-01

    To expand the genotype/phenotype correlations in patients with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) harboring PRPF8 variants. Two patients, a father and his daughter, harboring a novel p.PRPF8-Glu2331* variant, underwent ophthalmic examination at 3-year-interval, including fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence, optical coherence tomography, and ISCEV standard full field ERGs. All reported disease-causing PRPF8 variants were collected and localized in the PRPF8 and PRPF8/SNRNP200 protein structures. The p.PRPF8-Glu2331* variant results in a truncated PRPF8 protein lacking the last five C-terminal amino acids and caused in the two patients a severe clinical phenotype, with the macula being affected from the second decade on. All but two adRP-linked variants are located in the last exon 43 encoding the C-terminal tail of the C-terminal PRPF8 Jab1 domain. The p.PRPF8-Ser2118Phe and -Asn2280Lys variants encoded by exons 39 and 42, respectively, are located at the basis of the C-terminal tail. Frame-shift mutations and nonconservative amino acid changes in PRPF8 typically cause severe clinical phenotypes. The conservative missense variant p.PRPF8-Arg2310Lys that is not altering the global charge of the C-terminal tail, and variants located at the basis of the C-terminal tail show milder clinical phenotypes, in accordance with functional data on PRPF8/SNRNP200 interactions in yeast.

  16. The evolution of the major hepatitis C genotypes correlates with clinical response to interferon therapy.

    PubMed

    Pang, Phillip S; Planet, Paul J; Glenn, Jeffrey S

    2009-08-11

    Patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) require significantly different durations of therapy and achieve substantially different sustained virologic response rates to interferon-based therapies, depending on the HCV genotype with which they are infected. There currently exists no systematic framework that explains these genotype-specific response rates. Since humans are the only known natural hosts for HCV-a virus that is at least hundreds of years old-one possibility is that over the time frame of this relationship, HCV accumulated adaptive mutations that confer increasing resistance to the human immune system. Given that interferon therapy functions by triggering an immune response, we hypothesized that clinical response rates are a reflection of viral evolutionary adaptations to the immune system. We have performed the first phylogenetic analysis to include all available full-length HCV genomic sequences (n = 345). This resulted in a new cladogram of HCV. This tree establishes for the first time the relative evolutionary ages of the major HCV genotypes. The outcome data from prospective clinical trials that studied interferon and ribavirin therapy was then mapped onto this new tree. This mapping revealed a correlation between genotype-specific responses to therapy and respective genotype age. This correlation allows us to predict that genotypes 5 and 6, for which there currently are no published prospective trials, will likely have intermediate response rates, similar to genotype 3. Ancestral protein sequence reconstruction was also performed, which identified the HCV proteins E2 and NS5A as potential determinants of genotype-specific clinical outcome. Biochemical studies have independently identified these same two proteins as having genotype-specific abilities to inhibit the innate immune factor double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR). An evolutionary analysis of all available HCV genomes supports the hypothesis that immune

  17. Third trimester fetal heart rate predicts phenotype and mutation burden in the type 1 long QT syndrome.

    PubMed

    Winbo, Annika; Fosdal, Inger; Lindh, Maria; Diamant, Ulla-Britt; Persson, Johan; Wettrell, Göran; Rydberg, Annika

    2015-08-01

    Early diagnosis and risk stratification is of clinical importance in the long QT syndrome (LQTS), however, little genotype-specific data are available regarding fetal LQTS. We investigate third trimester fetal heart rate, routinely recorded within public maternal health care, as a possible marker for LQT1 genotype and phenotype. This retrospective study includes 184 fetuses from 2 LQT1 founder populations segregating p.Y111C and p.R518X (74 noncarriers and 110 KCNQ1 mutation carriers, whereof 13 double mutation carriers). Pedigree-based measured genotype analysis revealed significant associations between fetal heart rate, genotype, and phenotype; mean third trimester prelabor fetal heart rates obtained from obstetric records (gestational week 29-41) were lower per added mutation (no mutation, 143±5 beats per minute; single mutation, 134±8 beats per minute; double mutations, 111±6 beats per minute; P<0.0001), and lower in symptomatic versus asymptomatic mutation carriers (122±10 versus 137±9 beats per minute; P<0.0001). Strong correlations between fetal heart rate and neonatal heart rate (r=0.700; P<0.001), and postnatal QTc (r=-0.762; P<0.001) were found. In a multivariable model, fetal genotype explained the majority of variance in fetal heart rate (-10 beats per minute per added mutation; P<1.0×10(-23)). Arrhythmia symptoms and intrauterine β-blocker exposure each predicted -7 beats per minute, P<0.0001. In this study including 184 fetuses from 2 LQT1 founder populations, third trimester fetal heart rate discriminated between fetal genotypes and correlated with severity of postnatal cardiac phenotype. This finding strengthens the role of fetal heart rate in the early detection and risk stratification of LQTS, particularly for fetuses with double mutations, at high risk of early life-threatening arrhythmias. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

  18. Hepatitis C Genotypes in Libya: Correlation with Patients' Characteristics, Level of Viremia, and Degree of Liver Fibrosis.

    PubMed

    Elzuoki, Abdel-Naser; Elzouki, Islam; Albarassi, Sabah; Gammo, Mohamed; Burwaiss, Abdalla

    2017-09-01

    Our study sought to determine the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-genotypes among patients attending two tertiary care hospitals in Benghazi and Tripoli, Libya, and correlate this with patient's characteristics, viral load, and degree of fibrosis. We conducted a retrospective study of 286 HCV-RNA positive Libyan patients referred from different health care facilities in east and west Libya for specific HCV treatment. HCV genotyping was carried out by gene amplification. Liver histology was graded by Metavir score according to the stage of fibrosis. HCV genotypes 1, 2, 3, and 4 were found in 24.1%, 10.8%, 3.4%, and 61.5% of the patients, respectively. Genotype 4 was detected more frequently in patients from east Libya (Benghazi) compared to west Libya (Tripoli) (75.9% vs. 41.6%, p = 0.245). Genotype 1 was more frequent in patients from west Libya compared to east Libya (34.1% vs. 16.8%, p = 0.657). There was a significant correlation between HCV genotype distribution and viral load. Patients with genotype 4 exhibited a higher degree of liver fibrosis ( p < 0.001). HCV genotype 4 is the predominant genotype in Libya followed by genotype 1. However, as we go from the east to the west of the country, genotype 1 increases. Genotype 4 was associated with higher level of viremia and higher stage of liver fibrosis. It is important to note that both genotypes 1 and 4 are associated with a poor response to pegylated interferon and ribavirin combination therapy. The findings emphasize the need to develop improved strategies in Libya for the successful treatment of HCV infection with novel newly available antiviral drugs.

  19. Novel Synthesis and Phenotypic Analysis of Mutant Clouds for Hepatitis E Virus Genotype 1.

    PubMed

    Agarwal, Shubhra; Baccam, Prasith; Aggarwal, Rakesh; Veerapu, Naga Suresh

    2018-02-15

    Many RNA viruses exist as an ensemble of genetically diverse, replicating populations known as a mutant cloud. The genetic diversity (cloud size) and composition of this mutant cloud may influence several important phenotypic features of the virus, including its replication capacity. We applied a straightforward, bacterium-free approach using error-prone PCR coupled with reverse genetics to generate infectious mutant RNA clouds with various levels of genetic diversity from a genotype 1 strain of hepatitis E virus (HEV). Cloning and sequencing of a genomic fragment encompassing 70% of open reading frame 1 ( ORF1 ) or of the full genome from variants in the resultant clouds showed the occurrence of nucleotide mutations at a frequency on the order of 10 -3 per nucleotide copied and the existence of marked genetic diversity, with a high normalized Shannon entropy value. The mutant clouds showed transient replication in cell culture, while wild-type HEV did not. Cross-sectional data from these cell cultures supported the existence of differential effects of clouds of various sizes and compositions on phenotypic characteristics, such as the replication level of (+)-RNA progeny, the amounts of double-stranded RNA (a surrogate for the rate of viral replication) and ORF1 protein, and the expression of interferon-stimulated genes. Since mutant cloud size and composition influenced the viral phenotypic properties, a better understanding of this relationship may help to provide further insights into virus evolution and prediction of emerging viral diseases. IMPORTANCE Several biological or practical limitations currently prevent the study of phenotypic behavior of a mutant cloud in vitro We developed a simple and rapid method for synthesizing mutant clouds of hepatitis E virus (HEV), a single-stranded (+)-RNA [ss(+) RNA] virus, with various and controllable levels of genetic diversity, which could then be used in a cell culture system to study the effects of cloud size and

  20. An Adaptive Association Test for Multiple Phenotypes with GWAS Summary Statistics.

    PubMed

    Kim, Junghi; Bai, Yun; Pan, Wei

    2015-12-01

    We study the problem of testing for single marker-multiple phenotype associations based on genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics without access to individual-level genotype and phenotype data. For most published GWASs, because obtaining summary data is substantially easier than accessing individual-level phenotype and genotype data, while often multiple correlated traits have been collected, the problem studied here has become increasingly important. We propose a powerful adaptive test and compare its performance with some existing tests. We illustrate its applications to analyses of a meta-analyzed GWAS dataset with three blood lipid traits and another with sex-stratified anthropometric traits, and further demonstrate its potential power gain over some existing methods through realistic simulation studies. We start from the situation with only one set of (possibly meta-analyzed) genome-wide summary statistics, then extend the method to meta-analysis of multiple sets of genome-wide summary statistics, each from one GWAS. We expect the proposed test to be useful in practice as more powerful than or complementary to existing methods. © 2015 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

  1. Comparative phenotypic and genotypic analysis of Edwardsiella spp. isolates from different hosts and geographic origins, with an emphasis on isolates formerly classified as E. tarda and an evaluation of diagnostic methods

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Aims: Conventional phenotypic and genotypic analyses for the differentiation of phenotypically ambiguous Edwardsiella congeners was evaluated and historical E. tarda designations were linked to current taxonomic nomenclature. Methods and Results: Forty-seven Edwardsiella spp. isolates recovered over...

