@article {440, title = {Matchmaker Exchange.}, journal = {Curr Protoc Hum Genet}, volume = {95}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 10 18}, pages = {9.31.1-9.31.15}, abstract = {

In well over half of the individuals with rare disease who undergo clinical or research next-generation sequencing, the responsible gene cannot be determined. Some reasons for this relatively low yield include unappreciated phenotypic heterogeneity; locus heterogeneity; somatic and germline mosaicism; variants of uncertain functional significance; technically inaccessible areas of the genome; incorrect mode of inheritance investigated; and inadequate communication between clinicians and basic scientists with knowledge of particular genes, proteins, or biological systems. To facilitate such communication and improve the search for patients or model organisms with similar phenotypes and variants in specific candidate genes, we have developed the Matchmaker Exchange (MME). MME was created to establish a federated network connecting databases of genomic and phenotypic data using a common application programming interface (API). To date, seven databases can exchange data using the API (GeneMatcher, PhenomeCentral, DECIPHER, MyGene2, matchbox, Australian Genomics Health Alliance Patient Archive, and Monarch Initiative; the latter included for model organism matching). This article guides usage of the MME for rare disease gene discovery. {\textcopyright} 2017 by John Wiley \& Sons, Inc.

}, keywords = {Animals, Computational Biology, Databases, Genetic, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genomics, Humans, Rare Diseases, Software, Web Browser}, issn = {1934-8258}, doi = {10.1002/cphg.50}, author = {Sobreira, Nara L M and Arachchi, Harindra and Buske, Orion J and Chong, Jessica X and Hutton, Ben and Foreman, Julia and Schiettecatte, Fran{\c c}ois and Groza, Tudor and Jacobsen, Julius O B and Haendel, Melissa A and Boycott, Kym M and Hamosh, Ada and Rehm, Heidi L} } @article {105, title = {Gene discovery for Mendelian conditions via social networking: de novo variants in KDM1A cause developmental delay and distinctive facial features.}, journal = {Genet Med}, volume = {18}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 08}, pages = {788-95}, abstract = {

PURPOSE: The pace of Mendelian gene discovery is slowed by the "n-of-1 problem"-the difficulty of establishing the causality of a putatively pathogenic variant in a single person or family. Identification of an unrelated person with an overlapping phenotype and suspected pathogenic variant in the same gene can overcome this barrier, but it is often impeded by lack of a convenient or widely available way to share data on candidate variants/genes among families, clinicians, and researchers.

METHODS: Social networking among families, clinicians, and researchers was used to identify three children with variants of unknown significance in KDM1A and similar phenotypes.

RESULTS: De novo variants in KDM1A underlie a new syndrome characterized by developmental delay and distinctive facial features.

CONCLUSION: Social networking is a potentially powerful strategy to discover genes for rare Mendelian conditions, particularly those with nonspecific phenotypic features. To facilitate the efforts of families to share phenotypic and genomic information with each other, clinicians, and researchers, we developed the Repository for Mendelian Genomics Family Portal (RMD-FP; http://uwcmg.org/$\#$/family). Design and development of MyGene2 (http://www.mygene2.org), a Web-based tool that enables families, clinicians, and researchers to search for gene matches based on analysis of phenotype and exome data deposited into the RMD-FP, is under way.Genet Med 18 8, 788-795.

}, keywords = {Child, Child, Preschool, Databases, Factual, Developmental Disabilities, Female, Genetic Association Studies, Histone Demethylases, Humans, Information Dissemination, Male, Mutation, Missense, Phenotype, Social Networking, Web Browser}, issn = {1530-0366}, doi = {10.1038/gim.2015.161}, author = {Chong, Jessica X and Yu, Joon-Ho and Lorentzen, Peter and Park, Karen M and Jamal, Seema M and Tabor, Holly K and Rauch, Anita and Saenz, Margarita Sifuentes and Boltshauser, Eugen and Patterson, Karynne E and Nickerson, Deborah A and Bamshad, Michael J} }