Skip to main content
Log in

Molecular Genetic Investigations of Autism

  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Genetic factors are likely to play a major role in the etiology of autism. The genetics of the disorder is however complex, probably involving the action of several genes. In an attempt to identify autism susceptibility loci we are currently undertaking a systematic screening of the whole human genome using multiplex families. We describe the resources and the methods needed to achieve such a task, including extensive collection of family data, semiautomated genotyping technology, and specialized statistical approaches for linkage analysis of complex traits.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Abramson, R. K., Wright, H. H., Carpenter, R., Brennan, W., Lumpuy, O., Cole, E., & Young, S. R. (1989). Elevated blood serotonin in autistic probands and their first-degree relatives. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19, 397–407.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, G. M., Freedman, D. X., Cohen, D. J., Volkmar, F. R., Hoder, E. L., McPhedran, P., Minderaa, R. B., Hansen, C. R., & Young, J. G. (1987). Whole blood serotonin in autistic and normal subjects. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 28, 885–900.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, A., Le Couteur, A., Gottesman, I., Bolton, P., Simonoff, E., Yuzda, E., & Rutter, M. (1995). Autism as a strongly genetic disorder: Evidence from a British twin study. Psychological Medicine, 25, 63–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, P., Piven, J., Schwartz, S., & Patil, S. (1994). Duplication of chromosome 15q11-13 in two individuals with autistic disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 529–535.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, S. T., Lucassen, A. M., Gough, S. C. L., Powell, E. E., Undlien, D. E., Pritchard, L. E., Merriman, M. E., Kawaguchi, Y., Dronsfield, M. J., Pociot, F., Nerup, J., Bouzekri, N., Cambon-Thomsen, A., Ronningen, K. S., Barnett, A. H., Bain, S. C., & Todd, J. A. (1995). Susceptibility to human type 1 diabetes at IDDM2 is determined by tandem repeat variation at the insulin gene minisatellite locus. Nature Genetics, 9, 284–292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackwood, D. H. R., He, L., Morris, S. W., McLean, A., Whitton, C., Thomson, M., Walker, M. T., Woodburn, K., Sharp, C. M., Wright, A. F., Shibasaki, Y., St.Clair, D. M., Porteus, D. J., & Muir, W. J. (1996). A locus for bipolar affective disorder on chromosome 4p. Nature Genetics, 12, 427–430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolton, P., Macdonald, H., Pickles, A., Rios, P., Goode, S., Crowson, M., Bailey, A., & Rutter, M. (1994). A case-control family history study of autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, 877–900.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, D. L., Gorin, M. B., & Weeks, D. E. (1994). Efficient strategies for genomic searching using the affected-pedigreemember method of linkage analysis. American Journal of Human Genetics, 54, 544–552.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bundey, S., Hardy, C., Vickers, S., Kilpatrick, M. W., & Corbett, J. A. (1994). Duplication of the 15q11-13 region in a patient with autism, epilepsy and ataxia. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 36, 736–742.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, F. (1995). Positional cloning moves from perditional to traditional. Nature Genetics, 9, 347–350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, E. H., Courchesne, R., Lord, C., Cox, N. J., Yan, S., Lincoln, A., Haas, R., Courchesne, E., & Leventhal, B. L. (1997). Evidence of linkage between the serotonin transporter and autistic disorder. Molecular Psychiatry, 2, 247–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, E. H., Lindgren, V., Leventhal, B. L., Courchesne, R., Lincoln, A., Shulman, C., Lord, C., & Courchesne, E. (1997). Autism or atypical autism in maternally but not paternally derived proximal 15q duplication. American Journal of Human Genetics, 60, 928–934.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooperative-Human-Linkage-Center. (1994). A comprehensive human linkage map with centimorgan density. Science, 265, 2049–2054.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis, D. (1996). Genetic dissection of complex traits. Nature Genetics, 12, 356–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, S. E., Bhattacharrya, S., James, A., Leaves, N. I., Young, A., Hill, M. R., Faux, J. A., Ryan, G. F., Le Söuef, P. N., Lathrop, G. M., Musk, A. W., & Cookson, W. C. C. M. (1996). A genome-wide search for quantitative trait loci underlying asthma. Nature, 383, 247–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, J. L., Kawaguchi, Y., Bennett, S. T., Copeman, J. B., Cordell, H. J., Pritchard, L. E., Reed, P. W., Gough, S. C. L., Jenkins, S. C., Palmer, S. M., Balfour, K. M., Rowe, B. R., Farrall, M., Barnett, A. H., Bain, S. C., & Todd, J. A. (1994). A genome-wide search for human type 1 diabetes susceptibility genes. Nature, 371, 130–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dib, C., Fauré, S., Fizames, C., Samson, D., Drouot, N., Vignal, A., Milasseau, P., Marc, S., Hazan, J., Seboun, E., Lathrop, M., Gyapay, G., Morissette, J., & Weissenbach, J. (1996). The Généthon human genetic linkage map. Nature, 380, 152–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elston, R. C. (1992). Designs for the global search of the human genome by linkage analysis. In XVIth International Biometric Conference, pp. 39–51.

