Standardized phenotyping enhances Mendelian disease gene identification.

Whole-exome sequencing has revolutionized the identification of genes with dominant disease-associated variants for rare clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders, but the identification of genes with recessive disease-associated variants has been less successful. A new study now provides a framework integrating Mendelian variant filtering with statistical assessments of patients' genotypes and phenotypes, thereby catalyzing the discovery of novel mutations associated with recessive disease.