Resuspension of DNA sequencing reaction products in agarose increases sequence quality on an automated sequencer

We are investigating approaches to increase DNA sequencing quality. Since a majorfactor in sequence generation is the cost of reagents and sample preparations, we have developed and optimized methods to sequence directly plasmid DNA isolated from alkaline lysis preparations. These methods remove the costly PCR and post-sequencing purification steps but can result in low sequence quality when using standard resuspension protocols on some sequencing platforms. This work outlines a simple, robust, and inexpensive resuspension protocol for DNA sequencing to correct this shortcoming. Resuspending the sequenced products in agarose before electrophoresis results in a substantial and reproducible increase in sequence quality and read length over resuspension in deionized water and has allowed us to use the aforementioned sample preparation methods to cut considerably the overall sequencing costs without sacrificing sequence quality. We demonstrate that resuspension of unpurified sequence products generated from template DNA isolated by a modified alkaline lysis technique in low concentrations of agarose yields a 384% improvement in sequence quality compared to resuspension in deionized water. Utilizing this protocol, we have produced more than 74,000 high-quality, long-read-length sequences from plasmid DNA template on the MegaBACET 1000 platform.     

一种新型的基于图像的DNA序列可视化模型

传统的DNA序列可视化模型局限于短DNA序列的可视化,并且缺乏对可视化图形的通用分析方法。因此,文章提出了一种基于图像的DNA序列可视化模型,这种模型通过将一维的DNA序列转换为二维的256色的灰度图像,可以实现长DNA序列的可视化,具有很高的空间紧密性。借助成熟的图像处理方法来分析DNA可视化图像,可以获取原始DNA序列的规模、4种不同碱基的分布、无序程度等重要信息。通过比较不同DNA序列的可视化图像,可以获取这些序列的相似性信息。     

Seamless gene engineering using RNA- and DNA-overhang cloning

Here we describe two methods for generating DNA fragments with single-stranded overhangs, like those generated by the activity of many restriction enzymes, by simple methods that do not involve DNA digestion. The methods, RNA-overhang cloning (ROC) and DNA-overhang cloning (DOC), generate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products composed of double-stranded (ds) DNA flanked by single-stranded (ss) RNA or DNA overhangs. The overhangs can be used to recombine DNA fragments at any sequence location, creating "perfect" chimeric genes composed of DNA fragments that have been joined without the insertion, deletion, or alteration of even a single base pair. The ROC method entails using PCR primers that contain regions of RNA sequence that cannot be copied by certain thermostable DNA polymerases. Using such a chimeric primer in PCR would yield a product with a 5' overhang identical to the sequence of the RNA component of the primer, which can be used for directional ligation of the amplified product to other preselected DNA molecules. This method provides complete control over both the length and sequence of the overhangs, and eliminates the need for restriction enzymes as tools for gene engineering.     

基于DTW距离的DNA序列相似性分析

在DNA序列相似性的研究中,通常采用的动态规划算法对空位罚分函数缺乏理论依据而带有主观性,从而取得不同的结果,本文提出了一种基于DTW（Dynamic Time Warping,动态时间弯曲）距离的DNA序列相似性度量方法可以解决这一问题．通过DNA序列的图形表示把DNA序列转化为时间序列,然后计算DTW距离来度量序列相似度以表征DNA序列属性,得到能够比较DNA序列相似性度量方法,并用这个方法比较分析了七种东亚钳蝎神经毒素（Buthusmartensi Karsch neurotoxin）基因序列的相似性,验证了该度量方法的有效性和准确性．     

Detecting and Estimating Contamination of Human DNA Samples in Sequencing and Array-Based Genotype Data

DNA sample contamination is a serious problem in DNA sequencing studies and may result in systematic genotype misclassification and false positive associations. Although methods exist to detect and filter out cross-species contamination, few methods to detect within-species sample contamination are available. In this paper, we describe methods to identify within-species DNA sample contamination based on (1) a combination of sequencing reads and array-based genotype data, (2) sequence reads alone, and (3) array-based genotype data alone. Analysis of sequencing reads allows contamination detection after sequence data is generated but prior to variant calling; analysis of array-based genotype data allows contamination detection prior to generation of costly sequence data. Through a combination of analysis of in silico and experimentally contaminated samples, we show that our methods can reliably detect and estimate levels of contamination as low as 1%. We evaluate the impact of DNA contamination on genotype accuracy and propose effective strategies to screen for and prevent DNA contamination in sequencing studies.     

