Exploring the unique characteristics of genes with dual autosomal dominant and recessive inheritance: mechanisms, phenotypes and candidate identification

Abstract

Background: Autosomal dominant (AD) inheritance often arises through haploinsufficiency, dominant-negative or gain of function (GoF) effects, while autosomal recessive (AR) inheritance generally results from partial or complete loss of function (LoF). Yet, a subset of genes demonstrates both inheritance patterns. We aimed to curate a list of such 'AD/AR' genes and to propose additional candidates.

Methods: AD/AR genes were subcategorised based on genotype-phenotype correlations and disease mechanisms. Using bioinformatic analyses, we compared genes with AD, AR and AD/AR inheritance across various metrics, including gnomAD constraint values, exon count, protein length, quaternary structure and gene ontology terms. A machine learning-based metric was used to account for interdependence among features.

Results: Pathogenic variants in AD/AR genes can lead to distinct or similar phenotypes, depending on the molecular mechanism. AD/AR genes exhibit unique bioinformatic properties such as intermediate constraint scores, a combination of gene ontology terms, a greater average number of exons and an elevated propensity to form homomeric/heteromeric proteins. We identified homozygous LoF or clinically reported variants in nine genes previously classified as AD only.

Conclusion: Collectively, the data suggest that AD/AR genes possess distinctive features that likely underpin their dual inheritance modes. We propose nine candidate AD/AR genes and emphasise caution in filtering by inheritance type alone.

Keywords: exome sequencing; genetic variation; genetics, medical; genotype; phenotype.