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Extreme clustering of type-1 NF1 deletion breakpoints co-locating with G-quadruplex forming sequences

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Abstract

The breakpoints of type-1 NF1 deletions encompassing 1.4-Mb are located within NF1-REPa and NF1-REPc, which exhibit a complex structure comprising different segmental duplications in direct and inverted orientation. Here, we systematically assessed the proportion of type-1 NF1 deletions caused by nonallelic homologous recombination (NAHR) and those mediated by other mutational mechanisms. To this end, we analyzed 236 unselected type-1 deletions and observed that 179 of them (75.8%) had breakpoints located within the NAHR hotspot PRS2, whereas 39 deletions (16.5%) had breakpoints located within PRS1. Sixteen deletions exhibited breakpoints located outside of these NAHR hotspots but were also mediated by NAHR. Taken together, the breakpoints of 234 (99.2%) of the 236 type-1 NF1 deletions were mediated by NAHR. Thus, NF1-REPa and NF1-REPc are strongly predisposed to recurrent NAHR, the main mechanism underlying type-1 NF1 deletions. We also observed a non-random overlap between type-1 NF1-deletion breakpoints and G-quadruplex forming sequences (GQs) as well as regions flanking PRDM9A binding-sites. These findings imply that GQs and PRDM9A binding-sites contribute to the clustering of type-1 deletion breakpoints. The co-location of both types of sequence was at its highest within PRS2, indicative of their synergistic contribution to the greatly increased NAHR activity within this hotspot.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Grant KE 724/12-2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Human Genetics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany

    Anna Summerer, Josef Högel & Hildegard Kehrer-Sawatzki

  2. Department of Neurology, University Hospital Hamburg Eppendorf, 20246, Hamburg, Germany

    Victor-Felix Mautner

  3. Institute of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK

    Meena Upadhyaya & David N. Cooper

  4. Center for Medical Genetics Ghent, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium

    Kathleen B. M. Claes

  5. Department of Genetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA

    Ludwine Messiaen

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  1. Anna Summerer
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  2. Victor-Felix Mautner
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  3. Meena Upadhyaya
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  4. Kathleen B. M. Claes
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  5. Josef Högel
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  7. Ludwine Messiaen
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  8. Hildegard Kehrer-Sawatzki
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Correspondence to Hildegard Kehrer-Sawatzki.

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Summerer, A., Mautner, VF., Upadhyaya, M. et al. Extreme clustering of type-1 NF1 deletion breakpoints co-locating with G-quadruplex forming sequences. Hum Genet 137, 511–520 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-018-1904-1

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