  2. TBC1D24 genotype–phenotype correlation

    PubMed Central

    Balestrini, Simona; Milh, Mathieu; Castiglioni, Claudia; Lüthy, Kevin; Finelli, Mattea J.; Verstreken, Patrik; Cardon, Aaron; Stražišar, Barbara Gnidovec; Holder, J. Lloyd; Lesca, Gaetan; Mancardi, Maria M.; Poulat, Anne L.; Repetto, Gabriela M.; Banka, Siddharth; Bilo, Leonilda; Birkeland, Laura E.; Bosch, Friedrich; Brockmann, Knut; Cross, J. Helen; Doummar, Diane; Félix, Temis M.; Giuliano, Fabienne; Hori, Mutsuki; Hüning, Irina; Kayserili, Hulia; Kini, Usha; Lees, Melissa M.; Meenakshi, Girish; Mewasingh, Leena; Pagnamenta, Alistair T.; Peluso, Silvio; Mey, Antje; Rice, Gregory M.; Rosenfeld, Jill A.; Taylor, Jenny C.; Troester, Matthew M.; Stanley, Christine M.; Ville, Dorothee; Walkiewicz, Magdalena; Falace, Antonio; Fassio, Anna; Lemke, Johannes R.; Biskup, Saskia; Tardif, Jessica; Ajeawung, Norbert F.; Tolun, Aslihan; Corbett, Mark; Gecz, Jozef; Afawi, Zaid; Howell, Katherine B.; Oliver, Karen L.; Berkovic, Samuel F.; Scheffer, Ingrid E.; de Falco, Fabrizio A.; Oliver, Peter L.; Striano, Pasquale; Zara, Federico

    2016-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the phenotypic spectrum associated with mutations in TBC1D24. Methods: We acquired new clinical, EEG, and neuroimaging data of 11 previously unreported and 37 published patients. TBC1D24 mutations, identified through various sequencing methods, can be found online (http://lovd.nl/TBC1D24). Results: Forty-eight patients were included (28 men, 20 women, average age 21 years) from 30 independent families. Eighteen patients (38%) had myoclonic epilepsies. The other patients carried diagnoses of focal (25%), multifocal (2%), generalized (4%), and unclassified epilepsy (6%), and early-onset epileptic encephalopathy (25%). Most patients had drug-resistant epilepsy. We detail EEG, neuroimaging, developmental, and cognitive features, treatment responsiveness, and physical examination. In silico evaluation revealed 7 different highly conserved motifs, with the most common pathogenic mutation located in the first. Neuronal outgrowth assays showed that some TBC1D24 mutations, associated with the most severe TBC1D24-associated disorders, are not necessarily the most disruptive to this gene function. Conclusions: TBC1D24-related epilepsy syndromes show marked phenotypic pleiotropy, with multisystem involvement and severity spectrum ranging from isolated deafness (not studied here), benign myoclonic epilepsy restricted to childhood with complete seizure control and normal intellect, to early-onset epileptic encephalopathy with severe developmental delay and early death. There is no distinct correlation with mutation type or location yet, but patterns are emerging. Given the phenotypic breadth observed, TBC1D24 mutation screening is indicated in a wide variety of epilepsies. A TBC1D24 consortium was formed to develop further research on this gene and its associated phenotypes. PMID:27281533

  3. Expanding the Genotypic Spectrum of Bathing Suit Ichthyosis

    PubMed Central

    Marukian, Nareh V.; Hu, Rong-Hua; Craiglow, Brittany G.; Milstone, Leonard M.; Zhou, Jing; Theos, Amy; Kaymakcalan, Hande; Akkaya, Deniz A.; Uitto, Jouni J.; Vahidnezhad, Hassan; Youssefian, Leila; Bayliss, Susan J.; Paller, Amy S.; Boyden, Lynn M.

    2017-01-01

    Importance Bathing suit ichthyosis (BSI) is a rare congenital disorder of keratinization characterized by restriction of scale to sites of relatively higher temperature such as the trunk, with cooler areas remaining unaffected. Fewer than 40 cases have been reported in the literature. Bathing suit ichthyosis is caused by recessive, temperature-sensitive mutations in the transglutaminase-1 gene (TGM1). Clear genotype-phenotype correlations have been difficult to establish because several of the same TGM1 mutations have been reported in BSI and other forms of congenital ichthyosis. We identify novel and recurrent mutations in 16 participants with BSI. Objective To expand the genotypic spectrum of BSI, identifying novel TGM1 mutations in patients with BSI, and to use BSI genotypes to draw inferences about the temperature sensitivity of TGM1 mutations. Design, Setting, and Participants A total of 16 participants with BSI from 13 kindreds were identified from 6 academic medical centers. A detailed clinical history was obtained from each participant, including phenotypic presentation at birth and disease course. Each participant underwent targeted sequencing of TGM1. Main Outcomes and Measures Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics in these patients from birth onward. Results Of the 16 participants, 7 were male, and 9 were female (mean age, 12.6 years; range, 1-39 years). We found 1 novel TGM1 indel mutation (Ile469_Cys471delinsMetLeu) and 8 TGM1 missense mutations that to our knowledge have not been previously reported in BSI: 5 have been previously described in non–temperature-sensitive forms of congenital ichthyosis (Arg143Cys, Gly218Ser, Gly278Arg, Arg286Gln, and Ser358Arg), and 3 (Tyr374Cys, Phe495Leu, and Ser772Arg) are novel mutations. Three probands were homozygous for Arg264Trp, Arg286Gln, or Arg315Leu, indicating that these mutations are temperature sensitive. Seven of 10 probands with a compound heterozygous TGM1 genotype had a mutation at either arginine

  4. Genes for hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies: a genotype–phenotype correlation

    PubMed Central

    Rotthier, Annelies; Baets, Jonathan; Vriendt, Els De; Jacobs, An; Auer-Grumbach, Michaela; Lévy, Nicolas; Bonello-Palot, Nathalie; Kilic, Sara Sebnem; Weis, Joachim; Nascimento, Andrés; Swinkels, Marielle; Kruyt, Moyo C.; Jordanova, Albena; De Jonghe, Peter

    2009-01-01

    Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies (HSAN) are clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders characterized by axonal atrophy and degeneration, exclusively or predominantly affecting the sensory and autonomic neurons. So far, disease-associated mutations have been identified in seven genes: two genes for autosomal dominant (SPTLC1 and RAB7) and five genes for autosomal recessive forms of HSAN (WNK1/HSN2, NTRK1, NGFB, CCT5 and IKBKAP). We performed a systematic mutation screening of the coding sequences of six of these genes on a cohort of 100 familial and isolated patients diagnosed with HSAN. In addition, we screened the functional candidate gene NGFR (p75/NTR) encoding the nerve growth factor receptor. We identified disease-causing mutations in SPTLC1, RAB7, WNK1/HSN2 and NTRK1 in 19 patients, of which three mutations have not previously been reported. The phenotypes associated with mutations in NTRK1 and WNK1/HSN2 typically consisted of congenital insensitivity to pain and anhidrosis, and early-onset ulcero-mutilating sensory neuropathy, respectively. RAB7 mutations were only found in patients with a Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2B (CMT2B) phenotype, an axonal sensory-motor neuropathy with pronounced ulcero-mutilations. In SPTLC1, we detected a novel mutation (S331F) corresponding to a previously unknown severe and early-onset HSAN phenotype. No mutations were found in NGFB, CCT5 and NGFR. Overall disease-associated mutations were found in 19% of the studied patient group, suggesting that additional genes are associated with HSAN. Our genotype–phenotype correlation study broadens the spectrum of HSAN and provides additional insights for molecular and clinical diagnosis. PMID:19651702

  5. Genetic and phenotypic dissection of 1q43q44 microdeletion syndrome and neurodevelopmental phenotypes associated with mutations in ZBTB18 and HNRNPU.

    PubMed

    Depienne, Christel; Nava, Caroline; Keren, Boris; Heide, Solveig; Rastetter, Agnès; Passemard, Sandrine; Chantot-Bastaraud, Sandra; Moutard, Marie-Laure; Agrawal, Pankaj B; VanNoy, Grace; Stoler, Joan M; Amor, David J; Billette de Villemeur, Thierry; Doummar, Diane; Alby, Caroline; Cormier-Daire, Valérie; Garel, Catherine; Marzin, Pauline; Scheidecker, Sophie; de Saint-Martin, Anne; Hirsch, Edouard; Korff, Christian; Bottani, Armand; Faivre, Laurence; Verloes, Alain; Orzechowski, Christine; Burglen, Lydie; Leheup, Bruno; Roume, Joelle; Andrieux, Joris; Sheth, Frenny; Datar, Chaitanya; Parker, Michael J; Pasquier, Laurent; Odent, Sylvie; Naudion, Sophie; Delrue, Marie-Ange; Le Caignec, Cédric; Vincent, Marie; Isidor, Bertrand; Renaldo, Florence; Stewart, Fiona; Toutain, Annick; Koehler, Udo; Häckl, Birgit; von Stülpnagel, Celina; Kluger, Gerhard; Møller, Rikke S; Pal, Deb; Jonson, Tord; Soller, Maria; Verbeek, Nienke E; van Haelst, Mieke M; de Kovel, Carolien; Koeleman, Bobby; Monroe, Glen; van Haaften, Gijs; Attié-Bitach, Tania; Boutaud, Lucile; Héron, Delphine; Mignot, Cyril

    2017-04-01

    Subtelomeric 1q43q44 microdeletions cause a syndrome associating intellectual disability, microcephaly, seizures and anomalies of the corpus callosum. Despite several previous studies assessing genotype-phenotype correlations, the contribution of genes located in this region to the specific features of this syndrome remains uncertain. Among those, three genes, AKT3, HNRNPU and ZBTB18 are highly expressed in the brain and point mutations in these genes have been recently identified in children with neurodevelopmental phenotypes. In this study, we report the clinical and molecular data from 17 patients with 1q43q44 microdeletions, four with ZBTB18 mutations and seven with HNRNPU mutations, and review additional data from 37 previously published patients with 1q43q44 microdeletions. We compare clinical data of patients with 1q43q44 microdeletions with those of patients with point mutations in HNRNPU and ZBTB18 to assess the contribution of each gene as well as the possibility of epistasis between genes. Our study demonstrates that AKT3 haploinsufficiency is the main driver for microcephaly, whereas HNRNPU alteration mostly drives epilepsy and determines the degree of intellectual disability. ZBTB18 deletions or mutations are associated with variable corpus callosum anomalies with an incomplete penetrance. ZBTB18 may also contribute to microcephaly and HNRNPU to thin corpus callosum, but with a lower penetrance. Co-deletion of contiguous genes has additive effects. Our results confirm and refine the complex genotype-phenotype correlations existing in the 1qter microdeletion syndrome and define more precisely the neurodevelopmental phenotypes associated with genetic alterations of AKT3, ZBTB18 and HNRNPU in humans.

