Large-scale sequencing efforts link the new gene to the risk of Crohn's disease

An international consortium of researchers has identified 10 new genes

Led by scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT, Harvard University and the Wikon Sanger Institute, the International Consortium for Genetics of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IIBDGC) surveyed more than 100,000 participants

Broad's geneticist and institute member Mark Daly co-led the study

Christine Stevens, one of the study's first authors, said: "This alliance is truly collaborative, which makes all of this possible

GWAS found

Crohn's disease is an inflammation of the digestive tract that can lead to uncomfortable, debilitating symptoms and can even lead to anemia, kidney stones, and potential colorectal cancer

To complement the GWAS study, researchers often use exome sequencing, which reveals rare variants that GWAS may not detect and pinpoints specific genes and genetic variants

With this approach, Daly's team identified 6 genes that were not previously thought to be associated

The team also found four genes located near noncoding regions previously discovered by GWAS, providing additional evidence

Parallel studies

As Daly and his team continue to collect data in Crohn's study, they are also working on a new sequencing effort that will include people of non-European ancestry who are not well represented in genetic studies

For example, Huang is working with researchers in Japan, South Korea and China to study genes

Others are studying the biological function

"Our research team collaborates in real time so that functional studies always overlap with genetic studies