Dataset Information

Sentinel interaction mapping - a generic approach for the functional analysis of human disease gene variants using yeast.

ABSTRACT: Advances in sequencing technology have led to an explosion in the number of known genetic variants of human genes. A major challenge is to now determine which of these variants contribute to diseases as a result of their effect on gene function. Here, we describe a generic approach using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to quickly develop gene-specific in vivo assays that can be used to quantify the level of function of a genetic variant. Using synthetic dosage lethality screening, 'sentinel' yeast strains are identified that are sensitive to overexpression of a human disease gene. Variants of the gene can then be functionalized in a high-throughput fashion through simple growth assays using solid or liquid media. Sentinel interaction mapping (SIM) has the potential to create functional assays for the large majority of human disease genes that do not have a yeast orthologue. Using the tumour suppressor gene PTEN as an example, we show that SIM assays can provide a fast and economical means to screen a large number of genetic variants.

SUBMITTER: Young BP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7358137 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Sentinel interaction mapping - a generic approach for the functional analysis of human disease gene variants using yeast.

Young Barry P BP Post Kathryn L KL Chao Jesse T JT Meili Fabian F Haas Kurt K Loewen Christopher C

Disease models & mechanisms 20200708 7

Advances in sequencing technology have led to an explosion in the number of known genetic variants of human genes. A major challenge is to now determine which of these variants contribute to diseases as a result of their effect on gene function. Here, we describe a generic approach using the yeast <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> to quickly develop gene-specific <i>in vivo</i> assays that can be used to quantify the level of function of a genetic variant. Using synthetic dosage lethality screenin ...[more]

PMID: 32471850

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background: The identification of causal variants responsible for disease associations from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) facilitates functional understanding of the disease mechanisms implicated by GWAS. One of the earliest GWAS associations to COPD spans an intragenic region within FAM13A, but the causal variants at this loci have not yet been identified. Massively parallel reporter assays (MPRA) can be used to prioritize functional regulatory variants in a high-throughput manner. Methods: We used an integrated approach using fine-mapping in over 10,000 subjects from COPD GWAS studies, two MPRA experiments, traditional reporter assays, chromatin conformation capture, and CRISPR-based gene editing to characterize COPD-associated regulatory variants in FAM13A in human bronchial epithelial cell lines. Results: Conditional genetic association and fine mapping analyses identified two independent COPD association signals in FAM13A. MPRA identified 45 common functional regulatory variants, and six COPD-associated putative functional variants were prioritized for further functional investigation. Three variants demonstrated significant activity in traditional reporter assays, and one variant, rs2013701, was selected for further testing in the endogenous genomic context based on a direction of effect consistent with postulated mechanisms of FAM13A-mediated COPD susceptibility. CRISPR-based genome editing for this variant confirmed allele-specific effects on FAM13A expression and altered rates of cellular proliferation, providing multiple levels of functional characterization for this COPD-associated variant. Conclusions: Comprehensive screening for regulatory variants near FAM13A identified the presence of extensive functional regulatory variation within a 250kb window of FAM13A in HBECs. Focused functional evaluation of the COPD-associated functional variants in LD with the two independent association signals in this region prioritized the common variant rs2013701, for which multiple parallel lines of functional evidence confirm allelic effects on FAM13A regulation.

Dataset Information

Sentinel interaction mapping - a generic approach for the functional analysis of human disease gene variants using yeast.

Publications

Sentinel interaction mapping - a generic approach for the functional analysis of human disease gene variants using yeast.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure