title: De novo mutations revealed by whole-exome sequencing are strongly associated with autism.
abstract: Multiple studies have confirmed the contribution of rare de novo copy number variations to the risk for autism spectrum disorders. But whereas de novo single nucleotide variants have been identified in affected individuals, their contribution to risk has yet to be clarified. Specifically, the frequency and distribution of these mutations have not been well characterized in matched unaffected controls, and such data are vital to the interpretation of de novo coding mutations observed in probands. Here we show, using whole-exome sequencing of 928 individuals, including 200 phenotypically discordant sibling pairs, that highly disruptive (nonsense and splice-site) de novo mutations in brain-expressed genes are associated with autism spectrum disorders and carry large effects. On the basis of mutation rates in unaffected individuals, we demonstrate that multiple independent de novo single nucleotide variants in the same gene among unrelated probands reliably identifies risk alleles, providing a clear path forward for gene discovery. Among a total of 279 identified de novo coding mutations, there is a single instance in probands, and none in siblings, in which two independent nonsense variants disrupt the same gene, SCN2A (sodium channel, voltage-gated, type II, α subunit), a result that is highly unlikely by chance.
authors.affiliation: Program on Neurogenetics, Child Study Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Stephan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Murtha
authors.forename: Abha R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Murdoch
authors.forename: Melanie J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Raubeson
authors.forename: A Jeremy
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Willsey
authors.forename: A Gulhan
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Ercan-Sencicek
authors.forename: Nicholas M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: DiLullo
authors.forename: Neelroop N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Parikshak
authors.forename: Jason L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Gordon T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Ober
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Teran
authors.forename: Youeun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: El-Fishawy
authors.forename: Ryan C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Murtha
authors.forename: Murim
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Overton
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Bjornson
authors.forename: Nicholas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Carriero
authors.forename: Kyle A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Kaya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bilguvar
authors.forename: Shrikant M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mane
authors.forename: Nenad
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sestan
authors.forename: Richard P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Lifton
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Günel
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Roeder
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Geschwind
authors.forename: Bernie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Devlin
authors.forename: Matthew W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: State
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D018389:Codon, Nonsense / Q000235:genetics; D059472:Exome / Q000235:genetics*; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics*; D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D062551:NAV1.2 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D022821:RNA Splice Sites / Q000235:genetics; D035781:Siblings; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018389:Codon, Nonsense; D062551:NAV1.2 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D022821:RNA Splice Sites; C568251:SCN2A protein, human; D015222:Sodium Channels