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PubMed2024

Identification of four TTN variants in three families with fetal akinesia deformation sequence.

BACKGROUND: TTN is a complex gene with large genomic size and highly repetitive structure. Pathogenic variants in TTN have been reported to cause a range of skeletal muscle and cardiac disorders. Homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations tend to cause a wide spectrum of phenotypes with congenital or childhood onset. The onset and severity of the features were considered to be correlated with the types and location of the TTN variants. METHODS: Whole-exome sequencing was performed on three unrelated families presenting with fetal akinesia deformation sequence (FADS), mainly characterized by reduced fetal movements and limb contractures. Sanger sequencing was performed to confirm the variants. RT-PCR analysis was performed. RESULTS: TTN c.38,876-2 A > C, a meta transcript-only variant, with a second pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in trans, was observed in five affected fetuses from the three families. Sanger sequencing showed that all the fetal variants were inherited from the parents. RT-PCR analysis showed two kinds of abnormal splicing, including intron 199 extension and skipping of 8 bases. CONCLUSIONS: Here we report on three unrelated families presenting with FADS caused by four TTN variants. In addition, our study demonstrates that pathogenic meta transcript-only TTN variant can lead to defects which is recognizable prenatally in a recessive manner.

Humans↗
PubMed2025

Identification of novel PfEMP1 variants containing domain cassettes 11, 15 and 8 that mediate the Plasmodium falciparum virulence-associated rosetting phenotype.

Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) is a diverse family of variant surface antigens, encoded by var genes, that mediates binding of infected erythrocytes to human cells and plays a key role in parasite immune evasion and malaria pathology. The increased availability of parasite genome sequence data has revolutionised the study of PfEMP1 diversity across multiple P. falciparum isolates. However, making functional sense of genomic data relies on the ability to infer binding phenotype from var gene sequence. For P. falciparum rosetting, the binding of infected erythrocytes to uninfected erythrocytes, the analysis of var gene/PfEMP1 sequences encoding the phenotype is limited, with only eight rosette-mediating PfEMP1 variants described to date. These known rosetting PfEMP1 variants fall into two types, characterised by N-terminal domains known as "domain cassette" 11 (DC11) and DC16. Here we test the hypothesis that DC11 and DC16 are the only PfEMP1 types in the P. falciparum genome that mediate rosetting, by examining a set of thirteen recent culture-adapted Kenyan parasite lines. We first analysed the var gene/PfEMP1 repertoires of the Kenyan lines and identified an average of three DC11 or DC16 PfEMP1 variants per genotype. In vitro rosette selection of the parasite lines yielded four with a high rosette frequency, and analysis of their var gene transcription, infected erythrocyte PfEMP1 surface expression, rosette disruption and erythrocyte binding function identified four novel rosette-mediating PfEMP1 variants. Two of these were of the predicted DC11 type (one showing the dual rosetting/IgM-Fc-binding phenotype), whereas two contained DC15 (DBLα1.2-CIDRα1.5b) a PfEMP1 type not previously associated with rosetting. We also showed that a Thai parasite line expressing a DC8-like PfEMP1 binds to erythrocytes to form rosettes. Hence, these data expand current knowledge of rosetting mechanisms and emphasize that the PfEMP1 types mediating rosetting are more diverse than previously recognised.

Plasmodium falciparum↗
PubMed2026

Mitochondrial DNA diversity in Ecuadorian populations: Recurrence of variant 16136 within haplogroup B2.

The identification of lineage-defining variants, frequently found in the coding region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), is essential for refining haplogroup classification. Most mtDNA studies in South American populations have focused on the control region (CR), which has provided important insights into population structure and maternal lineage origins, although information needed for more robust phylogenetic resolution has been neglected. This study investigates the maternal genetic structure of Ecuadorian populations by combining CR and whole mitogenome analyses. Sequences from the mtDNA CR were obtained from 461 individuals (253 Mestizos and 208 Native Americans), while complete mitogenomes were sequenced for 127 individuals to improve phylogenetic resolution by identifying lineage-defining variants present in coding region. Most mtDNA haplogroups in the two population groups analyzed were of Native American origin (A2, B2, B4, C1, D1, D4), with significant differences in the distribution of specific lineages between them. Among Mestizos, African haplogroups (all within the L branches) and Eurasian haplogroups (H, K, R, U) were detected at low frequencies, whereas no African lineages were observed among Native Americans. The results obtained highlighted a heterogeneity within Ecuadorian populations that must be considered when developing mtDNA haplotype databases for forensic purposes. Whole mitogenome sequences enabled the identification of variants that refined haplogroup classifications, provided a more accurate reconstruction of the maternal genetic diversity, and improve the discrimination between Native American and Asian maternal lineages within haplogroup B4b.

