Analysis of R-loop forming regions identifies RNU2-2 and RNU5B-1 as neurodevelopmental disorder genes

Journal article

R-loops are DNA-RNA hybrid structures that may promote mutagenesis. However, their contribution to human Mendelian disorders is unexplored. Here we show excess de novo variants in genomic regions that form R-loops (henceforth, 'R-loop regions') and demonstrate enrichment of R-loop region variants (RRVs) in ribozyme, snoRNA and snRNA genes, specifically in rare disease cohorts. Using this insight, we report neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) caused by rare variants in two major spliceosomal RNA encoding genes, RNU2-2 and RNU5B-1. These, along with the recently described RNU4-2-related ReNU syndrome, provide a genetic explanation for a substantial proportion of individuals with NDDs.

Authors: Jackson, A; Thaker, N; Blakes, A; Rice, G; Griffiths-Jones, S

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Journal: Nature Genetics
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 1362-1366
• Publication date: 2025-05-29
• DOI: 10.1038/s41588-025-02209-y
• EISSN: 1546-1718
• ISSN: 1061-4036
• Language: English
• Keywords: Mendelian inheritance; Computational biology; RNA; Non-coding RNA; Gene; Biology; Mutation; Mutagenesis; Small nuclear RNA; Genetics