TY - JOUR T1 - Joubert syndrome: a model for untangling recessive disorders with extreme genetic heterogeneity JF - Journal of Medical Genetics JO - J Med Genet SP - 514 LP - 522 DO - 10.1136/jmedgenet-2015-103087 VL - 52 IS - 8 AU - R Bachmann-Gagescu AU - J C Dempsey AU - I G Phelps AU - B J O'Roak AU - D M Knutzen AU - T C Rue AU - G E Ishak AU - C R Isabella AU - N Gorden AU - J Adkins AU - E A Boyle AU - N de Lacy AU - D O'Day AU - A Alswaid AU - Radha Ramadevi A AU - L Lingappa AU - C Lourenço AU - L Martorell AU - À Garcia-Cazorla AU - H Ozyürek AU - G Haliloğlu AU - B Tuysuz AU - M Topçu AU - University of Washington Center for Mendelian Genomics AU - P Chance AU - M A Parisi AU - I A Glass AU - J Shendure AU - D Doherty Y1 - 2015/08/01 UR - http://jmg.bmj.com/content/52/8/514.abstract N2 - Background Joubert syndrome (JS) is a recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by hypotonia, ataxia, cognitive impairment, abnormal eye movements, respiratory control disturbances and a distinctive mid-hindbrain malformation. JS demonstrates substantial phenotypic variability and genetic heterogeneity. This study provides a comprehensive view of the current genetic basis, phenotypic range and gene–phenotype associations in JS.Methods We sequenced 27 JS-associated genes in 440 affected individuals (375 families) from a cohort of 532 individuals (440 families) with JS, using molecular inversion probe-based targeted capture and next-generation sequencing. Variant pathogenicity was defined using the Combined Annotation Dependent Depletion algorithm with an optimised score cut-off.Results We identified presumed causal variants in 62% of pedigrees, including the first B9D2 mutations associated with JS. 253 different mutations in 23 genes highlight the extreme genetic heterogeneity of JS. Phenotypic analysis revealed that only 34% of individuals have a ‘pure JS’ phenotype. Retinal disease is present in 30% of individuals, renal disease in 25%, coloboma in 17%, polydactyly in 15%, liver fibrosis in 14% and encephalocele in 8%. Loss of CEP290 function is associated with retinal dystrophy, while loss of TMEM67 function is associated with liver fibrosis and coloboma, but we observe no clear-cut distinction between JS subtypes.Conclusions This work illustrates how combining advanced sequencing techniques with phenotypic data addresses extreme genetic heterogeneity to provide diagnostic and carrier testing, guide medical monitoring for progressive complications, facilitate interpretation of genome-wide sequencing results in individuals with a variety of phenotypes and enable gene-specific treatments in the future. ER -