DNA序列分析用于常见致病真菌鉴定和分型

随着真菌感染的增多,仅用表型方法鉴定环境中或临床上的致病真菌不足以快速准确地诊断真菌感染疾病,近年来,分子生物学方法因快速、准确而逐步得到应用,其中DNA序列分析已成为鉴定致病真菌到种水平的重要方法。现就DNA序列分析在常见致病真菌分类鉴定及基因分型的应用加以综述。     

Application of discrete Fourier inter-coefficient difference for assessing genetic sequence similarity

Digital signal processing (DSP) techniques for biological sequence analysis continue to grow in popularity due to the inherent digital nature of these sequences. DSP methods have demonstrated early success for detection of coding regions in a gene. Recently, these methods are being used to establish DNA gene similarity. We present the inter-coefficient difference (ICD) transformation, a novel extension of the discrete Fourier transformation, which can be applied to any DNA sequence. The ICD method is a mathematical, alignment-free DNA comparison method that generates a genetic signature for any DNA sequence that is used to generate relative measures of similarity among DNA sequences. We demonstrate our method on a set of insulin genes obtained from an evolutionarily wide range of species, and on a set of avian influenza viral sequences, which represents a set of highly similar sequences. We compare phylogenetic trees generated using our technique against trees generated using traditional alignment techniques for similarity and demonstrate that the ICD method produces a highly accurate tree without requiring an alignment prior to establishing sequence similarity.     

DNA条形码分析方法研究进展

DNA条形码是一段短的、标准化的DNA序列,DNA条形码技术通过对DNA条形码序列分析实现物种的有效鉴定.随着生物DNA条形码序列的大量测定,DNA条形码分析方法得到迅速发展,推动了其在生物分子鉴定中的应用.2003年以来,DNA条形码技术已广泛应用于动物、植物和真菌等物种的鉴定,并有力地推动了生物分类学、生物多样性和生态学等学科的发展.本文在综述DNA条形码技术的基础上,总结了5类主要的DNA条形码分析方法,即基于遗传距离的分析、基于遗传相似度的分析、基于系统发育树的分析、基于序列特征的分析和基于统计分类法的分析,并进一步展望了DNA条形码技术的发展与应用.     

A fast method for arranging DNA sequence fragments

A method is described which allows efficient arrangement of DNA sequence fragments and, based on this arrangement, reconstruction of a complete DNA sequence. The concepts and algorithms used are based on the mathematical theory of graphs. The amount of human interaction required is considerably reduced compared to existing methods. An experiment with a set of 168 fragments yields a DNA sequence of about 5800 bases almost automatically.     

谱分析在DNA序列分析中的应用

目的：谱分析是信号处理的常用方法,其中的统计相关分析、傅里叶变换、小波变换和数字滤波等手段已逐渐应用到DNA序列的分析中,这些应用包括DNA序列的周期性分析、基因识别和同源性分析等方面。本文对谱分析方法在DNA序列分析中的应用情况进行简单的综述。     

Regional variation and function of nucleotide and amino acid sequence

Two methods of qualitative analysis of sequence distribution in DNA and protein are presented. The first method is based on the finding that the frequency of occurrence of each nucleotide in a defined sequence with functional significance more or less deviates from uniform distribution. The deviation found in this defined sequence seems to parallel the function of this sequence. In the second method, two model compounds (trypsin and its inhibitor) have been used to see the topological fit between their local structures. Acrophilicity parameter for amino acid was used to construct the topological structure. Both methods may find practical application in algorithms to design functional DNA and protein molecules.     