  • Flejter, W. L., Bennett-Baker, P. E., Ghaziuddin, M., McDonald, M., Shekdon, S., & Gorski, J. L. (1996). Cytogenetic and molecular analysis of inv dup(15) chromosomes observed in two patients with autistic disorder and mental retardation. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 61, 182–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freimer, N. B., Reus, V. I., Escamilla, M. A., McInnes, L. A., Spesny, M., Leon, P., Service, S. K., Smith, L. B., Silva, S., Rojas, E., et al. (1996). Genetic mapping using haplotype, association and linkage methods suggested a locus for severe bipolar disorder (BP1) at 18q22–q23. Nature Genetics, 12, 436–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fulker, D. W., & Cardon, L. R. (1994). A sib-pair approach to interval mapping of quantitative trait loci. American Journal of Human Genetics, 54, 1092–1103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ginns, E. I., Ott, J., Egeland, J. A., Allen, C. R., Fann, C. S. J., Pauls, D. L., Weissenbach, J., Carulli, J. P., Falls, K. M., Keith, T. P., & Paul, S. M. (1996). A genome-wide search for chromosomal loci linked to bipolar disorder in the Old Order Amish. Nature Genetics, 12, 431–435.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldgar, D. E. (1990). Multipoint analysis of human quantitative genetic variation. American Journal of Human Genetics, 47, 957–967.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, C. T., State, R. C., Nelson, J. E., Hamburger, S. D., & Rapoport, J. L. (1993). A double-blind comparison of clomipramine, desipramine, and placebo in the treatment of autistic disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 50, 441–447.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallmeyer, J., Hebert, J. M., Spiker, D., Lotspeich, L., McMahon, W. M., Petersen, P. B., Nicholas, P., Pingree, C., Lin, A. A., Cavalli-Sforza, L. L., Risch, N., & Ciaranello, R. D. (1996). Autism and the X chromosome. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 985–989.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hashimoto, L., Habita, C., Beressi, J. P., Besse, C., Cambon-Thomsen, A., Deschamps, I., Rotter, J. I., Djoulah, S., James, M. R., Froguel, P., Weissenbach, J., Lathrop, G. M., & Julier, C. (1994). Genetic mapping of a susceptibility locus for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus on chromosome 11q. Nature, 371, 161–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hauser, E. R., Boehnke, M., Guo, S. W., & Risch, N. (1996). Affected-sib-pair interval mapping and exclusion for complex genetic traits: Sampling considerations. Genetic Epidemiology, 13, 117–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmans, P. (1993). Asymptotic properties of affected-sib-pair linkage analysis. American Journal of Human Genetics, 52, 362–374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmans, P., & Clayton, D. (1995). Efficiency of typing unaffected relatives in an affected-sib-pair linkage study with single-locus and multiple tightly linked markers. American Journal of Human Genetics, 57, 1221–1232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, T. J., Stein, L. D., Gerety, S. S., Ma, J., Castle, A. B., Silva, J., Slonim, D. K., Baptista, R., Kryglyak, L., Xu, S. H., et al. (1995). An STS-bases map of the human genome. Science, 270, 1945–1954.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hugot, J. P., Laurent-Puig, P., Gower-Rousseau, C., Olson, J. M., Lee, J. C., Beaugerie, L., Naom, I., Dupas, J. L., Van Gossum, A., et al. (1996). Mapping of a susceptibility locus for Crohn's disease on chromosome 16. Nature, 379, 821–823.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ishikawa-Brush, Y., Powell, J. F., Bolton, P., Miller, A. P., Francis, F., Willard, H. F., Lehrach, H., & Monaco, A. P. (1997). Autism and multiple exostoses associated with an X;8 translocation occurring within the GRPR gene and 3′ to the SDC2 gene. Human Molecular Genetics, 6, 1241–1250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kruglyak, L. (1996). Thresholds and sample sizes. Nature Genetics, 14, 132–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kruglyak, L., & Lander, E. S. (1995). High-resolution genetic mapping of complex traits. American Journal of Human Genetics, 56, 1212–1223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lander, E., & Kruglyak, L. (1995). Genetic dissection of complex traits: Guidelines for interpreting and reporting linkage results. Nature Genetics, 11, 241–247.