  6. Revisiting Robustness and Evolvability: Evolution in Weighted Genotype Spaces

    PubMed Central

    Partha, Raghavendran; Raman, Karthik

    2014-01-01

    Robustness and evolvability are highly intertwined properties of biological systems. The relationship between these properties determines how biological systems are able to withstand mutations and show variation in response to them. Computational studies have explored the relationship between these two properties using neutral networks of RNA sequences (genotype) and their secondary structures (phenotype) as a model system. However, these studies have assumed every mutation to a sequence to be equally likely; the differences in the likelihood of the occurrence of various mutations, and the consequence of probabilistic nature of the mutations in such a system have previously been ignored. Associating probabilities to mutations essentially results in the weighting of genotype space. We here perform a comparative analysis of weighted and unweighted neutral networks of RNA sequences, and subsequently explore the relationship between robustness and evolvability. We show that assuming an equal likelihood for all mutations (as in an unweighted network), underestimates robustness and overestimates evolvability of a system. In spite of discarding this assumption, we observe that a negative correlation between sequence (genotype) robustness and sequence evolvability persists, and also that structure (phenotype) robustness promotes structure evolvability, as observed in earlier studies using unweighted networks. We also study the effects of base composition bias on robustness and evolvability. Particularly, we explore the association between robustness and evolvability in a sequence space that is AU-rich – sequences with an AU content of 80% or higher, compared to a normal (unbiased) sequence space. We find that evolvability of both sequences and structures in an AU-rich space is lesser compared to the normal space, and robustness higher. We also observe that AU-rich populations evolving on neutral networks of phenotypes, can access less phenotypic variation compared to

  7. Characterization of Lactobacillus from Algerian Goat’S Milk Based on Phenotypic, 16S rDNA Sequencing and their Technological Properties

    PubMed Central

    Marroki, Ahmed; Zúñiga, Manuel; Kihal, Mabrouk; Pérez- Martínez, Gaspar

    2011-01-01

    Nineteen strains of Lactobacillus isolated from goat’s milk from farms in north-west of Algeria were characterized. Isolates were identified by phenotypic, physiological and genotypic methods and some of their important technological properties were studied. Phenotypic characterization was carried out by studying physiological, morphological characteristics and carbohydrate fermentation patterns using API 50 CHL system. Isolates were also characterized by partial 16S rDNA sequencing. Results obtained with phenotypic methods were correlated with the genotypic characterization and 13 isolates were identified as L. plantarum, two isolates as L. rhamnosus and one isolate as L. fermentum. Three isolates identified as L. plantarum by phenotypic characterization were found to be L. pentosus by the genotypic method. A large diversity in technological properties (acid production in skim milk, exopolysaccharide production, aminopeptidase activity, antibacterial activity and antibiotic susceptibility) was observed. Based on these results, two strains of L. plantarum (LbMS16 and LbMS21) and one strain of L. rhamnosus (LbMF25) have been tentatively selected for use as starter cultures in the manufacture of artisanal fermented dairy products in Algeria. PMID:24031617

  8. Phenotype-genotype analysis of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS): description of a rare non-exon 3 and a novel CIAS1 missense mutation.

    PubMed

    Jesus, Adriana A; Silva, Clovis A; Segundo, Gesmar R; Aksentijevich, Ivona; Fujihira, Erika; Watanabe, Mônica; Carneiro-Sampaio, Magda; Duarte, Alberto J S; Oliveira, João B

    2008-03-01

    We describe in this paper the phenotype-genotype analysis of a Brazilian cohort of patients with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS). Patient 1 presented with an urticarial rash and recurrent fever exacerbated by cold weather, arthritis, and anterior uveitis, thus, receiving a clinical diagnosis of familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome. CIAS1 sequencing identified the T436I mutation, previously associated to a clinical phenotype of chronic infantile neurological cutaneous and articular/neonatal onset multisystem inflammatory disease. Patient 2 developed a papular exanthema with daily fever shortly after birth, frontal bossing, patellae enlargement, and cognitive and motor impairments. Sequencing identified the exceedingly rare G755R CIAS1 mutation in exon 4. Patient 3 developed skin rash and articular symptoms 6 h after birth, followed by aseptic meningitis. He was found to have the novel C148Y missense mutation in CIAS1. This report expands the spectrum of CIAS1 mutations associated to clinical disease, suggests that the same mutation can be associated with different clinical syndromes, and supports the evidence that CAPS patients should always be screened for mutations outside exon 3.

  9. Development and characterization of a mouse floxed Bmp2 osteoblast cell line that retains osteoblast genotype and phenotype

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Li-an; Feng, Junsheng; Wang, Lynn; Mu, Yan-dong; Baker, Andrew; Donly, Kevin J.; Harris, Stephen E.; MacDougall, Mary; Chen, Shuo

    2011-01-01

    Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (Bmp2) is essential for osteoblast differentiation and osteogenesis. Generation of floxed Bmp2 osteoblast cell lines is a valuable tool for studying the effects of Bmp2 on osteoblast differentiation and its signaling pathways during skeletal metabolism. Due to relatively limited sources of primary osteoblasts, we have developed cell lines that serve as good surrogate models for the study of osteoblast cell differentiation and bone mineralization. In this study, we established and characterized immortalized mouse floxed Bmp2 osteoblast cell lines. Primary mouse floxed Bmp2 osteoblasts were transfected with pSV3-neo and clonally selected. These transfected cells were verified by PCR and immunohistochemistry. To determine the genotype and phenotype of the immortalized cells, cell morphology, proliferation, differentiation and mineralization were analyzed. Also, expression of osteoblast-related gene markers including Runx2, Osx, ATF4, Dlx3, bone sialoprotein, dentin matrix protein 1, osteonectin, osteocalcin and osteopontin were examined by quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. These results showed that immortalized floxed Bmp2 osteoblasts had a higher proliferation rate but preserved their genotypic and phenotypic characteristics similar to the primary cells. Thus, we, for the first time, describe the development of immortalized mouse floxed Bmp2 osteoblast cell lines and present a useful model to study osteoblast biology mediated by BMP2 and its downstream signaling transduction pathways. PMID:21271257

  10. Mining Genotype-Phenotype Associations from Public Knowledge Sources via Semantic Web Querying

    PubMed Central

    Kiefer, Richard C.; Freimuth, Robert R.; Chute, Christopher G; Pathak, Jyotishman

    Gene Wiki Plus (GeneWiki+) and the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) are publicly available resources for sharing information about disease-gene and gene-SNP associations in humans. While immensely useful to the scientific community, both resources are manually curated, thereby making the data entry and publication process time-consuming, and to some degree, error-prone. To this end, this study investigates Semantic Web technologies to validate existing and potentially discover new genotype-phenotype associations in GWP and OMIM. In particular, we demonstrate the applicability of SPARQL queries for identifying associations not explicitly stated for commonly occurring chronic diseases in GWP and OMIM, and report our preliminary findings for coverage, completeness, and validity of the associations. Our results highlight the benefits of Semantic Web querying technology to validate existing disease-gene associations as well as identify novel associations although further evaluation and analysis is required before such information can be applied and used effectively. PMID:24303249

  11. Mining Genotype-Phenotype Associations from Public Knowledge Sources via Semantic Web Querying.

    PubMed

    Kiefer, Richard C; Freimuth, Robert R; Chute, Christopher G; Pathak, Jyotishman

    2013-01-01

    Gene Wiki Plus (GeneWiki+) and the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) are publicly available resources for sharing information about disease-gene and gene-SNP associations in humans. While immensely useful to the scientific community, both resources are manually curated, thereby making the data entry and publication process time-consuming, and to some degree, error-prone. To this end, this study investigates Semantic Web technologies to validate existing and potentially discover new genotype-phenotype associations in GWP and OMIM. In particular, we demonstrate the applicability of SPARQL queries for identifying associations not explicitly stated for commonly occurring chronic diseases in GWP and OMIM, and report our preliminary findings for coverage, completeness, and validity of the associations. Our results highlight the benefits of Semantic Web querying technology to validate existing disease-gene associations as well as identify novel associations although further evaluation and analysis is required before such information can be applied and used effectively.

