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Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) are highly effective at identifying common risk variants for schizophrenia. Rare risk variants are also important contributors to schizophrenia etiology but, with the exception of large copy number variants, are difficult to detect with GWAS. Exome and genome sequencing, which have accelerated the study of rare variants, are expensive so alternative methods are needed to aid detection of rare variants. Here we re-analyze an Irish schizophrenia GWAS dataset (n = 3,473) by performing identity-by-descent (IBD) mapping followed by exome sequencing of individuals identified as sharing risk haplotypes to search for rare risk variants in coding regions. We identified 45 rare haplotypes (>1 cM) that were significantly more common in cases than controls. By exome sequencing 105 haplotype carriers, we investigated these haplotypes for functional coding variants that could be tested for association in independent GWAS samples. We identified one rare missense variant in PCNT but did not find statistical support for an association with schizophrenia in a replication analysis. However, IBD mapping can prioritize both individual samples and genomic regions for follow-up analysis but genome rather than exome sequencing may be more effective at detecting risk variants on rare haplotypes.

Original publication

DOI

10.1002/ajmg.b.32716

Type

Journal article

Journal

American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics

Publication Date

04/2019

Volume

180

Pages

223 - 231

Addresses

Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Group, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Discipline of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

Keywords

Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2, Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Humans, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Risk Factors, Case-Control Studies, Chromosome Mapping, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Schizophrenia, Genotype, Haplotypes, Databases, Genetic, Adult, Middle Aged, Female, Male, Genome-Wide Association Study, DNA Copy Number Variations, Exome, Whole Exome Sequencing