RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Molecular findings from 537 individuals with inherited retinal disease JF Journal of Medical Genetics JO J Med Genet FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 761 OP 767 DO 10.1136/jmedgenet-2016-103837 VO 53 IS 11 A1 Ellingford, Jamie M A1 Barton, Stephanie A1 Bhaskar, Sanjeev A1 O'Sullivan, James A1 Williams, Simon G A1 Lamb, Janine A A1 Panda, Binay A1 Sergouniotis, Panagiotis I A1 Gillespie, Rachel L A1 Daiger, Stephen P A1 Hall, Georgina A1 Gale, Theodora A1 Lloyd, I Christopher A1 Bishop, Paul N A1 Ramsden, Simon C A1 Black, Graeme C M YR 2016 UL http://jmg.bmj.com/content/53/11/761.abstract AB Background Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are a clinically and genetically heterogeneous set of disorders, for which diagnostic second-generation sequencing (next-generation sequencing, NGS) services have been developed worldwide.Methods We present the molecular findings of 537 individuals referred to a 105-gene diagnostic NGS test for IRDs. We assess the diagnostic yield, the spectrum of clinical referrals, the variant analysis burden and the genetic heterogeneity of IRD. We retrospectively analyse disease-causing variants, including an assessment of variant frequency in Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC).Results Individuals were referred from 10 clinically distinct classifications of IRD. Of the 4542 variants clinically analysed, we have reported 402 mutations as a cause or a potential cause of disease in 62 of the 105 genes surveyed. These variants account or likely account for the clinical diagnosis of IRD in 51% of the 537 referred individuals. 144 potentially disease-causing mutations were identified as novel at the time of clinical analysis, and we further demonstrate the segregation of known disease-causing variants among individuals with IRD. We show that clinically analysed variants indicated as rare in dbSNP and the Exome Variant Server remain rare in ExAC, and that genes discovered as a cause of IRD in the post-NGS era are rare causes of IRD in a population of clinically surveyed individuals.Conclusions Our findings illustrate the continued powerful utility of custom-gene panel diagnostic NGS tests for IRD in the clinic, but suggest clear future avenues for increasing diagnostic yields.