  12. Genotyping of human lice suggests multiple emergencies of body lice from local head louse populations.

    PubMed

    Li, Wenjun; Ortiz, Gabriel; Fournier, Pierre-Edouard; Gimenez, Gregory; Reed, David L; Pittendrigh, Barry; Raoult, Didier

    2010-03-23

    Genetic analyses of human lice have shown that the current taxonomic classification of head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) and body lice (Pediculus humanus humanus) does not reflect their phylogenetic organization. Three phylotypes of head lice A, B and C exist but body lice have been observed only in phylotype A. Head and body lice have different behaviours and only the latter have been involved in outbreaks of infectious diseases including epidemic typhus, trench fever and louse borne recurrent fever. Recent studies suggest that body lice arose several times from head louse populations. By introducing a new genotyping technique, sequencing variable intergenic spacers which were selected from louse genomic sequence, we were able to evaluate the genotypic distribution of 207 human lice. Sequence variation of two intergenic spacers, S2 and S5, discriminated the 207 lice into 148 genotypes and sequence variation of another two intergenic spacers, PM1 and PM2, discriminated 174 lice into 77 genotypes. Concatenation of the four intergenic spacers discriminated a panel of 97 lice into 96 genotypes. These intergenic spacer sequence types were relatively specific geographically, and enabled us to identify two clusters in France, one cluster in Central Africa (where a large body louse outbreak has been observed) and one cluster in Russia. Interestingly, head and body lice were not genetically differentiated. We propose a hypothesis for the emergence of body lice, and suggest that humans with both low hygiene and head louse infestations provide an opportunity for head louse variants, able to ingest a larger blood meal (a required characteristic of body lice), to colonize clothing. If this hypothesis is ultimately supported, it would help to explain why poor human hygiene often coincides with outbreaks of body lice. Additionally, if head lice act as a reservoir for body lice, and that any social degradation in human populations may allow the formation of new populations of

  13. Genotyping of Human Lice Suggests Multiple Emergences of Body Lice from Local Head Louse Populations

    PubMed Central

    Li, Wenjun; Ortiz, Gabriel; Fournier, Pierre-Edouard; Gimenez, Gregory; Reed, David L.; Pittendrigh, Barry; Raoult, Didier

    2010-01-01

    Background Genetic analyses of human lice have shown that the current taxonomic classification of head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) and body lice (Pediculus humanus humanus) does not reflect their phylogenetic organization. Three phylotypes of head lice A, B and C exist but body lice have been observed only in phylotype A. Head and body lice have different behaviours and only the latter have been involved in outbreaks of infectious diseases including epidemic typhus, trench fever and louse borne recurrent fever. Recent studies suggest that body lice arose several times from head louse populations. Methods and Findings By introducing a new genotyping technique, sequencing variable intergenic spacers which were selected from louse genomic sequence, we were able to evaluate the genotypic distribution of 207 human lice. Sequence variation of two intergenic spacers, S2 and S5, discriminated the 207 lice into 148 genotypes and sequence variation of another two intergenic spacers, PM1 and PM2, discriminated 174 lice into 77 genotypes. Concatenation of the four intergenic spacers discriminated a panel of 97 lice into 96 genotypes. These intergenic spacer sequence types were relatively specific geographically, and enabled us to identify two clusters in France, one cluster in Central Africa (where a large body louse outbreak has been observed) and one cluster in Russia. Interestingly, head and body lice were not genetically differentiated. Conclusions We propose a hypothesis for the emergence of body lice, and suggest that humans with both low hygiene and head louse infestations provide an opportunity for head louse variants, able to ingest a larger blood meal (a required characteristic of body lice), to colonize clothing. If this hypothesis is ultimately supported, it would help to explain why poor human hygiene often coincides with outbreaks of body lice. Additionally, if head lice act as a reservoir for body lice, and that any social degradation in human populations

  14. Correlation between connexin 32 gene mutations and clinical phenotype in X-linked dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ionasescu, V.; Ionasescu, R.; Searby, C.

    1996-06-14

    We studied the relationship between the genotype and clinical phenotype in 27 families with dominant X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMTX1) neuropathy. Twenty-two families showed mutations in the coding region of the connexin32 (cx32) gene. The mutations include four nonsense mutations, eight missense mutations, two medium size deletions, and one insertion. Most missense mutations showed a mild clinical phenotype (five out of eight), whereas all nonsense mutations, the larger of the two deletions, and the insertion that produced frameshifts showed severe phenotypes. Five CMTX1 families with mild clinical phenotype showed no point mutations of the cx32 gene coding region. Three of these familiesmore » showed positive genetic linkage with the markers of the Xq13.1 region. The genetic linkage of the remaining two families could not be evaluated because of their small size. 25 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab.« less

  15. Inflammatory bowel diseases phenotype, C. difficile and NOD2 genotype are associated with shifts in human ileum associated microbial composition.

    PubMed

    Li, Ellen; Hamm, Christina M; Gulati, Ajay S; Sartor, R Balfour; Chen, Hongyan; Wu, Xiao; Zhang, Tianyi; Rohlf, F James; Zhu, Wei; Gu, Chi; Robertson, Charles E; Pace, Norman R; Boedeker, Edgar C; Harpaz, Noam; Yuan, Jeffrey; Weinstock, George M; Sodergren, Erica; Frank, Daniel N

    2012-01-01

    We tested the hypothesis that Crohn's disease (CD)-related genetic polymorphisms involved in host innate immunity are associated with shifts in human ileum-associated microbial composition in a cross-sectional analysis of human ileal samples. Sanger sequencing of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene and 454 sequencing of 16S rRNA gene hypervariable regions (V1-V3 and V3-V5), were conducted on macroscopically disease-unaffected ileal biopsies collected from 52 ileal CD, 58 ulcerative colitis and 60 control patients without inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) undergoing initial surgical resection. These subjects also were genotyped for the three major NOD2 risk alleles (Leu1007fs, R708W, G908R) and the ATG16L1 risk allele (T300A). The samples were linked to clinical metadata, including body mass index, smoking status and Clostridia difficile infection. The sequences were classified into seven phyla/subphyla categories using the Naïve Bayesian Classifier of the Ribosome Database Project. Centered log ratio transformation of six predominant categories was included as the dependent variable in the permutation based MANCOVA for the overall composition with stepwise variable selection. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were conducted to measure the relative frequencies of the Clostridium coccoides - Eubacterium rectales group and the Faecalibacterium prausnitzii spp. Empiric logit transformations of the relative frequencies of these two microbial groups were included in permutation-based ANCOVA. Regardless of sequencing method, IBD phenotype, Clostridia difficile and NOD2 genotype were selected as associated (FDR ≤ 0.05) with shifts in overall microbial composition. IBD phenotype and NOD2 genotype were also selected as associated with shifts in the relative frequency of the C. coccoides--E. rectales group. IBD phenotype, smoking and IBD medications were selected as associated with shifts in the relative frequency of F. prausnitzii spp. These results indicate

  16. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Phenotype, C. difficile and NOD2 Genotype Are Associated with Shifts in Human Ileum Associated Microbial Composition

    PubMed Central

    Li, Ellen; Hamm, Christina M.; Gulati, Ajay S.; Sartor, R. Balfour; Chen, Hongyan; Wu, Xiao; Zhang, Tianyi; Rohlf, F. James; Zhu, Wei; Gu, Chi; Robertson, Charles E.; Pace, Norman R.; Boedeker, Edgar C.; Harpaz, Noam; Yuan, Jeffrey; Weinstock, George M.; Sodergren, Erica; Frank, Daniel N.

    2012-01-01

    We tested the hypothesis that Crohn’s disease (CD)-related genetic polymorphisms involved in host innate immunity are associated with shifts in human ileum–associated microbial composition in a cross-sectional analysis of human ileal samples. Sanger sequencing of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene and 454 sequencing of 16S rRNA gene hypervariable regions (V1–V3 and V3–V5), were conducted on macroscopically disease-unaffected ileal biopsies collected from 52 ileal CD, 58 ulcerative colitis and 60 control patients without inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) undergoing initial surgical resection. These subjects also were genotyped for the three major NOD2 risk alleles (Leu1007fs, R708W, G908R) and the ATG16L1 risk allele (T300A). The samples were linked to clinical metadata, including body mass index, smoking status and Clostridia difficile infection. The sequences were classified into seven phyla/subphyla categories using the Naïve Bayesian Classifier of the Ribosome Database Project. Centered log ratio transformation of six predominant categories was included as the dependent variable in the permutation based MANCOVA for the overall composition with stepwise variable selection. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were conducted to measure the relative frequencies of the Clostridium coccoides – Eubacterium rectales group and the Faecalibacterium prausnitzii spp. Empiric logit transformations of the relative frequencies of these two microbial groups were included in permutation-based ANCOVA. Regardless of sequencing method, IBD phenotype, Clostridia difficile and NOD2 genotype were selected as associated (FDR ≤0.05) with shifts in overall microbial composition. IBD phenotype and NOD2 genotype were also selected as associated with shifts in the relative frequency of the C. coccoides – E. rectales group. IBD phenotype, smoking and IBD medications were selected as associated with shifts in the relative frequency of F. prausnitzii spp. These

  17. Hereditary hypophosphatemia in Norway: a retrospective population-based study of genotypes, phenotypes, and treatment complications

    PubMed Central

    Rafaelsen, Silje; Johansson, Stefan; Ræder, Helge; Bjerknes, Robert

    2015-01-01

    Objective Hereditary hypophosphatemias (HH) are rare monogenic conditions characterized by decreased renal tubular phosphate reabsorption. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence, genotypes, phenotypic spectrum, treatment response, and complications of treatment in the Norwegian population of children with HH. Design Retrospective national cohort study. Methods Sanger sequencing and multiplex ligand-dependent probe amplification analysis of PHEX and Sanger sequencing of FGF23, DMP1, ENPP1KL, and FAM20C were performed to assess genotype in patients with HH with or without rickets in all pediatric hospital departments across Norway. Patients with hypercalcuria were screened for SLC34A3 mutations. In one family, exome sequencing was performed. Information from the patients' medical records was collected for the evaluation of phenotype. Results Twety-eight patients with HH (18 females and ten males) from 19 different families were identified. X-linked dominant hypophosphatemic rickets (XLHR) was confirmed in 21 children from 13 families. The total number of inhabitants in Norway aged 18 or below by 1st January 2010 was 1 109 156, giving an XLHR prevalence of ∼1 in 60 000 Norwegian children. FAM20C mutations were found in two brothers and SLC34A3 mutations in one patient. In XLHR, growth was compromised in spite of treatment with oral phosphate and active vitamin D compounds, with males tending to be more affected than females. Nephrocalcinosis tended to be slightly more common in patients starting treatment before 1 year of age, and was associated with higher average treatment doses of phosphate. However, none of these differences reached statistical significance. Conclusions We present the first national cohort of HH in children. The prevalence of XLHR seems to be lower in Norwegian children than reported earlier. PMID:26543054

  18. Phenotypic and Genotypic Changes over Time and across Facilities of Serial Colonizing and Infecting Escherichia coli Isolates Recovered from Injured Service Members

    PubMed Central

    Beckius, Miriam L.; Zera, Wendy C.; Yu, Xin; Cheatle, Kristelle A.; Aggarwal, Deepak; Li, Ping; Lloyd, Bradley A.; Tribble, David R.; Weintrob, Amy C.; Murray, Clinton K.

