Genome-wide fine-mapping improves identification of causal variants

Abstract

Fine-mapping refines genotype-phenotype association signals to identify causal variants underlying complex traits. However, current methods typically focus on individual genomic segments without considering the global genetic architecture. Here, we demonstrate the advantages of performing genome-wide fine-mapping (GWFM) and develop methods to facilitate GWFM. In simulations and real data analyses, GWFM outperforms current methods in error control, mapping power and precision, replication rate, and trans-ancestry phenotype prediction. For 48 well-powered traits in the UK Biobank, we identify causal variants that collectively explain 17% of the SNP-based heritability, and predict that fine-mapping 50% of that would require 2 million samples on average. We pinpoint a known causal variant, as proof-of-principle, at FTO for body mass index, unveil a hidden secondary variant with evolutionary conservation, and identify new missense causal variants for schizophrenia and Crohn disease. Overall, we analyse 600 complex traits with 13 million SNPs, highlighting the efficacy of GWFM with functional annotations.