Genetic associations and phenotypic heterogeneity in the craniosynostotic rabbit

PLoS One. 2018 Sep 20;13(9):e0204086. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204086. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Craniosynostosis (CS) is a disorder that involves the premature ossification of one or more cranial sutures. Our research team has described a naturally occurring rabbit model of CS with a variable phenotype and unknown etiology. Restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) sequencing is a genomic sampling method for identifying genetic variants in species with little or no existing sequence data. RAD sequencing data was analyzed using a mixed linear model to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with disease occurrence and onset in the rabbit model of CS. SNPs achieving a genome-wide significance of p ≤ 5 x 10-8 were identified on chromosome 2 in association with disease occurrence and on chromosomes 14 and 19 in association with disease onset. Genotyping identified a coding variant in fibroblast growth factor binding protein 1 (FGFBP-1) on chromosome 2 and a non-coding variant upstream of integrin alpha 3 (ITGA3) on chromosome 19 that associated with disease occurrence and onset, respectively. Retrospective analysis of patient data revealed a significant inverse correlation between FGFBP-1 and ITGA3 transcript levels in patients with coronal CS. FGFBP-1 and ITGA3 are genes with roles in early development that warrant functional study to further understand suture biology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism
  • Cranial Sutures / growth & development
  • Cranial Sutures / pathology
  • Craniosynostoses / diagnosis
  • Craniosynostoses / genetics*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Epistasis, Genetic
  • Female
  • Gene Frequency / genetics
  • Genetic Association Studies*
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease*
  • Integrin alpha3 / metabolism
  • Linkage Disequilibrium / genetics
  • Male
  • Pedigree
  • Phenotype
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / genetics
  • Rabbits
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA

Substances

  • Carrier Proteins
  • Integrin alpha3