    2014-01-01

    Escherichia coli is the most common colonizing and infecting organism isolated from U.S. service members injured during deployment. Our objective was to evaluate the phenotypic and genotypic changes of infecting and colonizing E. coli organisms over time and across facilities to better understand their transmission patterns. E. coli isolates were collected via surveillance cultures and infection workups from U.S. military personnel injured during deployment (June 2009 to May 2011). The isolates underwent antimicrobial susceptibility testing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and multiplex PCR for phylotyping to determine their resistance profiles and clonality. A total of 343 colonizing and 136 infecting E. coli isolates were analyzed, of which 197 (57%) and 109 (80%) isolates, respectively, produced extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL). Phylogroup A was predominant among both colonizing (38%) and infecting isolates (43%). Although 188 unique pulsed-field types (PFTs) were identified from the colonizing isolates, and 54 PFTs were identified from the infecting isolates, there was a lack of PFT overlap between study years, combat zones, and military treatment facilities. On a per-subject basis, 26% and 32% of the patients with serial colonizing isolates and 10% and 21% with serial infecting isolates acquired changes in their phylogroup and PFT profiles, respectively, over time. The production of ESBL remained high over time and across facilities, with no substantial changes in antimicrobial susceptibilities. Overall, our results demonstrated an array of genotypic and phenotypic differences for the isolates without large clonal clusters; however, the same PFTs were occasionally observed in the colonizing and infecting isolates, suggesting that the source of infections may be endogenous host organisms. PMID:25143566

  19. Roles of Female and Male Genotype in Post-Mating Responses in Drosophila melanogaster.

    PubMed

    Delbare, Sofie Y N; Chow, Clement Y; Wolfner, Mariana F; Clark, Andrew G

    2017-10-30

    Mating induces a multitude of changes in female behavior, physiology, and gene expression. Interactions between female and male genotype lead to variation in post-mating phenotypes and reproductive success. So far, few female molecules responsible for these interactions have been identified. Here, we used Drosophila melanogaster from 5 geographically dispersed populations to investigate such female × male genotypic interactions at the female transcriptomic and phenotypic levels. Females from each line were singly-mated to males from the same 5 lines, for a total of 25 combinations. Reproductive output and refractoriness to re-mating were assayed in females from the 25 mating combinations. Female × male genotypic interactions resulted in significant differences in these post-mating phenotypes. To assess whether female × male genotypic interactions affect the female post-mating transcriptome, next-generation RNA sequencing was performed on virgin and mated females at 5 to 6 h post-mating. Seventy-seven genes showed strong variation in mating-induced expression changes in a female × male genotype-dependent manner. These genes were enriched for immune response and odorant-binding functions, and for expression exclusively in the head. Strikingly, variation in post-mating transcript levels of a gene encoding a spermathecal endopeptidase was correlated with short-term egg production. The transcriptional variation found in specific functional classes of genes might be a read-out of female × male compatibility at a molecular level. Understanding the roles these genes play in the female post-mating response will be crucial to better understand the evolution of post-mating responses and related conflicts between the sexes. © The American Genetic Association 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Phenotypic and genotypic profile of clinical and animal multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica isolates from Mexico.

    PubMed

    Aguilar-Montes de Oca, S; Talavera-Rojas, M; Soriano-Vargas, E; Barba-León, J; Vázquez-Navarrete, J; Acosta-Dibarrat, J; Salgado-Miranda, C

    2018-01-01

    The objective of this study was to obtain a phenotypic and genotypic profile of Salmonella enterica including multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates from food-producing animals and clinical isolates, as well as their genetic relatedness in two different States of Mexico (Jalisco and State of Mexico). A total of 243 isolates were evaluated in terms of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and related genes through a disk diffusion method and PCR respectively; we found 16 MDR isolates, all of them harbouring the bla CMY gene but not qnr genes, these isolates represent less than 10% of the collection. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis revealed a higher genotypic similitude within isolates of State of Mexico than Jalisco. A low percentage of Salmonella isolates were resistant to relevant antibiotics in human health, nevertheless, the AMR and involved genes were similar despite the different serovars and origin of the isolates. This investigation provided an insight of the current status of AMR of Salmonella isolates in two States of Mexico and pinpoint the genes involved in AMR and their epidemiological relationship, the information could help to determine an adequate therapy in human and veterinary medicine. © 2017 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  1. The Impact of Phenotypic and Genotypic G6PD Deficiency on Risk of Plasmodium vivax Infection: A Case-Control Study amongst Afghan Refugees in Pakistan

    PubMed Central

    Leslie, Toby; Briceño, Marnie; Mayan, Ismail; Mohammed, Nasir; Klinkenberg, Eveline; Sibley, Carol Hopkins; Whitty, Christopher J. M.; Rowland, Mark

    2010-01-01

    Background The most common form of malaria outside Africa, Plasmodium vivax, is more difficult to control than P. falciparum because of the latent liver hypnozoite stage, which causes multiple relapses and provides an infectious reservoir. The African (A−) G6PD (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) deficiency confers partial protection against severe P. falciparum. Recent evidence suggests that the deficiency also confers protection against P. vivax, which could explain its wide geographical distribution in human populations. The deficiency has a potentially serious interaction with antirelapse therapies (8-aminoquinolines such as primaquine). If the level of protection was sufficient, antirelapse therapy could become more widely available. We therefore tested the hypothesis that G6PD deficiency is protective against vivax malaria infection. Methods and Findings A case-control study design was used amongst Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The frequency of phenotypic and genotypic G6PD deficiency in individuals with vivax malaria was compared against controls who had not had malaria in the previous two years. Phenotypic G6PD deficiency was less common amongst cases than controls (cases: 4/372 [1.1%] versus controls 42/743 [5.7%]; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.18 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.06–0.52], p = 0.001). Genetic analysis demonstrated that the G6PD deficiency allele identified (Mediterranean type) was associated with protection in hemizygous deficient males (AOR = 0.12 [95% CI 0.02–0.92], p = 0.041). The deficiency was also protective in females carrying the deficiency gene as heterozygotes or homozygotes (pooled AOR = 0.37 [95% CI 0.15–0.94], p = 0.037). Conclusions G6PD deficiency (Mediterranean type) conferred significant protection against vivax malaria infection in this population whether measured by phenotype or genotype, indicating a possible evolutionary role for vivax malaria in the selective retention of the G6PD deficiency

  2. Phenotypic Stability of Zea mays Grain Yield and Its Attributing Traits under Drought Stress

    PubMed Central

    Ali, Fawad; Ahsan, Muhammad; Ali, Qurban; Kanwal, Naila

    2017-01-01

    Phenotypic stability under stress environment facilitate the fitness of genotype and opens new horizons to explore the cryptic genetic variation. Variation in tolerance to drought stress, a major grain yield constraint to global maize production, was identified, at the phenotypic and genotypic level. Here we found a prominent hybrid H9 that showed fitness over four growing seasons for grain yield under water stress conditions. Genotypic and phenotypic correlation of yield attributing traits over four seasons demonstrated that cobs per plant, 100 seed weight, number of grains rows per cob, total dry matter, cob diameter had positive association (r2 = 0.3–0.9) to grain yield. The perturbation was found for chlorophyll content as it showed moderate to strong association (P < 0.01) over four seasons, might be due to environment or genotype dependent. Highest heritability (95%) and genetic advance (79%) for grain yield was found in H9 over four consecutive crop growing seasons. Combined analysis over four seasons showed that studied variables together explained 85% of total variation in dependent structure (grain yield) obtained by Principal component analysis. This significant finding is the best example of phenotypic stability of grain yield in H9 and made it best fitted for grain yield under drought stress scenario. Detailed genetic analysis of H9 will help us to identify significant loci and alleles that made H9 the best fitted and it could serve as a potential source to generate novel transgressive levels of tolerance for drought stress in arid/semiarid regions. PMID:28878785

  3. Phenotypic Stability of Zea mays Grain Yield and Its Attributing Traits under Drought Stress.

    PubMed

    Ali, Fawad; Ahsan, Muhammad; Ali, Qurban; Kanwal, Naila

    2017-01-01

    Phenotypic stability under stress environment facilitate the fitness of genotype and opens new horizons to explore the cryptic genetic variation. Variation in tolerance to drought stress, a major grain yield constraint to global maize production, was identified, at the phenotypic and genotypic level. Here we found a prominent hybrid H 9 that showed fitness over four growing seasons for grain yield under water stress conditions. Genotypic and phenotypic correlation of yield attributing traits over four seasons demonstrated that cobs per plant, 100 seed weight, number of grains rows per cob, total dry matter, cob diameter had positive association ( r 2 = 0.3-0.9) to grain yield. The perturbation was found for chlorophyll content as it showed moderate to strong association ( P < 0.01) over four seasons, might be due to environment or genotype dependent. Highest heritability (95%) and genetic advance (79%) for grain yield was found in H 9 over four consecutive crop growing seasons. Combined analysis over four seasons showed that studied variables together explained 85% of total variation in dependent structure (grain yield) obtained by Principal component analysis. This significant finding is the best example of phenotypic stability of grain yield in H 9 and made it best fitted for grain yield under drought stress scenario. Detailed genetic analysis of H 9 will help us to identify significant loci and alleles that made H 9 the best fitted and it could serve as a potential source to generate novel transgressive levels of tolerance for drought stress in arid/semiarid regions.

