MseqDR consortium: a grass-roots effort to establish a global resource aimed to empower genomic studies of mitochondrion diseases

The success of whole exome sequencing (WES) for highly heterogeneous disorders, such as mitochondrial disease, is limited by substantial technical and bioinformatics challenges to correctly identify and prioritize the extensive number of sequence variants present in each patient. The likelihood of success can be greatly improved if a large cohort of patient data is assembled in which sequence variants can be systematically analysed, annotated, and interpreted relative to known phenotype. This effort has engaged and united more than 100 international mitochondrial clinicians, researchers, and bioinformaticians in the Mitochondrial Disease Sequence Data Resource (MSeqDR) consortium that formed in June 2012 to identify and prioritize the specific WES data analysis needs of the global mitochondrial disease community. Through regular web-based meetings, we have familiarized ourselves with existing strengths and gaps facing integration of MSeqDR with public resources, as well as the major practical, technical, and ethical challenges that must be overcome to create a sustainable data resource. We have now moved forward toward our common goal by establishing a central data resource (http://mseqdr.org/) that has both public access and secure web-based features that allow the coherent compilation, organization, annotation, and analysis of WES and mtDNA genome data sets generated in both clinical- and research-based settings of suspected mitochondrial disease patients. The most important aims of the MSeqDR consortium are summarized in the MSeqDR portal within the Consortium overview sections. Consortium participants are organized in 3 working groups that include (1) Technology and Bioinformatics; (2) Phenotyping, databasing, IRB concerns and access; and (3) Mitochondrial DNA specific concerns. The online MSeqDR resource is organized into discrete sections to facilitate data deposition and common reannotation, data visualization, data set mining, and access management. With the support of the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) and the NINDS/NICHD U54 supported North American Mitochondrial Disease Consortium (NAMDC), the MSeqDR prototype has been built. Current major components include common data upload and reannotation using a novel HBCR based annotation tool that has also been made publicly available through the website, MSeqDR GBrowse that allows ready visualization of all public and MSeqDR specific data including lab-specific aggregate data visualization tracks, MSeqDR-LSDB instance of nearly 1250 mitochondrial disease and mitochodnrial localized genes that is based on the Locus Specific Database model, exome data set mining in individuals or families using the GEM.app tool, and Account & Access Management. Within MSeqDR GBrowse it is now possible to explore data derived from MitoMap, HmtDB, ClinVar, UCSC-NumtS, ENCODE, 1000 genomes, and many other resources that bioinformaticians recruited to the project are organizing. Phenotype data entry and integration tools are being developed, as well as data protection and informed consent processes to enable global deposition of genomic data into MSeqDR from individuals with suspected mitochondrial disease.