Humans↗
PubMed2026

Identification of a Functional CYP2C8 Variant Allele that Alters Splicing, Reduces Protein Expression, and Increases Drug Exposure.

This study investigated genetic determinants of the pharmacokinetics of the CYP2C8 index drugs repaglinide and gemfibrozil, and their interaction in healthy participants. Sequencing data from a study with montelukast revealed a novel functional CYP2C8 allele (rs2071426, CYP2C8*19), predicted to create an intronic splice donor site. In human liver samples, CYP2C8*19 associated with transcript-specific changes in CYP2C8 mRNA expression, reduced CYP2C8 protein expression, and decreased enzyme activity. Consistently, participants with the CYP2C8*19/*19 genotype had 45% greater area under the plasma repaglinide concentration-time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC0-&#x221e;) than participants with CYP2C8*1/*1 (P&#x2009;=&#x2009;1.6&#x2009;&#xd7;&#x2009;10-4). Participants with CYP2C8*1/*3 had 26% smaller AUC0-&#x221e; (P&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.0033) and those with CYP2C8*1/*4 had 51% greater AUC0-&#x221e; (P&#x2009;=&#x2009;8.2&#x2009;&#xd7;&#x2009;10-4). The fold increase in repaglinide AUC0-&#x221e; caused by gemfibrozil was 36% (P&#x2009;=&#x2009;1.3&#x2009;&#xd7;&#x2009;10-4) smaller in CYP2C8*19/*19 participants than in CYP2C8*1/*1 participants. In a genome-wide association study (GWAS), SLCO1B1 c.521&#x2009;T>C (rs4149056) associated with increased repaglinide AUC0-&#x221e; (P&#x2009;=&#x2009;4.5&#x2009;&#xd7;&#x2009;10-15; n&#x2009;=&#x2009;172) and SLCO1A2 variants associated with decreased AUC0-&#x221e; (P&#x2009;<&#x2009;10-8). In a GWAS of repaglinide after gemfibrozil pretreatment, SLCO1C1 variants associated with decreased AUC0-&#x221e; (P&#x2009;<&#x2009;1.6&#x2009;&#xd7;&#x2009;10-8; n&#x2009;=&#x2009;66). Participants with the poor function SLCO1B1 genotype showed a 32% smaller fold increase in repaglinide AUC0-&#x221e; following gemfibrozil than participants with the normal function SLCO1B1 genotype (P&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.0045). This study characterizes CYP2C8*19 as a novel decreased function allele and shows that CYP2C8 and SLCO1B1 genotypes affect the gemfibrozil-repaglinide interaction.

Humans↗
PubMed2025

Identification of four novel ACADVL variants in eight Chinese unrelated patients with very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency.

BACKGROUND: Very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (VLCADD) is a disorder of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation with an autosomal recessive manner and is due to the VLCAD enzyme deficiency which is encoded by the ACADVL gene. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the clinical manifestations and analyze the molecular findings of eight Chinese patients with VLCADD. METHODS: We investigated eight Chinese VLCADD patients (three males, five females) from eight unrelated families. Molecular analysis was performed under the application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in combination with Sanger sequencing validation to confirm the likely pathogenic variants in these patients. RESULTS: Patient 1 (P1) exhibited the most severe clinical features and passed away 3&#xa0;h after admission on the second day of life. Unfortunately, P2 succumbed to hypoketotic hypoglycemia at 5 months of age. Except for asymptomatic P7, the remaining patients also developed clinical presentations of varying severity at different ages. Molecular data revealed that all affected individuals were compound heterozygotes for ACADVL variants. A total of 14 variants (4 novel and 10 known) were identified and the pathogenicity was evaluated based on the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) criteria and different in silico prediction tools. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of genotype-phenotype relationships preliminarily suggests that the compound heterozygous variants identified in these patients are likely the primary cause of VLCADD. Our study expands the mutation spectrum of ACADVL and highlights the significance of genetic analysis in early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of monogenic hereditary diseases especially those with rapid disease progression.

