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    Recent studies have revealed a new type of variation in the human genome encompassing relatively large genomic segments ( approximately 100 kb-2.5 Mb), commonly referred to as copy number variation (CNV). The full nature and extent of CNV and its frequency in different ethnic populations is still largely unknown. In this study we surveyed a set of 12 CNVs previously detected by array-CGH. More than 300 individuals from five different ethnic populations, including three distinct European, one Asian and one African population, were tested for the occurrence of CNV using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). Seven of these loci indeed showed CNV, i.e., showed copy numbers that deviated from the population median. More precise estimations of the actual genomic copy numbers for (part of) the NSF gene locus, revealed copy numbers ranging from two to at least seven. Additionally, significant inter-population differences in the distribution of these copy numbers were observed. These data suggest that insight into absolute DNA copy numbers for loci exhibiting CNV is required to determine their potential contribution to normal phenotypic variation and, in addition, disease susceptibility.
    Copy number analysis
    Gene dosage
    Multiplex
    Comparative genomic hybridization
    Citations (47)
    Submicroscopic (less than 2 Mb) segmental DNA copy number changes are a recently recognized source of genetic variability between individuals. The biological consequences of copy number variants (CNVs) are largely undefined. In some cases, CNVs that cause gene dosage effects have been implicated in phenotypic variation. CNVs have been detected in diverse species, including mice and humans. Published studies in mice have been limited by resolution and strain selection. We chose to study 21 well-characterized inbred mouse strains that are the focus of an international effort to measure, catalog, and disseminate phenotype data. We performed comparative genomic hybridization using long oligomer arrays to characterize CNVs in these strains. This technique increased the resolution of CNV detection by more than an order of magnitude over previous methodologies. The CNVs range in size from 21 to 2,002 kb. Clustering strains by CNV profile recapitulates aspects of the known ancestry of these strains. Most of the CNVs (77.5%) contain annotated genes, and many (47.5%) colocalize with previously mapped segmental duplications in the mouse genome. We demonstrate that this technique can identify copy number differences associated with known polymorphic traits. The phenotype of previously uncharacterized strains can be predicted based on their copy number at these loci. Annotation of CNVs in the mouse genome combined with sequence-based analysis provides an important resource that will help define the genetic basis of complex traits.
    Copy number analysis
    Segmental duplication
    Gene dosage
    Comparative genomic hybridization
    Structural Variation
    Citations (211)
    Copy-number variants (CNVs) reshape gene structure, modulate gene expression, and contribute to significant phenotypic variation. Previous studies have revealed CNV patterns in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster and suggested that selection and mutational bias shape genomic patterns of CNV. Although previous CNV studies focused on heterogeneous strains, here, we established a number of second-chromosome substitution lines to uncover CNV characteristics when homozygous. The percentage of genes harboring CNVs is higher than found in previous studies. More CNVs are detected in homozygous than heterozygous substitution strains, suggesting the comparative genomic hybridization arrays underestimate CNV owing to heterozygous masking. We incorporated previous gene expression data collected from some of the same substitution lines to investigate relationships between CNV gene dosage and expression. Most genes present in CNVs show no evidence of increased or diminished transcription, and the fraction of such dosage-insensitive CNVs is greater in heterozygotes. More than 70% of the dosage-sensitive CNVs are recessive with undetectable effects on transcription in heterozygotes. A deficiency of singletons in recessive dosage-sensitive CNVs supports the hypothesis that most CNVs are subject to negative selection. On the other hand, relaxed purifying selection might account for the higher number of protein–protein interactions in dosage-insensitive CNVs than in dosage-sensitive CNVs. Dosage-sensitive CNVs that are upregulated and downregulated coincide with copy-number increases and decreases. Our results help clarify the relation between CNV dosage and gene expression in the D. melanogaster genome.
