Whole exome sequencing in the UK Biobank reveals risk gene SLC2A1 and biological insights for major depressive disorder

Nearly two hundred common-variant depression risk loci have been identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, the impact of rare coding variants on depression remains poorly understood. Here, we present the largest to date exome analysis of depression based on 320,356 UK Biobank participants. We show that the burden of rare disruptive coding variants in loss-of-function intolerant genes is significantly associated with depression risk. Among 30 genes with false discovery rate (FDR)