Female↗
PubMed2026

Optimization of a Semi-nested PCR Protocol for Amplifying the Entire Spike Protein Region to Identify SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Wastewater.

Wastewater-based monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens is a widely adopted tool for assessing epidemic dynamics. While quantitative assays are commonly used to estimate infection levels in catchment populations, phylogenetic information-such as identifying circulating variants-is also crucial for public health. However, applying the widely used ARTIC protocol for full-genome sequencing to wastewater samples has proven challenging, likely due to the limited specificity and sensitivity of multiplex RT-PCR in such complex matrices. In this study, we developed and optimized a semi-nested RT-PCR assay targeting the full S-protein coding region (~4000 bases) for phylogenetic characterization of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. By reducing multiplexing and using single-plex reactions for both RT and PCR steps, we successfully amplified ~2000&#xa0;bp fragments. Amplicons were sequenced using the Flongle Flow Cell platform. The optimized method-consisting of reverse transcription with specific primers followed by three parallel single-plex semi-nested PCRs-yielded over 1,000 SARS-CoV-2-like reads per primer set in 30 out of 39 wastewater samples in treatment plants in Japan, including those with <10 copies per analyte. Variant proportions were estimated using a newly developed approach based on single-nucleotide variant pattern matrix, revealing the presence of multiple co-circulating variants, including XBB lineages, JN.1, and notably BA.2.75, which was undetected in domestic clinical surveillance. These results highlight the effectiveness of our approach for detecting temporal shifts in SARS-CoV-2 variants, even at low RNA concentrations.

Polymerase Chain Reaction↗
PubMed2024

Directed evolution of engineered virus-like particles with improved production and transduction efficiencies.

Engineered virus-like particles (eVLPs) are promising vehicles for transient delivery of proteins and RNAs, including gene editing agents. We report a system for the laboratory evolution of eVLPs that enables the discovery of eVLP variants with improved properties. The system uses barcoded guide RNAs loaded within DNA-free eVLP-packaged cargos to uniquely label each eVLP variant in a library, enabling the identification of desired variants following selections for desired properties. We applied this system to mutate and select eVLP capsids with improved eVLP production properties or transduction efficiencies in human cells. By combining beneficial capsid mutations, we developed fifth-generation (v5) eVLPs, which exhibit a 2-4-fold increase in cultured mammalian cell delivery potency compared to previous-best v4 eVLPs. Analyses of v5 eVLPs suggest that these capsid mutations optimize packaging and delivery of desired ribonucleoprotein cargos rather than native viral genomes and substantially alter eVLP capsid structure. These findings suggest the potential of barcoded eVLP evolution to support the development of improved eVLPs.

Humans↗
PubMed2026

DeepGeSeq: deep learning library for genomic sequence modeling and analysis.

MOTIVATION: Deep learning methods have demonstrated significant potential in genomics, enabling broad applications such as sequence activity prediction, regulatory rule identification, and variant effect quantification. However, their widespread adoption is often hindered by the steep computational learning curve required for model construction, training, and downstream biological interpretation. Here, we introduce DeepGeSeq, a user-friendly Deep-learning library tailored for Genomic Sequence modeling and analysis. RESULTS: By integrating state-of-the-art architectural modules, DeepGeSeq streamlines the entire deep learning workflow, requiring minimal user input via a simple configuration file and an intuitive agentic skill. We comprehensively validate the efficacy of DeepGeSeq through diverse case studies, encompassing pipeline verification using synthetic datasets, the reproduction and application of established models, and model fine-tuning coupled with biological interpretation on user-defined data. Furthermore, we demonstrate DeepGeSeq's versatility in domain-specific applications, including single-cell ATAC-seq modeling for cell-type clustering, and MPRA data modeling coupled with in silico saturation mutagenesis to dissect cis-regulatory elements. Ultimately, DeepGeSeq bridges the gap between computational complexity and biological discovery, providing an accessible resource that facilitates the development and broad application of deep learning methods in genomics research. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: https://github.com/JiaqiLi1024/DeepGeSeq.

