Single primer-mediated polymerase chain reaction: application in cloning of two different 5'-untranslated sequences of acidic fibroblast growth factor mRNA.

Polymerase chain reactions (PCR) are used to generate specific DNA sequences from minute amounts of DNA templates using a pair of oligonucleotide primers. To amplify regions of unknown sequence, methods such as inverted PCR, Alu PCR, and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) have been developed. These methods require several enzymatic manipulations of DNA which are either tedious or only suitable for certain special conditions. We have explored the possibility of PCR using a single primer. This method takes advantage of the fact that partial complementarity provides sufficient affinity for the oligonucleotide primer to anneal to a secondary, imperfect binding site. Thus, no modification of DNA template was required for the single primer-mediated PCR. We have used this method to generate two different aFGF cDNA clones containing different 5'-untranslated sequences.     

DNA聚合酶与引物/模板的相互作用对PCR效率的影响

PCR是体外酶促合成特异DNA片段的一种方法,引物的优劣直接关系到PCR的特异性与成功与否。传统的PCR引物设计软件基本上忽略了DNA聚合酶与引物/模板的亲和性对PCR效率的影响。为揭示DNA聚合酶与引物/模板的相互作用是否对PCR的效率有影响,通过构建Taq DNA 聚合酶与不同序列引物/模板DNA相互作用的三维结构模型,采用MM/GBSA方法计算复合物的结合自由能,以结合自由能为参数,为人血清白蛋白基因(Human Serum Albumin gene,HSA gene)和结核杆菌pyrF基因(Mycobacterium tuberculosis pyrF gene)设计了PCR引物。PCR实验结果表明,引物的PCR效率与结合自由能相关：引物与聚合酶的结合自由能越低,PCR实验的效率相对越高。这说明DNA聚合酶与引物/模板的相互作用对PCR效率有重要影响。因此,引物/模板DNA与聚合酶的结合自由能可以作为PCR引物设计的新参数。     

PCR-based accurate synthesis of long DNA sequences

Here we describe a simple and rapid method for assembly and PCR-based accurate synthesis (PAS) of long DNA sequences. The PAS protocol involves the following five steps: (i) design of the DNA sequence to be synthesized and of 60-bp overlapping oligonucleotides to cover the entire DNA sequence; (ii) purification of the oligonucleotides by PAGE; (iii) first PCR, to synthesize DNA fragments of 400-500 bp in length using 10 inner (template) and two outer (primer) oligonucleotides; (iv) second PCR, to assemble the products of the first PCR into the full-length DNA sequence; and (v) cloning and verification of the synthetic DNA by sequencing and, if needed, error correction using an overlap-extension PCR technique. This method, which takes approximately 1 wk, is suitable for synthesizing diverse types of long DNA molecule. We have successfully synthesized DNA fragments from 0.5 to 12.0 kb, with high G+C content, repetitive sequences or complex secondary structures. The PAS protocol therefore provides a simple, rapid, reliable and relatively inexpensive method for synthesizing long, accurate DNA sequences.     

Rapid amplification of genomic ends (RAGE) as a simple method to clone flanking genomic DNA

This report describes the amplification of upstream genomic sequences using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based solely on downstream DNA information from a cDNA clone. In this novel and rapid technique, genomic DNA (gDNA) is first incubated with a restriction enzyme that recognizes a site within the 5′ end of a gene, followed by denaturation and polyadenylation of its free 3′ ends with terminal transferase. The modified gDNA is then used as template for PCR using a gene-specific primer complementary to a sequence in the 3′ end of its cDNA and an anchored deoxyoligothymidine primer. A second round of PCR is then performed with a second, nested gene-specific primer and the anchor sequence primer. The resulting PCR product is cloned and its sequence determined. Three independent plant genomic clones were isolated using this method that exhibited complete sequence identity to their cDNAs and to the primers used in the amplification.     

Blocking primers to enhance PCR amplification of rare sequences in mixed samples – a case study on prey DNA in Antarctic krill stomachs

Background

Identification of DNA sequence diversity is a powerful means for assessing the species present in environmental samples. The most common molecular strategies for estimating taxonomic composition depend upon PCR with universal primers that amplify an orthologous DNA region from a range of species. The diversity of sequences within a sample that can be detected by universal primers is often compromised by high concentrations of some DNA templates. If the DNA within the sample contains a small number of sequences in relatively high concentrations, then less concentrated sequences are often not amplified because the PCR favours the dominant DNA types. This is a particular problem in molecular diet studies, where predator DNA is often present in great excess of food-derived DNA.