    Google Scholar 

  • LeCouter, A., Rutter, M., Lord, C., Rios, P., Robertson, S., Holdgrafer, M., & McLennan, J. (1989). Autism Diagnostic Interview: A standardized investigator-based instrument. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19, 363–387.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., Good, S., Heemsbergen, J., Jordan, H., Mawhood, L., & Schopler, E. (1989). Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule: A standardized observation of communicative and social behavior. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19, 185–212

    Google Scholar 

  • McDougle, C. J., Naylor, S. T., Cohen, D. J., Volkmar, F. R., Heniger, G. R., & Price, L. H. (1996). A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of fluvoxamine in adults with autistic disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 1001–1008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moises, H. W., Yang, L., Kristbjarnarson, H., Wiese, C., Byerley, W., Macciardi, F., Arolt, V., Blackwood, D., Liu, X., Sjogren, B., et al. (1995). An international two-stage genome-wide search for schizophrenia susceptibility genes. Nature Genetics, 11, 321–324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morton, N. E. (1955). Sequential tests for the detection of linkage. American Journal of Human Genetics, 7, 277–318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pericak-Vance, M. A., & Haines, J. L. (1995). Genetic susceptibility to Alzheimer disease. Trends in Genetics, 11, 504–508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pickles, A., Bolton, P., Macdonald, H., Bailey, A., Le Couteur, A., Sim, C.-H., & Rutter, M. (1995). Latent-class analysis of recurrence risk for complex phenotypes with selection and measurement error: A twin and family history study of autism. American Journal of Human Genetics, 57, 717–726.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piven, J., Tsai, G. C., Nehme, E., Coyle, J. T., Chase, G. A., & Folstein, S. E. (1991). Platelet serotonin, a possible marker for familial autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 21, 51–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pulver, A. E., Lasseter, V. K., Kasch, L., Wolyniec, P., Nestadt, G., Blouim, J.-L., Kimberland, M., Babb, R., Vourlis, S., Chen, H., et al. (1995). Schizophrenia: A genome scan targets chromosomes 3p and 8p as potential sites of susceptibility genes. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 60, 252–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, P. W., Davies, J. L., Copeman, J. B., Bennett, S. T., Palmer, S. M., Prithchard, L. E., Gough, S. C. L., Kawaguchi, Y., J., C. H., Balfour, K. M., Jenkins, S. C., Powell, E. E., Vignal, A., & Todd, J. A. (1994). Chromosome-specific microsatellite sets for fluorescence-based, semiautomated genome mapping. Nature Genetics, 7, 390–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Risch, N. (1990a). Linkage strategies for genetically complex traits: II. The power of affected relative pairs. American Journal of Human Genetics, 46, 229–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Risch, N. (1990b). Linkage strategies for genetically complex traits: I. Multilocus model. American Journal of Human Genetics, 46, 222–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Risch, N. (1990c). Linkage strategies for genetically complex traits. III. The effect of marker polymorphism on analysis of affected relative pairs. American Journal of Human Genetics, 46, 242–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Risch, N., & Merikangas, K. (1996). The future of genetic studies of complex human diseases. Science, 273, 1516–1517.

