NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Genomic sequencing performed as part of the BabySeq project recently revealed a puzzling variant in a newborn.

Researchers working on the project performed sequencing on the baby and identified an alteration in RYR1, a gene that codes for a protein present in skeletal muscle. Variants in this gene have been linked to congenital myopathy, a kind of muscle weakness present at birth, and RYR1 variants are also known to cause malignant hypothermia, a condition set off by anesthesia that can lead to heat stroke, infections, and even death.