Results

We have developed a strategy where a universal PCR simultaneously amplifies DNA from food items present in DNA purified from stomach samples, while the predator's own DNA is blocked from amplification by the addition of a modified predator-specific blocking primer. Three different types of modified primers were tested out; one annealing inhibiting primer overlapping with the 3' end of one of the universal primers, another annealing inhibiting primer also having an internal modification of five dI molecules making it a dual priming oligo, and a third elongation arrest primer located between the two universal primers. All blocking primers were modified with a C3 spacer. In artificial PCR mixtures, annealing inhibiting primers proved to be the most efficient ones and this method reduced predator amplicons to undetectable levels even when predator template was present in 1000 fold excess of the prey template. The prey template then showed strong PCR amplification where none was detectable without the addition of blocking primer. Our method was applied to identifying the winter food of one of the most abundant animals in the world, the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba. Dietary item DNA was PCR amplified from a range of species in krill stomachs for which we had no prior sequence knowledge.

Conclusion

We present a simple, robust and cheap method that is easily adaptable to many situations where a rare DNA template is to be PCR amplified in the presence of a higher concentration template with identical PCR primer binding sites.     

Development of a versatile cassette for directional genome walking using cassette ligation-mediated PCR and its application in the cloning of complete lipolytic genes from Bacillus species

Since the invention of the PCR technology, adaptation techniques to clone DNA fragments flanking the known sequence continue to be developed. We describe a perfectly annealed cassette available in almost unlimited quantities with variable sticky-and blunt-end restriction enzyme recognition sites for efficient restriction and ligation with the restricted target genomic DNA. The cassette provides a 200-bp sequence, which is used to design a variety of cassette-specific primers. The dephosphorylation prevents cassette self-ligation and creates a nick at the cassette: target genome DNA ligation site suppressing unspecific PCR amplifications. We introduce the single-strand amplification PCR (SSA-PCR) technique where a lone known locus-specific primer is firstly used to enrich the targeted template DNA strand resulting in significant PCR product specificity during the second round conventional nested PCR. The distance between the known locus-specific primer and the nearest location of the restriction enzyme used determined the length of the obtained PCR product. We used this technique to walk downstream into the isochorismatase and upstream into the hypothetical conserved genes flanking the mature extracellular lipase gene from Bacillus licheniformis. We further demonstrated the potential of the technique as a cost-effective method during PCR-based prospecting for novel genes by designing "universal" degenerate primers that detected homologues of Family VII bacterial lipolytic genes in Bacillus species. The cassette ligation-mediated PCR was used to clone complete nucleotide sequences encoding functional lipolytic genes from B. licheniformis and Bacillus pumilus.     

Production of random DNA oligomers for scalable DNA computing

While remarkably complex networks of connected DNA molecules can form from a relatively small number of distinct oligomer strands, a large computational space created by DNA reactions would ultimately require the use of many distinct DNA strands. The automatic synthesis of this many distinct strands is economically prohibitive. We present here a new approach to producing distinct DNA oligomers based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of a few random template sequences. As an example, we designed a DNA template sequence consisting of a 50-mer random DNA segment flanked by two 20-mer invariant primer sequences. Amplification of a dilute sample containing about 30 different template molecules allows us to obtain around 10¹¹ copies of these molecules and their complements. We demonstrate the use of these amplicons to implement some of the vector operations that will be required in a DNA implementation of an analog neural network.     

Label-free amperometric immunosensor for the detection of human serum chorionic gonadotropin based on nanoporous gold and graphene

Identifying a good transgenic event from the pool of putative transgenics is crucial for further characterization. In transgenic plants, the transgene can integrate in either single or multiple locations by disrupting the endogenes and/or in heterochromatin regions causing the positional effect. Apart from this, to protect the unauthorized use of transgenic plants, the signature of transgene integration for every commercial transgenic event needs to be characterized. Here we show an affinity-based genome walking method, named locus-finding (LF) PCR (polymerase chain reaction), to determine the transgene flanking sequences of rice plants transformed by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. LF PCR includes a primary PCR by a degenerated primer and transfer DNA (T-DNA)-specific primer, a nested PCR, and a method of enriching the desired amplicons by using a biotin-tagged primer that is complementary to the T-DNA. This enrichment technique separates the single strands of desired amplicons from the off-target amplicons, reducing the template complexity by several orders of magnitude. We analyzed eight transgenic rice plants and found the transgene integration loci in three different chromosomes. The characteristic illegitimate recombination of the Agrobacterium sp. was also observed from the sequenced integration loci. We believe that the LF PCR should be an indispensable technique in transgenic analysis.     