    Google Scholar 

  • Satsangi, J., Parkes, M., Louis, E., Hashimoto, L., Kato, N., Welsh, K., Terwilliger, J. D., Lathrop, G. M., Bell, J. I., Jewell, & D. P. (1996). Two stage genome-wide search for inflammatory bowel disease provides evidence for susceptibility loci on chromosome 3, 7 and 12. Nature Genetics, 14, 199–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sawcer, S., Goodfellow, P. N., & Compston, A. (1997). The genetic analysis of multiple sclerosis. Trends in Genetics, 13, 234–239.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sawcer, S., Jones, H. B., Feakes, R., Gray, J., Smaldon, N., Chataway, J., Robertson, N., Clayton, D., Goodfellow, P. N., & Compston, A. (1996). A genome screen in multiple sclerosis reveals susceptibility loci on chromosome 6p21 and 17q22. Nature Genetics, 13, 464–468.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sawcer, S., Jones, H. B., Judge, D., Visser, F., Compston, A., Goodfellow, P. N., & Clayton, D. (1997). Empirical genomewide significance levels established by whole genome simulations. Genetic Epidemiology, 14, 223–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuler, G. D., Boguski, M. S., Stewart, E. A., Stein, L. D., Gyapay, G., Rice, K., White, R. E., Rodriguez-Tome, P., Aggarwal, A., Bajorek, E., et al. (1996). A gene map of the human genome. Science, 274, 540–546.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smalley, S. L. (1997). Genetic influences in childhood-onset psychiatric disorders: Autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Human Genetics, 60, 1276–1282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smalley, S. L., Asarnow, R. F., & Spence, M. A. (1988). Autism and genetics. A decade of research. Archives of General Psychiatry, 45, 953–961.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spielman, R., McGinnis, R., & Ewens, W. (1993). Transmission test for linkage disequilibrium: The insulin gene region and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. American Journal of Human Genetics, 52, 506–516.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suarez, B. K., Hampe, C. L., & Van Eerdewegh, P. (1994). Problems of replicating linkage claims in psychiatry. In E. S. Gershon & C. R. Cloninger (Eds.), Genetic approaches to mental disorder. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Suarez, B. K., Rice, J. P., & Reich, T. (1978). The generalized sib pair IBD distribution: Its use in the detection of linkage. Annals of Human Genetics, 42, 87–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Utah-Marker-Development-Group. (1995). A collection of tetranucleotide-repeat markers from the human genome. American Journal of Human Genetics, 57, 619–628.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wada, E., Way, J., Shipira, H., Kusano, K., Lebacq-Verheyden, A., Coy, D., Jensen, R., & Battery, J. (1991). cDNA cloning, characterization and brain region-specific expression of a neuromedin-β-preferring bombesin receptor. Neuron, 6, 421–430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weeks, D. E., & Lathrop, G. M. (1995). Polygenic disease: Methods for mapping complex disease traits. Trends in Genetics, 11, 513–519.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, A. F., & Elston, R. C. (1993). Statistical validity of the Haseman-Elston sib-pair test in small samples. Genetic Epidemiology, 10, 593–598.

    Google Scholar 

  • Witte, J. S., Elston, R. C., & Schork, N. J. (1996.). Genetic dissection of complex traits. Nature Genetics, 12, 355–356.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Maestrini, E., Marlow, A.J., Weeks, D.E. et al. Molecular Genetic Investigations of Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 28, 427–437 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026056522602

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026056522602

Navigation