  4. Powerful Bivariate Genome-Wide Association Analyses Suggest the SOX6 Gene Influencing Both Obesity and Osteoporosis Phenotypes in Males

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Yao-Zhong; Pei, Yu-Fang; Liu, Jian-Feng; Yang, Fang; Guo, Yan; Zhang, Lei; Liu, Xiao-Gang; Yan, Han; Wang, Liang; Zhang, Yin-Ping; Levy, Shawn; Recker, Robert R.; Deng, Hong-Wen

    2009-01-01

    Background Current genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are normally implemented in a univariate framework and analyze different phenotypes in isolation. This univariate approach ignores the potential genetic correlation between important disease traits. Hence this approach is difficult to detect pleiotropic genes, which may exist for obesity and osteoporosis, two common diseases of major public health importance that are closely correlated genetically. Principal Findings To identify such pleiotropic genes and the key mechanistic links between the two diseases, we here performed the first bivariate GWAS of obesity and osteoporosis. We searched for genes underlying co-variation of the obesity phenotype, body mass index (BMI), with the osteoporosis risk phenotype, hip bone mineral density (BMD), scanning ∼380,000 SNPs in 1,000 unrelated homogeneous Caucasians, including 499 males and 501 females. We identified in the male subjects two SNPs in intron 1 of the SOX6 (SRY-box 6) gene, rs297325 and rs4756846, which were bivariately associated with both BMI and hip BMD, achieving p values of 6.82×10−7 and 1.47×10−6, respectively. The two SNPs ranked at the top in significance for bivariate association with BMI and hip BMD in the male subjects among all the ∼380,000 SNPs examined genome-wide. The two SNPs were replicated in a Framingham Heart Study (FHS) cohort containing 3,355 Caucasians (1,370 males and 1,985 females) from 975 families. In the FHS male subjects, the two SNPs achieved p values of 0.03 and 0.02, respectively, for bivariate association with BMI and femoral neck BMD. Interestingly, SOX6 was previously found to be essential to both cartilage formation/chondrogenesis and obesity-related insulin resistance, suggesting the gene's dual role in both bone and fat. Conclusions Our findings, together with the prior biological evidence, suggest the SOX6 gene's importance in co-regulation of obesity and osteoporosis. PMID:19714249

  5. Association of a homozygous nonsense mutation in the ABCA4 (ABCR) gene with cone-rod dystrophy phenotype in an Italian family.

    PubMed

    Simonelli, Francesca; Testa, Francesco; Zernant, Jana; Nesti, Anna; Rossi, Settimio; Rinaldi, Ernesto; Allikmets, Rando

    2004-01-01

    Genetic variation in the ABCA4 (ABCR) gene has been associated with several distinct retinal phenotypes, including Stargardt disease/fundus flavimaculatus (STGD/FFM), cone-rod dystrophy (CRD), retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration. The current model of genotype/phenotype association suggests that patients harboring deleterious mutations in both ABCR alleles would develop RP-like retinal pathology. Here we describe ABCA4-associated phenotypes, including a proband with a homozygous nonsense mutation in a family from Southern Italy. The proband had been originally diagnosed with STGD. Ophthalmologic examination included kinetic perimetry, electrophysiological studies and fluorescein angiography. DNA of the affected individual and family members was analyzed for variants in all 50 exons of the ABCA4 gene by screening on the ABCR400 microarray. A homozygous nonsense mutation 2971G>T (G991X) was detected in a patient initially diagnosed with STGD based on funduscopic evidence, including bull's eye depigmentation of the fovea and flecks at the posterior pole extending to the mid-peripheral retina. Since this novel nucleotide substitution results in a truncated, nonfunctional, ABCA4 protein, the patient was examined in-depth for the severity of the disease phenotype. Indeed, subsequent electrophysiological studies determined severely reduced cone amplitude as compared to the rod amplitude, suggesting the diagnosis of CRD. ABCR400 microarray is an efficient tool for determining causal genetic variation, including new mutations. A homozygous protein-truncating mutation in ABCA4 can cause a phenotype ranging from STGD to CRD as diagnosed at an early stage of the disease. Only a combination of comprehensive genotype/phenotype correlation studies will determine the proper diagnosis and prognosis of ABCA4-associated pathology. Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

  6. Systems properties of the Haemophilus influenzae Rd metabolic genotype.

    PubMed

    Edwards, J S; Palsson, B O

    1999-06-18

    Haemophilus influenzae Rd was the first free-living organism for which the complete genomic sequence was established. The annotated sequence and known biochemical information was used to define the H. influenzae Rd metabolic genotype. This genotype contains 488 metabolic reactions operating on 343 metabolites. The stoichiometric matrix was used to determine the systems characteristics of the metabolic genotype and to assess the metabolic capabilities of H. influenzae. The need to balance cofactor and biosynthetic precursor production during growth on mixed substrates led to the definition of six different optimal metabolic phenotypes arising from the same metabolic genotype, each with different constraining features. The effects of variations in the metabolic genotype were also studied, and it was shown that the H. influenzae Rd metabolic genotype contains redundant functions under defined conditions. We thus show that the synthesis of in silico metabolic genotypes from annotated genome sequences is possible and that systems analysis methods are available that can be used to analyze and interpret phenotypic behavior of such genotypes.

  7. Survival by genotype: patterns at Mc1r are not black and white at the White Sands ecotone.

    PubMed

    Des Roches, S; Sollmann, R; Calhoun, K; Rothstein, A P; Rosenblum, E B

    2017-01-01

    Measuring links among genotype, phenotype and survival in the wild has long been a focus of studies of adaptation. We conducted a 4-year capture-recapture study to measure survival by genotype and phenotype in the Southwestern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus cowlesi) at the White Sands ecotone (transition area between white sands and dark soil habitats). We report several unanticipated findings. First, in contrast with previous work showing that cryptic blanched coloration in S. cowlesi from the heart of the dunes is associated with mutations in the melanocortin-1 receptor gene (Mc1r), ecotonal S. cowlesi showed minimal association between colour phenotype and Mc1r genotype. Second, the frequency of the derived Mc1r allele in ecotonal S. cowlesi appeared to decrease over time. Third, our capture-recapture data revealed a lower survival rate for S. cowlesi individuals with the derived Mc1r allele. Thus, our results suggest that selection at the ecotone may have favoured the wild-type allele in recent years. Even in a system where a genotype-phenotype association appeared to be black and white, our study suggests that additional factors - including phenotypic plasticity, epistasis, pleiotropy and gene flow - may play important roles at the White Sands ecotone. Our study highlights the importance of linking molecular, genomic and organismal approaches for understanding adaptation in the wild. Furthermore, our findings indicate that dynamics of natural selection can be particularly complex in transitional habitats like ecotones and emphasize the need for future research that examines the patterns of ongoing selection in other ecological 'grey' zones. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of four factor VII deficiency patients from central China.

    PubMed

    Liu, Hui; Wang, Hua-Fang; Cheng, Zhi-peng; Wang, Qing-yun; Hu, Bei; Zeng, Wei; Wu, Ying-ying; Guo, Tao; Tang, Liang; Hu, Yu

    2015-06-01

    Hereditary coagulation factor VII deficiency (FVIID) is a rare autosomal, recessive inherited hemorrhagic disorder related to a variety of mutations or polymorphisms throughout the factor VII (FVII) gene (F7). The aims of this study were to characterize the molecular defect of the F7 gene in four unrelated patients with FVIID and to find the genotype-phenotype correlation. All nine exons, exon-intron boundaries, and 5' and 3'-untranslated regions of the F7 gene were amplified by PCR and the purified PCR products were sequenced directly. Suspected mutations were confirmed by another PCR and sequencing of the opposite strand. Family studies were also performed. A total of five unique lesions were identified, including three missense mutations (c.384A>G, c.839A>C, c.1163T>G, predicting p.Tyr128Cys, p.Glu280Ala and p.Phe388Cys substitution, respectively) and two splice junction mutations (c.572-1G>A, c.681+1G>T), among which two (p.Glu280Ala, p.Phe388Cys) were novel. A previously reported mutation p.Tyr128Cys was seen in the homozygous state in two unrelated patients. The other two cases were both compound heterozygotes of a missense mutation and a splicing site mutation. Multiple sequence alignment using DNAMAN analysis showed that all the missense mutations were found in residues that highly conserved across species and vitamin K-dependent serine proteases. Online software Polyphen and SIFT were used to confirm the pathogenic of the missense mutation. p.Tyr128Cys seems to be a hotspot of the F7 gene in ethnic Han Chinese population.

