Synchronized long-read genome, methylome, epigenome, and transcriptome for resolving a Mendelian condition.
Mitchell R VollgerJonas KorlachKiara C EldredElliott G SwansonJason G UnderwoodYong-Han Hank ChengJane RanchalisYizi MaoElizabeth E BlueUlrike SchwarzeKatherine M MunsonChristopher T SaundersAaron M WengerAimee AllworthSirisak ChanprasertBrittney L DuerdenIan GlassMartha Horike-PyneMichelle KimKathleen A LeppigIan J McLaughlinJessica OgawaElisabeth A RosenthalSam SheppeardStephanie M ShermanSamuel StrohbehnAmy L Yuennull nullnull nullThomas A RehPeter H ByersMichael J BamshadFuki M HisamaGail P JarvikYasemin SancakKatrina M DippleAndrew Ben StergachisPublished in: bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology (2023)
Resolving the molecular basis of a Mendelian condition (MC) remains challenging owing to the diverse mechanisms by which genetic variants cause disease. To address this, we developed a synchronized long-read genome, methylome, epigenome, and transcriptome sequencing approach, which enables accurate single-nucleotide, insertion-deletion, and structural variant calling and diploid de novo genome assembly, and permits the simultaneous elucidation of haplotype-resolved CpG methylation, chromatin accessibility, and full-length transcript information in a single long-read sequencing run. Application of this approach to an Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) participant with a chromosome X;13 balanced translocation of uncertain significance revealed that this translocation disrupted the functioning of four separate genes ( NBEA , PDK3 , MAB21L1 , and RB1 ) previously associated with single-gene MCs. Notably, the function of each gene was disrupted via a distinct mechanism that required integration of the four 'omes' to resolve. These included nonsense-mediated decay, fusion transcript formation, enhancer adoption, transcriptional readthrough silencing, and inappropriate X chromosome inactivation of autosomal genes. Overall, this highlights the utility of synchronized long-read multi-omic profiling for mechanistically resolving complex phenotypes.