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Whole Exome and Targeted Sequencing in Tourette Syndrome Multiplex Families

This study consists of 771 individuals from 15 extended, multi-generational Tourette Syndrome (TS) pedigrees collected by the Tourette Syndrome Association International Consortium for Genetics (TSAICG), 213 of whom are affected either with TS or its broader, genetically related phenotype, chronic tic disorder (CT). Prior microsatellite linkage analysis, including 624 individuals from these families, has identified a genome-wide significant TS/CT susceptibility locus on chromosome 2p21-24 with two additional loci meeting criteria for suggestive linkage on chromosomes 6p12-21 and 17p11-q11. Subsequent joint linkage and association analysis, incorporating genome-wide SNP genotyping on the Illumina Hap610 platform from 221 individuals, has strengthened the evidence for a major TS/CT locus on chromosome 2p but did not refine the locus further. In addition, haplotype analyses suggest that multiple TS/CT loci may exist on the short arm of chromosome 2.

The goal of the current sequencing study is to use exon-focused sequencing, supplemented with targeted sequencing of additional known functional elements on chromosome 2p, to identify susceptibility variants contributing to the highly penetrant TS/CT phenotype in these families.