  9. Altered Trafficking and Processing of GALC Mutants Correlates with Globoid Cell Leukodystrophy Severity

    PubMed Central

    Feltri, M. Laura; Wrabetz, Lawrence

    2016-01-01

    Globoid cell leukodystrophy (GLD, Krabbe disease) is due to autosomal recessive mutations in the lysosomal enzyme galactosylceramidase (GALC). Many GLD patients develop infantile-onset of progressive neurologic deterioration and death by 2 years of age, whereas others have a later-onset, milder disease. Cord blood transplant slows disease progression much more effectively when performed presymptomatically, highlighting the importance of early diagnosis. Current diagnosis is based on reduced GALC activity, DNA sequence, and clinical examination. However, presymptomatic diagnosis is hampered by imperfect genotype-GALC activity-phenotype correlations. In addition, three polymorphisms in the GALC gene are variably associated with disease mutations and have unknown effects on GALC activity and disease outcome. Here, we study mutations that cause infantile or later-onset GLD, and show that GALC activity is significantly lower in infantile versus later-onset mutants when measured in the lysosomal fraction, but not in whole-cell lysates. In parallel, infantile-onset mutant GALCs showed reduced trafficking to lysosomes and processing than later-onset mutant GALCs. Finally, the cis-polymorphisms also affected trafficking to the lysosome and processing of GALC. These differences potentially explain why the activity of different mutations appears similar in whole-cell extracts from lymphocytes, and suggest that measure of GALC activity in lysosomes may better predict the onset and severity of disease for a given GLD genotype. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Globoid cell leukodystrophy (GLD, Krabbe disease) is diagnosed by measuring galactosylceramidase (GALC) activity and DNA analysis. However, genotype and phenotype often do not correlate due to considerable clinical variability, even for the same mutation, for unknown reasons. We find that altered trafficking to the lysosome and processing of GALC correlates with GLD severity and is modulated by cis-polymorphisms. Current diagnosis

  10. Combining ability, heritability and genotypic relations of different physiological traits in cacao hybrids

    PubMed Central

    de Almeida, Alex-Alan Furtado; Branco, Márcia Christina da Silva; Costa, Marcio Gilberto Cardoso; Ahnert, Dario

    2017-01-01

    Selecting parents and evaluating progenies is a very important step in breeding programs and involves approaches such as understanding the initial stages of growth and characterizing the variability among genotypes for different parameters, such as physiological, growth, biomass partitioning and nutrient translocation to the aerial part. In these cases, facilitating tools can be used to understand the involved gene dynamics, such as diallel crosses and genetic and phenotypic correlations. Our main hypothesis is that the contrasting phenotypes of these parental genotypes of cocoa used are due to genetic factors, and progenies derived from crosses of these parental genotypes are useful for breeding programs related to plant architecture, physiological parameters and translocation of mineral nutrients. We aimed to evaluate the combining abilities in progenies of cacao (Theobroma cacao L) originating from contrasting parents for canopy vigor. Emphasis was given to the evaluation of morphological and physiological parameters and the phenotypic and genotypic correlations to understand the dynamics of the action of the genes involved, as well as in expression profile from genes of gibberellins biosynthesis pathway in the parents. Fifteen F1 progenies were obtained from crosses of six clones (IMC 67, P4B, PUCALA, SCA 6, SCA 24 and SJ 02) that were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with four replicates of 12 plants per progeny, in a balanced half table diallel scheme. It is possible to identify and select plants and progenies of low, medium and high height, as there is expressive genetic variability for the evaluated parameters, some of these on higher additive effects, others on larger nonadditive effects and others under a balance of these effects. Most physiological parameters evaluated show that for selection of plants with the desired performance, no complex breeding methods would be necessary due to the high and medium heritability observed. Strong

  11. Combining ability, heritability and genotypic relations of different physiological traits in cacao hybrids.

    PubMed

    Pereira, Allan Silva; de Almeida, Alex-Alan Furtado; Branco, Márcia Christina da Silva; Costa, Marcio Gilberto Cardoso; Ahnert, Dario

    2017-01-01

    Selecting parents and evaluating progenies is a very important step in breeding programs and involves approaches such as understanding the initial stages of growth and characterizing the variability among genotypes for different parameters, such as physiological, growth, biomass partitioning and nutrient translocation to the aerial part. In these cases, facilitating tools can be used to understand the involved gene dynamics, such as diallel crosses and genetic and phenotypic correlations. Our main hypothesis is that the contrasting phenotypes of these parental genotypes of cocoa used are due to genetic factors, and progenies derived from crosses of these parental genotypes are useful for breeding programs related to plant architecture, physiological parameters and translocation of mineral nutrients. We aimed to evaluate the combining abilities in progenies of cacao (Theobroma cacao L) originating from contrasting parents for canopy vigor. Emphasis was given to the evaluation of morphological and physiological parameters and the phenotypic and genotypic correlations to understand the dynamics of the action of the genes involved, as well as in expression profile from genes of gibberellins biosynthesis pathway in the parents. Fifteen F1 progenies were obtained from crosses of six clones (IMC 67, P4B, PUCALA, SCA 6, SCA 24 and SJ 02) that were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with four replicates of 12 plants per progeny, in a balanced half table diallel scheme. It is possible to identify and select plants and progenies of low, medium and high height, as there is expressive genetic variability for the evaluated parameters, some of these on higher additive effects, others on larger nonadditive effects and others under a balance of these effects. Most physiological parameters evaluated show that for selection of plants with the desired performance, no complex breeding methods would be necessary due to the high and medium heritability observed. Strong

  12. High-Throughput Genome Editing and Phenotyping Facilitated by High Resolution Melting Curve Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Thomas, Holly R.; Percival, Stefanie M.; Yoder, Bradley K.; Parant, John M.

    2014-01-01

    With the goal to generate and characterize the phenotypes of null alleles in all genes within an organism and the recent advances in custom nucleases, genome editing limitations have moved from mutation generation to mutation detection. We previously demonstrated that High Resolution Melting (HRM) analysis is a rapid and efficient means of genotyping known zebrafish mutants. Here we establish optimized conditions for HRM based detection of novel mutant alleles. Using these conditions, we demonstrate that HRM is highly efficient at mutation detection across multiple genome editing platforms (ZFNs, TALENs, and CRISPRs); we observed nuclease generated HRM positive targeting in 1 of 6 (16%) open pool derived ZFNs, 14 of 23 (60%) TALENs, and 58 of 77 (75%) CRISPR nucleases. Successful targeting, based on HRM of G0 embryos correlates well with successful germline transmission (46 of 47 nucleases); yet, surprisingly mutations in the somatic tail DNA weakly correlate with mutations in the germline F1 progeny DNA. This suggests that analysis of G0 tail DNA is a good indicator of the efficiency of the nuclease, but not necessarily a good indicator of germline alleles that will be present in the F1s. However, we demonstrate that small amplicon HRM curve profiles of F1 progeny DNA can be used to differentiate between specific mutant alleles, facilitating rare allele identification and isolation; and that HRM is a powerful technique for screening possible off-target mutations that may be generated by the nucleases. Our data suggest that micro-homology based alternative NHEJ repair is primarily utilized in the generation of CRISPR mutant alleles and allows us to predict likelihood of generating a null allele. Lastly, we demonstrate that HRM can be used to quickly distinguish genotype-phenotype correlations within F1 embryos derived from G0 intercrosses. Together these data indicate that custom nucleases, in conjunction with the ease and speed of HRM, will facilitate future high

  13. Environmental and genetic modulation of the phenotypic expression of antibiotic resistance

    PubMed Central

    Andersson, Dan I

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Antibiotic resistance can be acquired by mutation or horizontal transfer of a resistance gene, and generally an acquired mechanism results in a predictable increase in phenotypic resistance. However, recent findings suggest that the environment and/or the genetic context can modify the phenotypic expression of specific resistance genes/mutations. An important implication from these findings is that a given genotype does not always result in the expected phenotype. This dissociation of genotype and phenotype has important consequences for clinical bacteriology and for our ability to predict resistance phenotypes from genetics and DNA sequences. A related problem concerns the degree to which the genes/mutations currently identified in vitro can fully explain the in vivo resistance phenotype, or whether there is a significant additional amount of presently unknown mutations/genes (genetic ‘dark matter’) that could contribute to resistance in clinical isolates. Finally, a very important question is whether/how we can identify the genetic features that contribute to making a successful pathogen, and predict why some resistant clones are very successful and spread globally? In this review, we describe different environmental and genetic factors that influence phenotypic expression of antibiotic resistance genes/mutations and how this information is needed to understand why particular resistant clones spread worldwide and to what extent we can use DNA sequences to predict evolutionary success. PMID:28333270

  14. Exome sequence analysis suggests genetic burden contributes to phenotypic variability and complex neuropathy

    PubMed Central

    Gonzaga-Jauregui, Claudia; Harel, Tamar; Gambin, Tomasz; Kousi, Maria; Griffin, Laurie B.; Francescatto, Ludmila; Ozes, Burcak; Karaca, Ender; Jhangiani, Shalini; Bainbridge, Matthew N.; Lawson, Kim S.; Pehlivan, Davut; Okamoto, Yuji; Withers, Marjorie; Mancias, Pedro; Slavotinek, Anne; Reitnauer, Pamela J; Goksungur, Meryem T.; Shy, Michael; Crawford, Thomas O.; Koenig, Michel; Willer, Jason; Flores, Brittany N.; Pediaditrakis, Igor; Us, Onder; Wiszniewski, Wojciech; Parman, Yesim; Antonellis, Anthony; Muzny, Donna M.; Katsanis, Nicholas; Battaloglu, Esra; Boerwinkle, Eric; Gibbs, Richard A.; Lupski, James R.