细菌基因组重复序列PCR技术及其应用

细菌中散在分布的DNA重复序列近年来不断被报道,基因外重复回文序列和肠细菌基因间共有重复序列是两个典型的原核细胞基因组散在重复序列。重复序列在染色体上的分布和拷贝数具种间特异性,用它们的互补序列作为引物,以细菌基因组DNA为模板进行PCR扩增反应,反应产物的琼脂糖电泳可以提供非常清晰的DNA指纹图谱,使用此图谱既可对各种微生物进行快速分型及鉴定,又可对它们进行DNA水平上的遗传多样性分析。细菌基因组重复序列PCR技术具有简捷、快速、结果稳定等特点,可对细菌进行分子标记,用于菌株分型、分类鉴定和亲缘关系等方面的研究。     

Isolation and characterization of five rice telomere-associated sequences

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Rapid amplification of genomic DNA ends bynla III partial digestion and polynucleotide tailing

We report a simple and efficient method, which combines restriction endonuclease digestion and deoxynucleotide tailing, for cloning unknown genomic sequences adjacent to a known sequence. Total genomic DNA is partially digested with the frequent-cutting restriction enzymeNla III. A homo-oligomeric cytosine tail is added by terminal transferase. The tailed DNA fragments are used as the template for cloning flanking regions from all sequences of interest. A first round PCR amplification is performed with a gene-specific primer and the selective (modified polyguanine) anchor primer complementary to the cytosine tail and theNla III recognition site, with a universal amplification primer sequence at its 5′ end. This is followed by another PCR amplification with a nested gene-specific primer and the universal amplification primer. Finally, the amplified products are fractionated, cloned, and sequenced. Using this method, we cloned the upstream region of a salt-induced gene based upon a partial cDNA clone (RSC5-U) obtained from sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.).     

Annealing control primer system for improving specificity of PCR amplification

A novel primer designed to improve the specificity of PCR amplification, called the annealing control primer (ACP), comprises a tripartite structure with a polydeoxyinosine [poly(dI)] linker between the 3' end target core sequence and the 5' end nontarget universal sequence. We show that this ACP linker prevents annealing of the 5' end nontarget sequence to the template and facilitates primer hybridization at the 3' end to the target sequence at specific temperatures, resulting in a dramatic improvement of annealing specificity. The effect of this linker is demonstrated by the incorporation of ACP sequences as primers during the amplification of target nucleotide sequence and as hybridization probes in the genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms. This is the first report to show that a poly(dI) linker between two different sequences of ACP forms a bubble-like structure and disrupts or destabilizes DNA duplex formation at certain annealing temperatures.     

Analysis of duck hepatitis B virus reverse transcription indicates a common mechanism for the two template switches during plus-strand DNA synthesis

The synthesis of the hepadnavirus relaxed circular DNA genome requires two template switches, primer translocation and circularization, during plus-strand DNA synthesis. Repeated sequences serve as donor and acceptor templates for these template switches, with direct repeat 1 (DR1) and DR2 for primer translocation and 5'r and 3'r for circularization. These donor and acceptor sequences are at, or near, the ends of the minus-strand DNA. Analysis of plus-strand DNA synthesis of duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) has indicated that there are at least three other cis-acting sequences that make contributions during the synthesis of relaxed circular DNA. These sequences, 5E, M, and 3E, are located near the 5' end, the middle, and the 3' end of minus-strand DNA, respectively. The mechanism by which these sequences contribute to the synthesis of plus-strand DNA was unclear. Our aim was to better understand the mechanism by which 5E and M act. We localized the DHBV 5E element to a short sequence of approximately 30 nucleotides that is 100 nucleotides 3' of DR2 on minus-strand DNA. We found that the new 5E mutants were partially defective for primer translocation/utilization at DR2. They were also invariably defective for circularization. In addition, examination of several new DHBV M variants indicated that they too were defective for primer translocation/utilization and circularization. Thus, this analysis indicated that 5E and M play roles in both primer translocation/utilization and circularization. In conjunction with earlier findings that 3E functions in both template switches, our findings indicate that the processes of primer translocation and circularization share a common underlying mechanism.     