Deep Learning↗
PubMed2026

Allelic variation and light-responsive regulation of FaMYB10-2 underlie tissue-specific anthocyanin accumulation in strawberry.

Anthocyanins critically determine fruit color, nutrition, and stress resilience in cultivated strawberry (Fragaria &#xd7; ananassa), directly influencing consumer preference. Despite complex genetic and environmental regulation of their biosynthesis, the basis for tissue-specific pigmentation, notably the widespread occurrence of red skin and pale flesh, remains poorly understood. We integrated genomic, transcriptomic, and functional analyses across 200 cultivars to dissect receptacle pigmentation regulation. Approaches included FaMYB10-2 allele mining, promoter structural variant (SV) identification, expression profiling, regulatory interaction assays, and characterization of upstream light-responsive factors. FaMYB10-2 was identified as the key R2R3-MYB regulator of fruit anthocyanin biosynthesis. Alleles FaMYB10-2.2 and FaMYB10-2.3 encode truncated proteins retaining bHLH-binding capacity but lacking activation domains, functioning as dominant-negative repressors. A promoter SV 986&#x2005;bp upstream of FaMYB10-2 was associated with reduced pale fruit due to cis-regulatory divergence. The SV (Alt) allele is prevalent in Asian cultivars, while the Ref allele is enriched in Western germplasm. Crucially, a light-responsive FaHYH-FaWRKY71 cascade activates FaMYB10-2 and structural genes haplotype-dependently, compensating for weak MYB activity in the skin. Our findings reveal a multilayered regulatory system integrating allelic variation, cis-regulatory divergence, and environmental signals, advancing anthocyanin understanding and providing engineering targets for polyploid crop color improvement.

Fragaria↗
PubMed2024

Identification of a novel intronic variant in COL4A2 gene associated with fetal severe cerebral encephalomalacia and subdural hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Genetic variants in COL4A2 are less common than those of COL4A1 and their fetal clinical phenotype has not been well described to date. We present a fetus from China with an intronic variant in COL4A2 associated with a prenatal diagnosis of severe cerebral encephalomalacia and subdural hemorrhage. METHODS: Whole exome sequencing (WES) was applied to screen potential genetic causes. Bioinformatic analysis was performed to predict the pathogenicity of the variant. In in vitro experiment, the minigene assays were performed to assess the variant's effect. RESULTS: In this proband, we observed ventriculomegaly, subdural hemorrhage, and extensive encephalomalacia that initially suggested cerebral hypoxic-ischemic and/or hemorrhagic lesions. WES identified a de novo heterozygous variant c.549&#x2009;+&#x2009;5G&#x2009;>&#x2009;A in COL4A2 gene. This novel variant leads to the skipping of exon 8, which induces the loss of 24 native amino acids, resulting in a shortened COL4A2 protein (p.Pro161_Gly184del). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that c.549&#x2009;+&#x2009;5G&#x2009;>&#x2009;A in COL4A2 gene is a disease-causing variant by aberrant splicing. This finding enriches the variant spectrum of COL4A2 gene, which not only improves the understanding of the fetal neurological disorders associated with hypoxic-ischemic and hemorrhagic lesions from a clinical perspective but also provides guidance on genetic diagnosis and counseling.

Female↗
PubMed1977

Stabilization and preservation of the antigenic specificity of Trypanosoma (Trypanozoon) brucei variant specific surface antigens by mild fixation techniques.

Living bloodstream trypansomes fixed by suspension in a 1% formalin solution maintain both their morphology and the immunological specificity of their variant specific surface glycoprotein, so allowing precise identification of the variant types present in a trypanosome population by direct or indirect immunofluorescence combined with phase microscopy. The technique is simple, adaptable to the study of low parasitaemias and should facilitate analysis of the phenomenon of antigenic variation both in the field and the laboratory.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Comparison of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase variants in staphylococci. Purification, inhibitor studies and N-terminal sequences.

