Clinical Validation of Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing for Inherited Disorders

Context.— Although next-generation sequencing (NGS) can revolutionize molecular diagnostics, several hurdles remain in the implementation of this technology in clinical laboratories. Objectives.— To validate and implement an NGS panel for genetic diagnosis of more than 100 inherited diseases, such as neurologic conditions, congenital hearing loss and eye disorders, developmental disorders, nonmalignant diseases treated by hematopoietic cell transplantation, familial cancers, connective tissue disorders, metabolic disorders, disorders of sexual development, and cardiac disorders. The diagnostic gene panels ranged from 1 to 54 genes with most of panels containing 10 genes or fewer. Design.— We used a liquid hybridization–based, target-enrichment strategy to enrich 10 067 exons in 568 genes, followed by NGS with a HiSeq 2000 sequencing system (Illumina, San Diego, California). Results.— We successfully sequenced 97.6% (9825 of 10 067) of the targeted exons to obtain a minimum coverage of 20× at all bases. We...