New method for yeast identification using Burrows-Wheeler transform

The explosive growth in biological data in recent years has led to the development of new methods to identify DNA sequences. Many algorithms have recently been developed that search DNA sequences looking for unique DNA sequences. This paper considers the application of the Burrows-Wheeler transform (BWT) to the problem of unique DNA sequence identification. The BWT transforms a block of data into a format that is extremely well suited for compression. This paper presents a time-efficient algorithm to search for unique DNA sequences in a set of genes. This algorithm is applicable to the identification of yeast species and other DNA sequence sets.     

鳗弧菌毒力质粒DNA序列的测定

采用亚克隆法与引物步移法相结合的测序战略 ,对海洋鱼类重要病原菌鳗弧菌毒力质粒pEIB1进行序列测定 ,测得整个质粒序列长度为 6 6 16 4bp。序列的初步分析结果表明 ,G C含量为 4 2 .7% ,共有 4 4个可读框 (ORF) ,其中包括与铁载体合成、调节、运输以及质粒复制相关的基因。     

New rapid methods for DNA sequencing based in exonuclease III digestion followed by repair synthesis.

We describe improve enzymatic methods for sequencing method for sequencing DNA. They are based on partial digestion of duplex DNA with exonuclease III to produce DNA molecules with 3' ends shortened to varying lengths, followed by repair synthesis to extend and label the 3' ends. After asymmetrical cleavage of the DNA with a restriction enzyme, the labeled products are separated by gel electrophoresis and the sequence read from the autoradiogram. The entire procedures, beginning with unrestricted DNA and followed through gel electrophoresis, takes only one day for sequencing both strands of the DNA molecule. These methods are especially suitable for sequencing DNA cloned in plasmid vectors, and they greatly extend the usefulness of the dideoxynucleotide chain termination method of Sanger et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74, 5463, 1977). Using these methods we have determined the sequence of a 410 base pair fragment which includes the yeast SUP3 tyrosine tRNA gene.     

APEX disease gene resequencing: mutations in exon 7 of the p53 tumor suppressor gene.

Detection of mutations in disease genes will be a significant application of genomic research. Methods for detecting mutations at the single nucleotide level are required in highly mutated genes such as the tumor suppressor p53. Resequencing of an individual patient's DNA by conventional Sanger methods is impractical, calling for novel methods for sequence analysis. Toward this end, an arrayed primer extension (APEX) method for identifying sequence alterations in primary DNA structure was developed. A two-dimensional array of immobilized primers (DNA chip) was fabricated to scan p53 exon 7 by single bases. Primers were immobilized with 200 microm spacing on a glass support. Oligonucleotide templates of length 72 were used to study individual APEX resequencing reactions. A template-dependent DNA polymerase extension was performed on the chip using fluorescein-labeled dideoxynucleotides (ddNTPs). Labeled primers were evanescently excited and the induced fluorescence was imaged by CCD. The average signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) observed was 30:1. Software was developed to analyze high-density DNA chips for sequence alterations. Deletion, insertion, and substitution mutations were detected. APEX can be used to scan for any mutation (up to two-base insertions) in a known region of DNA by fabricating a DNA chip comprising complementary primers addressing each nucleotide in the wild-type sequence. Since APEX is a parallel method for determining DNA sequence, the time required to assay a region is independent of its length. APEX has a high level of accuracy, is sequence-based, and can be miniaturized to analyze a large DNA region with minimal reagents.     