Four electrophoretic variants of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (types A, B, C and D) found in chloramphenicol-resistant staphylococci were purified by affinity chromatography. Michaelis constants and the kinetics of inactivation with a variety of reagents for the four variants are virtually identical. Their similar amino acid compositions and near identical N-terminal sequences suggest a high degree of overall sequence homology. The thiol-specific reagents 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid), 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoic acid and 2,2'-dithiopyridine are without significant effect on enzyme activity, whereas 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, N-ethylmaleimide, p-chloromercuribenzoic acid, iodoacetamide, and, particularly, bromoacetyl-CoA and diethyl pyrocarbonate are potent inhibitors. Iodoacetate is not an inhibitor. The results of chemical modification studies on the four enzyme variants and the identification of 3-carboxymethylhistidine in acid hydrolysates of one variant (type C) after inactivation with iodoacetamide suggest that a unique histidine residue may be involved in the mechanism of catalysis.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed2026

Identification of rare maternal copy number variants by genome-wide analysis of noninvasive prenatal screening data in 113,017 pregnant women.

OBJECTIVES: Knowledge of copy number variants (CNVs) is relevant to maternal and fetal health and can be obtained from noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) of pregnancy. However, genome-wide analysis of maternal CNVs using NIPS data has not been conducted in large populations. METHODS: For CNV analysis, the human genome was segmented into 10 kilobase pairs (Kb) bins, and the relative sequencing depth of each bin was calculated. The circular binary segmentation algorithm was used to estimate CNVs. Detected CNVs from two pregnancies of the same participant were compared to validate the reproducibility. All CNVs were merged into CNV regions (CNVRs) to evaluate their frequency, distributions, and relationship with disease-related genes and regions. RESULTS: In this study, 113,017 pregnant women were recruited. A total of 363,886 CNVs larger than 50&#x2009;Kb were detected in 101,779 individuals and merged into 43,005 CNVRs. For evaluating the reproducibility of CNVs, 90.18% of deletions and 88.07% of duplications were consistent. In general, 78.13% of individuals carried CNVRs that overlapped protein-coding genes, while 14.76% overlapped OMIM genes. We detected 246 novel CNVRs, 134 (54.47%) involving protein-coding genes. For the perspective of maternal-fetal health, we identified 4,984 (4.41%) individuals as carriers of 5,243 CNVs containing known pathogenic or likely pathogenic regions, including 22q11.2 region and DMD gene.. CONCLUSIONS: NIPS sequencing data is a reliable source for maternal CNV detection. These CNVs constitute an integrate component in maternal-fetal health management.

Humans↗
PubMed2026

Genetic landscape of pediatric seizures in Southeast China: identification of a novel GLI3 frameshift variant through whole-exome sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric seizure disorders are clinically and genetically heterogeneous. Whole-exome sequencing has improved the detection of rare genetic variants in childhood epilepsy; however, data from pediatric populations in Southeast China remain limited. This study aimed to characterize the genetic landscape of pediatric seizure disorders in Southeast China and to evaluate the clinical diagnostic yield of whole-exome sequencing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective observational study included 21 pediatric patients with seizure disorders who were recruited at the Fifth Hospital of Xiamen, Fujian, China, between January 2021 and June 2024. Clinical data were extracted from medical records. Whole-exome sequencing was performed on DNA extracted from peripheral blood. Sequence variants were annotated, filtered, and classified according to the guidelines of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Copy-number variants were evaluated using exome-based algorithms. Descriptive statistics were used because of the limited sample size. RESULTS: WES identified three clinically relevant, likely pathogenic findings in 3 of 21 patients, corresponding to a provisional diagnostic yield of 14.3%. The remaining 62 of 65 variants were of uncertain significance (VUS). The three retained variants included a GLI3 frameshift variant (exon 2: c.90_91insCAGATGTGAGC; p.Glu31Glnfs*3) and two copy-number variants (16p13.12-16p13.11 duplication and Xp22.31 deletion) with established clinical significance. Functional analysis of all 65 variants revealed that ion channel genes and neurodevelopmental genes were the most frequently affected categories. CONCLUSION: Whole-exome sequencing identified clinically relevant genetic findings in a subset of Southeast Chinese children with seizure disorders. The novel GLI3 frameshift variant may suggest an expansion of the GLI3-associated phenotypic spectrum, but further segregation, functional validation, and larger cohort studies are needed. The high proportion of variants of uncertain significance highlights the ongoing challenges of genetic interpretation in pediatric seizure disorders.

GLI3 frameshift variant↗