Sequence variants affecting the genome-wide rate of germline microsatellite mutations

Snaedis Kristmundsdottir, Hakon Jonsson, Marteinn T. Hardarson, Gunnar Palsson, Doruk Beyter, Hannes P. Eggertsson, Arnaldur Gylfason, Gardar Sveinbjornsson, Guillaume Holley, Olafur A. Stefansson, Gisli H. Halldorsson, Sigurgeir Olafsson, Gudny A. Arnadottir, Pall I. Olason, Ogmundur Eiriksson, Gisli Masson, Unnur Thorsteinsdottir, Thorunn Rafnar, Patrick Sulem, Agnar HelgasonDaniel F. Gudbjartsson, Bjarni V. Halldorsson, Kari Stefansson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Microsatellites are polymorphic tracts of short tandem repeats with one to six base-pair (bp) motifs and are some of the most polymorphic variants in the genome. Using 6084 Icelandic parent-offspring trios we estimate 63.7 (95% CI: 61.9–65.4) microsatellite de novo mutations (mDNMs) per offspring per generation, excluding one bp repeats motifs (homopolymers) the estimate is 48.2 mDNMs (95% CI: 46.7–49.6). Paternal mDNMs occur at longer repeats than maternal ones, which are in turn larger with a mean size of 3.4 bp vs 3.1 bp for paternal ones. mDNMs increase by 0.97 (95% CI: 0.90–1.04) and 0.31 (95% CI: 0.25–0.37) per year of father’s and mother’s age at conception, respectively. Here, we find two independent coding variants that associate with the number of mDNMs transmitted to offspring; The minor allele of a missense variant (allele frequency (AF) = 1.9%) in MSH2, a mismatch repair gene, increases transmitted mDNMs from both parents (effect: 13.1 paternal and 7.8 maternal mDNMs). A synonymous variant (AF = 20.3%) in NEIL2, a DNA damage repair gene, increases paternally transmitted mDNMs (effect: 4.4 mDNMs). Thus, the microsatellite mutation rate in humans is in part under genetic control.

Original languageEnglish
Article number3855
Pages (from-to)3855
JournalNature Communications
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Jun 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information: We thank our colleagues from deCODE genetics/Amgen Inc. We also thank all research participants who provided a biological sample to deCODE genetics and the UK Biobank. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).

Other keywords

  • Alleles
  • DNA Mismatch Repair
  • Germ Cells
  • Germ-Line Mutation/genetics
  • Humans
  • Microsatellite Repeats/genetics

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