Genomewide linkage scans for ocular refraction and meta-analysis of four populations in the Myopia Family Study.

PURPOSE: Genomewide linkage scans were performed in Caucasian (CAUC) and Old Order Amish (OOA) families to identify genomic regions containing genes responsible for refractive error control. We also performed a meta-analysis by combining these results with our previous linkage results from Ashkenazi Jewish (ASHK) and African American (AFRAM) families. METHODS: Two hundred seventy-one CAUC and 411 OOA participants (36 and 61 families, respectively) were recruited to participate in the Myopia Family Study. Recruitment criteria were designed to enrich the sample for multiplex myopic families. Genomewide, model-free, multipoint linkage analyses were performed separately for each population by using >370 microsatellite markers. Empirical significance levels were determined via gene-dropping simulations. A meta-analysis was performed by combining linkage results from the CAUC, OOA, AFRAM, and ASHK samples, and results were compared to previously reported loci for myopia and refraction. RESULTS: Suggestive evidence of linkage was found at 12q24 (LOD = 4.583, P = 0.00037) and 4q21 (LOD = 2.72, P = 0.0028) in the CAUC sample and at 5qter (LOD = 3.271, P = 0.0014) in the OOA. Meta-analysis linkage results were largely driven by population-specific signals from ASHK and AFRAM families. The meta-analysis showed suggestive evidence of linkage to 4q21-22 (meta-P = 0.00214) adjacent to the previously reported MYP9 and MYP11 loci. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed suggestive evidence of linkage of ocular refraction to 12q24 and 4q21 in CAUC and to 5qter in OOA families. The meta-analysis supports the view that several genes play a role in refractive development across populations. In MFS families, four broad genomic regions (on 1p, 4q, 7p, and 12q) most likely contain genes that influence ocular refraction.

Genome-wide scan of African-American and white families for linkage to myopia.

PURPOSE: To identify myopia susceptibility genes influencing common myopia in 94 African-American and 36 White families. DESIGN: A prospective study of families with myopia consisting of a minimum of two individuals affected with myopia. METHODS: Extended families consisting of at least two siblings affected with myopia were ascertained. A genome-wide linkage scan using 387 markers was conducted by the Center for Inherited Disease Research. Linkage analyses were conducted with parametric and nonparametric methods. Model-free linkage analysis was performed maximizing over penetrance and over dominance (that is, fitting a wide range of both dominant and recessive models). RESULTS: Under the model-free analysis, the maximum two point heterogeneity logarithm of the odds score (MALOD) was 2.87 at D6S1009 in the White cohort and the maximum multipoint MALOD was 2.42 at D12S373-D12S1042 in the same cohort. The nonparametric linkage (NPL) maximum multipoint at D6S1035 had a P value of .005. An overall multipoint NPL score was obtained by combining NPL scores from both populations. The highest combined NPL score was observed at D20S478 with a significant P value of .008. Suggestive evidence of linkage in the White cohort mapped to a previously mapped locus on chromosome 11 at D11S1981 (NPL = 2.14; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: Suggestive evidence of linkage to myopia in both African Americans and Whites was seen on chromosome 20 and became more significant when the scores were combined for both groups. The locus on chromosome 11 independently confirms a report by Hammond and associates mapping a myopia quantitative trait locus to this region.

Establishing an adjusted p-value threshold to control the family-wide type 1 error in genome wide association studies.

BACKGROUND: By assaying hundreds of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms, genome wide association studies (GWAS) allow for a powerful, unbiased review of the entire genome to localize common genetic variants that influence health and disease. Although it is widely recognized that some correction for multiple testing is necessary, in order to control the family-wide Type 1 Error in genetic association studies, it is not clear which method to utilize. One simple approach is to perform a Bonferroni correction using all n single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the genome; however this approach is highly conservative and would "overcorrect" for SNPs that are not truly independent. Many SNPs fall within regions of strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) ("blocks") and should not be considered "independent". RESULTS: We proposed to approximate the number of "independent" SNPs by counting 1 SNP per LD block, plus all SNPs outside of blocks (interblock SNPs). We examined the effective number of independent SNPs for Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) panels. In the CEPH Utah (CEU) population, by considering the interdependence of SNPs, we could reduce the total number of effective tests within the Affymetrix and Illumina SNP panels from 500,000 and 317,000 to 67,000 and 82,000 "independent" SNPs, respectively. For the Affymetrix 500 K and Illumina 317 K GWAS SNP panels we recommend using 10(-5), 10(-7) and 10(-8) and for the Phase II HapMap CEPH Utah and Yoruba populations we recommend using 10(-6), 10(-7) and 10(-9) as "suggestive", "significant" and "highly significant" p-value thresholds to properly control the family-wide Type 1 error. CONCLUSION: By approximating the effective number of independent SNPs across the genome we are able to 'correct' for a more accurate number of tests and therefore develop 'LD adjusted' Bonferroni corrected p-value thresholds that account for the interdepdendence of SNPs on well-utilized commercially available SNP "chips". These thresholds will serve as guides to researchers trying to decide which regions of the genome should be studied further.

Genome-wide scan of additional Jewish families confirms linkage of a myopia susceptibility locus to chromosome 22q12.

PURPOSE: A genome-wide scan was previously reported for myopia in Ashkenazi Jews. In order to confirm the previous linkage peaks, a collection of DNA samples from 19 new Ashkenazi Jewish families were tested for linkage in a genome wide scan. METHODS: Families were ascertained from an Orthodox Ashkenazi Jewish community through mailings. Myopia was defined as equal to or greater than -1 diopter in both meridians in both eyes. The genome wide scan used markers from a modified Cooperative Human Linkage Center version 9 (402 markers). Parametric two-point linkage was calculated with FASTLINK while multipoint linkage was calculated with GENEHUNTER. RESULTS: The results for the 19 families demonstrated several regions of suggestive linkage on chromosomes 7, 1, 17, and 22. A combined analysis of the 19 families and 44 previously reported families demonstrated an increase in the LOD score to 4.73 for the chromosome 22 locus. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple chromosomal regions have exhibited some evidence of linkage to a myopia susceptibility gene in this Ashkenazi Jewish population. The strongest evidence of linkage to such a susceptibility gene in these data is on chromosome 22.

A genome-wide scan for loci predisposing to non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in two large Syrian families.

Non-syndromic cleft lip with/without cleft palate (CL/P) is a common, usually non-fatal birth defect of complex etiology. Several segregation analyses have demonstrated that genetic factors are important in the pathogenesis of CL/P, most likely through the interaction of several genes of modest effects. The aim of this study was to perform a genome-wide linkage analysis to identify/search for candidate gene loci for CL/P. We conducted a genome-wide search in two large, relatively isolated Syrian families, each one with a large number of cases with CL/P (18 in family 1 and 4 in family 2). A locus with a multipoint LOD score of 2.80 and a 2-point non-parametric MLS LOD of 3.0 was detected on 17p13.1. Other chromosomal regions with multipoint LOD scores > or = 1.2 (P < or = 0.01) included 3p21.2, 4q32.1, and 7q34. These data indicate the possible presence of several susceptibility loci for CL/P and identify a strong candidate locus for this common birth defect on chromosome 17p13.