Direct Chloroplast Sequencing: Comparison of Sequencing Platforms and Analysis Tools for Whole Chloroplast Barcoding

Direct sequencing of total plant DNA using next generation sequencing technologies generates a whole chloroplast genome sequence that has the potential to provide a barcode for use in plant and food identification. Advances in DNA sequencing platforms may make this an attractive approach for routine plant identification. The HiSeq (Illumina) and Ion Torrent (Life Technology) sequencing platforms were used to sequence total DNA from rice to identify polymorphisms in the whole chloroplast genome sequence of a wild rice plant relative to cultivated rice (cv. Nipponbare). Consensus chloroplast sequences were produced by mapping sequence reads to the reference rice chloroplast genome or by de novo assembly and mapping of the resulting contigs to the reference sequence. A total of 122 polymorphisms (SNPs and indels) between the wild and cultivated rice chloroplasts were predicted by these different sequencing and analysis methods. Of these, a total of 102 polymorphisms including 90 SNPs were predicted by both platforms. Indels were more variable with different sequencing methods, with almost all discrepancies found in homopolymers. The Ion Torrent platform gave no apparent false SNP but was less reliable for indels. The methods should be suitable for routine barcoding using appropriate combinations of sequencing platform and data analysis.     

FIMO: scanning for occurrences of a given motif

A motif is a short DNA or protein sequence that contributes to the biological function of the sequence in which it resides. Over the past several decades, many computational methods have been described for identifying, characterizing and searching with sequence motifs. Critical to nearly any motif-based sequence analysis pipeline is the ability to scan a sequence database for occurrences of a given motif described by a position-specific frequency matrix. RESULTS: We describe Find Individual Motif Occurrences (FIMO), a software tool for scanning DNA or protein sequences with motifs described as position-specific scoring matrices. The program computes a log-likelihood ratio score for each position in a given sequence database, uses established dynamic programming methods to convert this score to a P-value and then applies false discovery rate analysis to estimate a q-value for each position in the given sequence. FIMO provides output in a variety of formats, including HTML, XML and several Santa Cruz Genome Browser formats. The program is efficient, allowing for the scanning of DNA sequences at a rate of 3.5 Mb/s on a single CPU. Availability and Implementation: FIMO is part of the MEME Suite software toolkit. A web server and source code are available at http://meme.sdsc.edu.     

Random Priming PCR Strategies for Identification of Multilocus DNA Polymorphism in Eukaryotes

A historical review of the advent and improvement of the methods for detecting multilocus DNA polymorphism that do not require preliminary knowledge of the individual gene and complete genome sequences of eukaryotes is presented. The first group of these methods includes approaches based on the use of primers with arbitrary sequence (random priming). Another group of methods to detect DNA polymorphism is based on the use of primers that consist of short repetitive sequences having anchor nucleotides at the 5'- or 3'-ends that position the annealing sites of these primers (microsatellite priming). Another approach for revealing polymorphism that does not require knowledge of the DNA sequence is based on cleavage of total DNA by a combination of restriction endonucleases (random cleavage) accompanied by PCR amplification. Considerable attention is paid to the opportunities of using these approaches to detect DNA polymorphism in the form of converting the obtained data to digital format and creation of integrative databases for all organisms, regardless of the methods used.     

One-pot DNA construction for synthetic biology: the Modular Overlap-Directed Assembly with Linkers (MODAL) strategy

Overlap-directed DNA assembly methods allow multiple DNA parts to be assembled together in one reaction. These methods, which rely on sequence homology between the ends of DNA parts, have become widely adopted in synthetic biology, despite being incompatible with a key principle of engineering: modularity. To answer this, we present MODAL: a Modular Overlap-Directed Assembly with Linkers strategy that brings modularity to overlap-directed methods, allowing assembly of an initial set of DNA parts into a variety of arrangements in one-pot reactions. MODAL is accompanied by a custom software tool that designs overlap linkers to guide assembly, allowing parts to be assembled in any specified order and orientation. The in silico design of synthetic orthogonal overlapping junctions allows for much greater efficiency in DNA assembly for a variety of different methods compared with using non-designed sequence. In tests with three different assembly technologies, the MODAL strategy gives assembly of both yeast and bacterial plasmids, composed of up to five DNA parts in the kilobase range with efficiencies of between 75 and 100%. It also seamlessly allows mutagenesis to be performed on any specified DNA parts during the process, allowing the one-step creation of construct libraries valuable for synthetic biology applications.