    2015-01-01

    Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous distal symmetric polyneuropathy. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) of 40 individuals from 37 unrelated families with CMT-like peripheral neuropathy refractory to molecular diagnosis identified apparent causal mutations in ~45% (17/37) of families. Three candidate disease genes are proposed, supported by a combination of genetic and in vivo studies. Aggregate analysis of mutation data revealed a significantly increased number of rare variants across 58 neuropathy associated genes in subjects versus controls; confirmed in a second ethnically discrete neuropathy cohort, suggesting mutation burden potentially contributes to phenotypic variability. Neuropathy genes shown to have highly penetrant Mendelizing variants (HMPVs) and implicated by burden in families were shown to interact genetically in a zebrafish assay exacerbating the phenotype established by the suppression of single genes. Our findings suggest that the combinatorial effect of rare variants contributes to disease burden and variable expressivity. PMID:26257172

  15. Impact of Staphylococcus aureus phenotype and genotype on the clinical characteristics and outcome of infective endocarditis. A multicentre, longitudinal, prospective, observational study.

    PubMed

    Fernández-Hidalgo, N; Ribera, A; Larrosa, M N; Viedma, E; Origüen, J; de Alarcón, A; Fariñas, M C; Sáez, C; Peña, C; Múñez, E; García López, M V; Gavaldà, J; Pérez-Montarelo, D; Chaves, F; Almirante, B

    2017-12-18

    We aimed to evaluate the impact of Staphylococcus aureus phenotype (vancomycin MIC) and genotype (agr group, clonal complex CC) on the prognosis and clinical characteristics of infective endocarditis (IE). We performed a multicentre, longitudinal, prospective, observational study (June 2013 to March 2016) in 15 Spanish hospitals. Two hundred and thirteen consecutive adults (≥18 years) with a definite diagnosis of S. aureus IE were included. Primary outcome was death during hospital stay. Main secondary end points were persistent bacteraemia, sepsis/septic shock, peripheral embolism and osteoarticular involvement. Overall in-hospital mortality was 37% (n = 72). Independent risk factors for death were age-adjusted Charlson co-morbidity index (OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.08-1.34), congestive heart failure (OR 3.60; 95% CI 1.72-7.50), symptomatic central nervous system complication (OR 3.17; 95% CI 1.41-7.11) and severe sepsis/septic shock (OR 4.41; 95% CI 2.18-8.96). In the subgroup of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus IE (n = 173), independent risk factors for death were the age-adjusted Charlson co-morbidity index (OR 1.17; 95% CI 1.03-1.31), congestive heart failure (OR 3.39; 95% CI 1.51-7.64), new conduction abnormality (OR 4.42; 95% CI 1.27-15.34), severe sepsis/septic shock (OR 5.76; 95% CI 2.57-12.89) and agr group III (OR 0.27; 0.10-0.75). Vancomycin MIC ≥1.5 mg/L was not independently associated with death during hospital nor was it related to secondary end points. No other genotype variables were independently associated with in-hospital death. This is the first prospective study to assess the impact of S. aureus phenotype and genotype. Phenotype and genotype provided no additional predictive value beyond conventional clinical characteristics. No evidence was found to justify therapeutic decisions based on vancomycin MIC for either methicillin-resistant or methicillin-susceptible S. aureus. Copyright © 2017 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and

  16. Arylesterase Phenotype-Specific Positive Association Between Arylesterase Activity and Cholinesterase Specific Activity in Human Serum

    PubMed Central

    Aoki, Yutaka; Helzlsouer, Kathy J.; Strickland, Paul T.

    2014-01-01

    Context: Cholinesterase (ChE) specific activity is the ratio of ChE activity to ChE mass and, as a biomarker of exposure to cholinesterase inhibitors, has a potential advantage over simple ChE activity. Objective: To examine the association of several potential correlates (serum arylesterase/paraoxonase activity, serum albumin, sex, age, month of blood collection, and smoking) with plasma ChE specific activity. Methods: We analyzed data from 195 cancer-free controls from a nested case-control study, accounting for potential confounding. Results: Arylesterase activity had an independent, statistically significant positive association with ChE specific activity, and its magnitude was the greatest for the arylesterase phenotype corresponding to the QQ PON1192 genotype followed by phenotypes corresponding to QR and RR genotypes. Serum albumin was positively associated with ChE specific activity. Conclusions: Plasma arylesterase activity was positively associated with plasma ChE specific activity. This observation is consistent with protection conferred by a metabolic phenotype resulting in reduced internal dose. PMID:24473115

  17. Child Dopamine Transporter Genotype and Parenting: Evidence for Evocative Gene-Environment Correlations

    PubMed Central

    Hayden, Elizabeth P.; Hanna, Brigitte; Sheikh, Haroon I.; Laptook, Rebecca S.; Kim, Jiyon; Singh, Shiva M.; Klein, Daniel N.

    2017-01-01

    The dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene is implicated in psychopathology risk. While the processes by which this gene exerts its effects on risk are poorly understood, a small body of research suggests that DAT1 influences early emerging negative emotionality (NE), a marker of children’s psychopathology risk. As child NE evokes negative parenting practices, the DAT1 may also play a role in gene-environment correlations. To test this model, children (N = 365) were genotyped for DAT1 and participated in standardized parent-child interaction tasks with their primary caregiver. The DAT1 9-repeat variant was associated with child negative affect expressed toward the parent during parent-child interactions, and parents of children with a 9-repeat allele exhibited more hostility and lower guidance/engagement than parents of children without a 9-repeat allele. These gene-environment associations were partially mediated by child negative affect toward the parent. Findings implicate a specific polymorphism in eliciting negative parenting, suggesting that evocative associations play a role in elevating children’s risk for emotional trajectories toward psychopathology risk. PMID:23398760

  18. The unforeseen challenge: from genotype-to-phenotype in cell populations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Braun, Erez

    2015-02-01

    Biological cells present a paradox, in that they show simultaneous stability and flexibility, allowing them to adapt to new environments and to evolve over time. The emergence of stable cell states depends on genotype-to-phenotype associations, which essentially reflect the organization of gene regulatory modes. The view taken here is that cell-state organization is a dynamical process in which the molecular disorder manifests itself in a macroscopic order. The genome does not determine the ordered cell state; rather, it participates in this process by providing a set of constraints on the spectrum of regulatory modes, analogous to boundary conditions in physical dynamical systems. We have developed an experimental framework, in which cell populations are exposed to unforeseen challenges; novel perturbations they had not encountered before along their evolutionary history. This approach allows an unbiased view of cell dynamics, uncovering the potential of cells to evolve and develop adapted stable states. In the last decade, our experiments have revealed a coherent set of observations within this framework, painting a picture of the living cell that in many ways is not aligned with the conventional one. Of particular importance here, is our finding that adaptation of cell-state organization is essentially an efficient exploratory dynamical process rather than one founded on random mutations. Based on our framework, a set of concepts underlying cell-state organization—exploration evolving by global, non-specific, dynamics of gene activity—is presented here. These concepts have significant consequences for our understanding of the emergence and stabilization of a cell phenotype in diverse biological contexts. Their implications are discussed for three major areas of biological inquiry: evolution, cell differentiation and cancer. There is currently no unified theoretical framework encompassing the emergence of order, a stable state, in the living cell. Hopefully

  19. Genotype by environment interactions for growth in Red Angus.

    PubMed

    Fennewald, D J; Weaber, R L; Lamberson, W R

    2017-02-01

    Accuracy of sire selection is limited by how well animals are characterized for their environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of genotype × environment interactions (G×E) for birth weight (BiW) and weaning weight (WW) for Red Angus in the United States. Adjusted weights were provided by the Red Angus Association of America. Environments were defined as 9 regions within the continental United States with similar temperature-humidity indices. Mean weights of calves were determined for each region and for each sire's progeny within each region. A reaction norm (RN) for each bull was estimated by regressing the sire means on the region means weighted for the number of progeny of each sire. The range for BiW and WW RN was -1.3 to 4.0 and -1.7 to 2.8, respectively. The heritabilities of BiW and WW RN were 0.40 and 0.39, respectively. Phenotypic and genetic correlations between BiW and WW RN were 0.19 and 0.54, respectively. The phenotypic correlation of the progeny mean to the RN was -0.20 ( <0.05) and suggests that sires with higher means are more stable in progeny performance across environments. Weights in different regions were considered separate traits and genetic correlations were estimated between all pairs of regions as another method to determine G×E. Genetic correlations < 0.80 indicate G×E at a level for concern, but existed for only 2 of 36 estimates for BiW and 12 of 36 estimates for WW. Genetic correlations between different regions ranged from 0.74 to 0.96 for BiW and 0.62 to 0.99 for WW and indicate that sires tend to rank similarly across environments for these traits.

  20. Tree rings provide a new class of phenotypes for genetic associations that foster insights into adaptation of conifers to climate change.

    PubMed

    Housset, Johann M; Nadeau, Simon; Isabel, Nathalie; Depardieu, Claire; Duchesne, Isabelle; Lenz, Patrick; Girardin, Martin P

    2018-04-01

    Local adaptation in tree species has been documented through a long history of common garden experiments where functional traits (height, bud phenology) are used as proxies for fitness. However, the ability to identify genes or genomic regions related to adaptation to climate requires the evaluation of traits that precisely reflect how and when climate exerts selective constraints. We combine dendroecology with association genetics to establish a link between genotypes, phenotypes and interannual climatic fluctuations. We illustrate this approach by examining individual tree responses embedded in the annual rings of 233 Pinus strobus trees growing in a common garden experiment representing 38 populations from the majority of its range. We found that interannual variability in growth was affected by low temperatures during spring and autumn, and by summer heat and drought. Among-population variation in climatic sensitivity was significantly correlated with the mean annual temperature of the provenance, suggesting local adaptation. Genotype-phenotype associations using these new tree-ring phenotypes validated nine candidate genes identified in a previous genetic-environment association study. Combining dendroecology with association genetics allowed us to assess tree vulnerability to past climate at fine temporal scales and provides avenues for future genomic studies on functional adaptation in forest trees. © 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.