通过PCR进行长片段DNA的合成

利用PCR合成DNA长片段(Synthesis Large Frament DNA using PCR,SLFD PCR)是一种有效的合成长片段DNA的方法。采用一段已知的500～600bp碱基的DNA片段为PCR模板,根据所要合成的DNA序列可以设计一系列的PCR引物,这些引物都位于模板DNA的5’端,长度为50～60bp,且从5’到3’方向顺序重叠,重叠碱基数目为12～15,全部引物叠加所得到的DNA正是自己所要合成的DNA。这组引物中最3’端的一条含有一个BamH Ⅰ酶切位点,在该位点后面有15碱基与模板DNA5’端一致的序列。另外还设计一条与该模板匹配的下游引物,引物内也含有一个BamH Ⅰ酶切位点。首先采用5’端最右侧的引物与下游引物进行PCR,在PCR进行10个循环后,以此次PCR的产物为下一轮PCR的模板,该轮PCR采用右侧倒数第二个引物为上游引物,下游引物保持不变。采用类似的方法,完成所有的PCR循环,就可以得到所需要合成的DNA长片段。该方法尤其适合100～200碱基左右的长片段DNA的快速合成与克隆。     

A new genotyping method for detecting low abundance single nucleotide mutations based on gap ligase chain reaction and quantitative PCR assay

We tested applicability of a new genotyping technique to detect a low abundance CD17 (A → T) mutation of β-globin gene. The technique utilized a combined gap ligase chain reaction (Gap-LCR) and quantitative PCR (qPCR) methods. One pair of Gap-LCR primers was modified by adding specific sequences to the 5′ end of the upstream and the 3′ end of the downstream primer which served as a combining sequence for qPCR. First, specific mutation is detected using Gap-LCR; then, ligation products are detected by qPCR. Our results show that the amount of LCR products is directly proportional to the amount of template DNA. We further demonstrate that this technique detects a low abundance mutant DNA with a mutant/normal allele ratio as low as 1:10000. This technique was applied to detect a paternally inherited CD17 mutation from 53 maternal plasma samples. The results were consistent with those obtained by PCR/reverse dot blot of amniotic fluid cell DNA. In conclusion, by combining Gap-LCR and qPCR technology we successfully established a highly sensitive technique to detect low abundance point mutations. This technique can be applied to detect fetal DNA point mutation in maternal plasma.     

疱疹病毒定量PCR的建立

A single pair of oligonucleatide primer selected within a highly conserved region of the DNA polymerase gene in herpesviruses was synthesized. The competitive template DNA purified from cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA was used to carry out competiitve PCR amplification with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) DNA (target sequences). And anti-HSV1 effects of acyclovir (ACV) was investigated by the method.The results showed that the efficacy of PCR amplification was equal to each other(the ratio of the quantity of c…     

Deconstructing the Polymerase Chain Reaction: Understanding and Correcting Bias Associated with Primer Degeneracies and Primer-Template Mismatches

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is sensitive to mismatches between primer and template, and mismatches can lead to inefficient amplification of targeted regions of DNA template. In PCRs in which a degenerate primer pool is employed, each primer can behave differently. Therefore, inefficiencies due to different primer melting temperatures within a degenerate primer pool, in addition to mismatches between primer binding sites and primers, can lead to a distortion of the true relative abundance of targets in the original DNA pool. A theoretical analysis indicated that a combination of primer-template and primer-amplicon interactions during PCR cycles 3–12 is potentially responsible for this distortion. To test this hypothesis, we developed a novel amplification strategy, entitled “Polymerase-exonuclease (PEX) PCR”, in which primer-template interactions and primer-amplicon interactions are separated. The PEX PCR method substantially and significantly improved the evenness of recovery of sequences from a mock community of known composition, and allowed for amplification of templates with introduced mismatches near the 3’ end of the primer annealing sites. When the PEX PCR method was applied to genomic DNA extracted from complex environmental samples, a significant shift in the observed microbial community was detected. Furthermore, the PEX PCR method provides a mechanism to identify which primers in a primer pool are annealing to target gDNA. Primer utilization patterns revealed that at high annealing temperatures in the PEX PCR method, perfect match annealing predominates, while at lower annealing temperatures, primers with up to four mismatches with templates can contribute substantially to amplification. The PEX PCR method is simple to perform, is limited to PCR mixes and a single exonuclease step which can be performed without reaction cleanup, and is recommended for reactions in which degenerate primer pools are used or when mismatches between primers and template are possible.