    Gene dosage
    Comparative genomic hybridization
    Heterozygote advantage
    Dosage compensation
    Citations (98)
    Abstract Background Genomic copy number variants (CNVs) involving >1 kb of DNA have recently been found to be widely distributed throughout the human genome. They represent a newly recognized form of DNA variation in normal populations, discovered through screening of the human genome using high-throughput and high resolution methods such as array comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH). In order to understand their potential significance and to facilitate interpretation of array-CGH findings in constitutional disorders and cancers, we studied 27 normal individuals (9 Caucasian; 9 African American; 9 Hispanic) using commercially available 1 Mb resolution BAC array (Spectral Genomics). A selection of CNVs was further analyzed by FISH and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Results A total of 42 different CNVs were detected in 27 normal subjects. Sixteen (38%) were not previously reported. Thirteen of the 42 CNVs (31%) contained 28 genes listed in OMIM. FISH analysis of 6 CNVs (4 previously reported and 2 novel CNVs) in normal subjects resulted in the confirmation of copy number changes for 1 of 2 novel CNVs and 2 of 4 known CNVs. Three CNVs tested by FISH were further validated by RT-qPCR and comparable data were obtained. This included the lack of copy number change by both RT-qPCR and FISH for clone RP11-100C24, one of the most common known copy number variants, as well as confirmation of deletions for clones RP11-89M16 and RP5-1011O17. Conclusion We have described 16 novel CNVs in 27 individuals. Further study of a small selection of CNVs indicated concordant and discordant array vs. FISH/RT-qPCR results. Although a large number of CNVs has been reported to date, quantification using independent methods and detailed cellular and/or molecular assessment has been performed on a very small number of CNVs. This information is, however, very much needed as it is currently common practice to consider CNVs reported in normal subjects as benign changes when detected in individuals affected with a variety of developmental disorders.
    Copy number analysis
    Comparative genomic hybridization
    Gene dosage
    Citations (20)
    A comparison of the individual genomes within a species demonstrates that structural variation, including copy number variation (CNV), is a major contributor to phenotypic diversity and evolutionary adaptation. CNVs lead to the under/over-expression of a gene, according to the changes in the gene dosage, which account for the development of a number of genomic disorders. Thus, the development of efficient, rapid and accurate CNV screening is of fundamental importance. We report a method that enables the simultaneous determination of the copy numbers of several different targets as well as the discrimination among highly similar/almost identical targets that differ by only one single nucleotide variant, which establishes their copy numbers. The PCR co-amplification and single-base extension technologies are used to identify the copy number of a target sequence relative to a reference sequence of known genomic copy number in a given sample. This efficient and accurate quantification platform was successfully used to quantify the copy numbers of the primary spinal muscular atrophy-determining gene, SMN1, and the disease modifier gene, SMN2. The reliability, low-cost and potential for high-throughput make our method suitable for screening large populations as well as for use as a tool in clinical settings for genetic diagnosis/prognosis.
    Gene dosage
    Copy number analysis
    Structural Variation
    Comparative genomic hybridization
    Multiplex
    Citations (0)
    Dosage sensitivity is an important evolutionary force which impacts on gene dispensability and duplicability. The newly available data on human copy-number variation (CNV) allow an analysis of the most recent and ongoing evolution. Provided that heterozygous gene deletions and duplications actually change gene dosage, we expect to observe negative selection against CNVs encompassing dosage sensitive genes. In this study, we make use of several sources of population genetic data to identify selection on structural variations of dosage sensitive genes. We show that CNVs can directly affect expression levels of contained genes. We find that genes encoding members of protein complexes exhibit limited expression variation and overlap significantly with a manually derived set of dosage sensitive genes. We show that complexes and other dosage sensitive genes are underrepresented in CNV regions, with a particular bias against frequent variations and duplications. These results suggest that dosage sensitivity is a significant force of negative selection on regions of copy-number variation.
    Gene dosage
    Structural Variation
    Variation (astronomy)
    Genomic DNA copy number alterations are key genetic events in the development and progression of human cancers. Here we report a genome-wide microarray comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) analysis of DNA copy number variation in a series of primary human breast tumors. We have profiled DNA copy number alteration across 6,691 mapped human genes, in 44 predominantly advanced, primary breast tumors and 10 breast cancer cell lines. While the overall patterns of DNA amplification and deletion corroborate previous cytogenetic studies, the high-resolution (gene-by-gene) mapping of amplicon boundaries and the quantitative analysis of amplicon shape provide significant improvement in the localization of candidate oncogenes. Parallel microarray measurements of mRNA levels reveal the remarkable degree to which variation in gene copy number contributes to variation in gene expression in tumor cells. Specifically, we find that 62% of highly amplified genes show moderately or highly elevated expression, that DNA copy number influences gene expression across a wide range of DNA copy number alterations (deletion, low-, mid- and high-level amplification), that on average, a 2-fold change in DNA copy number is associated with a corresponding 1.5-fold change in mRNA levels, and that overall, at least 12% of all the variation in gene expression among the breast tumors is directly attributable to underlying variation in gene copy number. These findings provide evidence that widespread DNA copy number alteration can lead directly to global deregulation of gene expression, which may contribute to the development or progression of cancer.
    Copy number analysis
    Comparative genomic hybridization
    Amplicon
    Gene dosage
    Citations (1,115)