An autoimmune disease risk variant: A trans master regulatory effect mediated by IRF1 under immune stimulation?

Functional mechanisms remain unknown for most genetic loci associated to complex human traits and diseases. In this study, we first mapped trans-eQTLs in a data set of primary monocytes stimulated with LPS, and discovered that a risk variant for autoimmune disease, rs17622517 in an intron of C5ORF56, affects the expression of the transcription factor IRF1 20 kb away. The cis-regulatory effect specific to IRF1 is active under early immune stimulus, with a large number of trans-eQTL effects across the genome under late LPS response.

Transcriptomic signatures across human tissues identify functional rare genetic variation.

Rare genetic variants are abundant across the human genome, and identifying their function and phenotypic impact is a major challenge. Measuring aberrant gene expression has aided in identifying functional, large-effect rare variants (RVs). Here, we expanded detection of genetically driven transcriptome abnormalities by analyzing gene expression, allele-specific expression, and alternative splicing from multitissue RNA-sequencing data, and demonstrate that each signal informs unique classes of RVs.

A polyclonal allelic expression assay for detecting regulatory effects of transcript variants.

We present an assay to experimentally test the regulatory effects of genetic variants within transcripts using CRISPR/Cas9 followed by targeted sequencing. We applied the assay to 32 premature stop-gained variants across the genome and in two Mendelian disease genes, 33 putative causal variants of eQTLs, and 62 control variants in HEK293T cells, replicating a subset of variants in HeLa cells. We detected significant effects in the expected direction (in 60% of variants), demonstrating the ability of the assay to capture regulatory effects of eQTL variants and nonsense-mediated decay triggered by premature stop-gained variants.

Genomic Analysis in the Age of Human Genome Sequencing.

Affordable genome sequencing technologies promise to revolutionize the field of human genetics by enabling comprehensive studies that interrogate all classes of genome variation, genome-wide, across the entire allele frequency spectrum. Ongoing projects worldwide are sequencing many thousands-and soon millions-of human genomes as part of various gene mapping studies, biobanking efforts, and clinical programs. However, while genome sequencing data production has become routine, genome analysis and interpretation remain challenging endeavors with many limitations and caveats.

Chromosomal variation and perinatal mortality in San Diego zoo Soemmerring's gazelles.

Chromosomal translocations play a fundamental role in the evolution and speciation of antelopes (Antilopinae, Bovidae), with several species exhibiting polymorphism for centric fusions. For the past 35 years, the San Diego Zoo Global (SDZG) captive population of Soemmerring's gazelles has revealed complex karyotypes resulting from chromosomal translocations with diploid numbers ranging from 34 to 39. Poor reproductive performance of this species in captivity and elevated mortality the first month of life (perinatal) has been attributed to this chromosomal dynamism.

Adenosine signaling promotes hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell emergence.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) emerge from aortic endothelium via the endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition (EHT). The molecular mechanisms that initiate and regulate EHT remain poorly understood. Here, we show that adenosine signaling regulates hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) development in zebrafish embryos.