title: Identification of a novel gene on chromosome 7q31 that is interrupted by a translocation breakpoint in an autistic individual.
abstract: The results of genetic linkage studies for autism have suggested that a susceptibility locus for the disease is located on the long arm of chromosome 7 (7q). An autistic individual carrying a translocation, t(7;13)(q31.3;q21), with the chromosome 7 breakpoint located in the region of 7q implicated by genetic studies was identified. A novel gene known as "RAY1" (or "FAM4A1") was found to be directly interrupted by the translocation breakpoint. The gene, which was found to be encoded by 16 exons with evidence of alternative splicing, spanned > or =220 kb of DNA at 7q31.3. Mutation screening of the entire coding region in a set of 27 unrelated autistic individuals failed to identify phenotype-specific variants, suggesting that coding region mutations are unlikely to be involved in the etiology of autism. Apparent homologues of RAY1 have also been identified in mouse, rat, pig, chicken, fruit fly, and nematode. The human and mouse genes share similar splicing patterns, and their predicted protein products are 98% identical.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Herbrick
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Gurling
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Bolton
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Scherer
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D019457:Chromosome Breakage / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002897:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 7 / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008040:Genetic Linkage / Q000235:genetics*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014178:Translocation, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C412123:ST7 protein, human; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins