DCDC2 is associated with reading disability and modulates neuronal development in the brain

Abstract

DYX2 on 6p22 is the most replicated reading disability (RD) locus. By saturating a previously identified peak of association with single nucleotide polymorphism markers, we identified a large polymorphic deletion that encodes tandem repeats of putative brain-related transcription factor binding sites in intron 2 of DCDC2 . Alleles of this compound repeat are in significant disequilibrium with multiple reading traits. RT-PCR data show that DCDC2 localizes to the regions of the brain where fluent reading occurs, and RNA interference studies show that down-regulation alters neuronal migration. The statistical and functional studies are complementary and are consistent with the latest clinical imaging data for RD. Thus, we propose that DCDC2 is a candidate gene for RD.