Octamer-primed sequencing technology: development of primer identification software

Octamer sequencing technology (OST) is a primer-directed sequencing strategy in which an individual octamer primer is selected from a pre-synthesized octamer primer library and used to sequence a DNA fragment. However, selecting candidate primers from such a library is time consuming and can be a bottleneck in the sequencing process. To accelerate the sequencing process and to obtain high quality sequencing data, a computer program, electronic OST or eOST, was developed to automatically identify candidate primers from an octamer primer library. eOST integrates the base calling software PHRED to provide a quality assessment for target sequences and identifies potential primer binding sites located within a high quality target region. To increase the sequencing success rate, eOST includes a simple dynamic folding algorithm to automatically calculate the free energy and predict the secondary structure within the template in the vicinity of the octamer-binding site. Several parameters were found to be important, including base quality threshold, the window size of the template sequence segment, and the threshold ΔG value. OST, coupled with the eOST software, can be used to sequence short DNA fragments or in the finishing assembly stage of large-scale sequencing of genomic DNA.     

Octamer-primed sequencing technology: effects of dNTP supplementation

Octamer-primed sequencing is a directed DNA sequencing strategy that employs the use of a presynthesized octamer primer library. Together with electronic octamer sequencing technology (eOST) it provides a faster, less expensive way to obtain DNA sequence information and can be used as a valuable tool for gap closure in large-scale genomic sequencing. In this paper we discuss the effect of dGTP/TTP supplementation on octamer sequencing. We show that addition of 75 µM dGTP and 5 µM TTP can improve the sequencing success rate by increasing the length and accuracy of generated sequence information. We also discuss the effect of template base composition immediately downstream of the octamer primer on the outcome of octamer sequencing.     

The use of tailed octamer primers for cycle sequencing.

Studies have been carried out on the use of octamer oligonucleotides tailed with different base analogues as primers in cycle sequencing reactions. 5-Nitroindole tails improved the performance as primers of a number of octamers. A tail length of three or four 5-nitroindole residues significantly increased the sequencing signal intensity for almost all primers. The use of incomplete libraries of tailed octamer primers for primer walking is discussed.     

An optimized kit-free method for making strand-specific deep sequencing libraries from RNA fragments

Deep sequencing of strand-specific cDNA libraries is now a ubiquitous tool for identifying and quantifying RNAs in diverse sample types. The accuracy of conclusions drawn from these analyses depends on precise and quantitative conversion of the RNA sample into a DNA library suitable for sequencing. Here, we describe an optimized method of preparing strand-specific RNA deep sequencing libraries from small RNAs and variably sized RNA fragments obtained from ribonucleoprotein particle footprinting experiments or fragmentation of long RNAs. Our approach works across a wide range of input amounts (400 pg to 200 ng), is easy to follow and produces a library in 2–3 days at relatively low reagent cost, all while giving the user complete control over every step. Because all enzymatic reactions were optimized and driven to apparent completion, sequence diversity and species abundance in the input sample are well preserved.     

Library Preparation and Multiplex Capture for Massive Parallel Sequencing Applications Made Efficient and Easy

During the recent years, rapid development of sequencing technologies and a competitive market has enabled researchers to perform massive sequencing projects at a reasonable cost. As the price for the actual sequencing reactions drops, enabling more samples to be sequenced, the relative price for preparing libraries gets larger and the practical laboratory work becomes complex and tedious. We present a cost-effective strategy for simplified library preparation compatible with both whole genome- and targeted sequencing experiments. An optimized enzyme composition and reaction buffer reduces the number of required clean-up steps and allows for usage of bulk enzymes which makes the whole process cheap, efficient and simple. We also present a two-tagging strategy, which allows for multiplex sequencing of targeted regions. To prove our concept, we have prepared libraries for low-pass sequencing from 100 ng DNA, performed 2-, 4- and 8-plex exome capture and a 96-plex capture of a 500 kb region. In all samples we see a high concordance (>99.4%) of SNP calls when comparing to commercially available SNP-chip platforms.     

A Colony Multiplex Quantitative PCR-Based 3S3DBC Method and Variations of It for Screening DNA Libraries

A DNA library is a collection of DNA fragments cloned into vectors and stored individually in host cells, and is a valuable resource for molecular cloning, gene physical mapping, and genome sequencing projects. To take the best advantage of a DNA library, a good screening method is needed. After describing pooling strategies and issues that should be considered in DNA library screening, here we report an efficient colony multiplex quantitative PCR-based 3-step, 3-dimension, and binary-code (3S3DBC) method we used to screen genes from a planarian genomic DNA fosmid library. This method requires only 3 rounds of PCR reactions and only around 6 hours to distinguish one or more desired clones from a large DNA library. According to the particular situations in different research labs, this method can be further modified and simplified to suit their requirements.     

Dideoxy linear PCR on a commercial fluorescent automated DNA sequencer.

The use of automated fluorescent DNA sequencer systems and PCR-based DNA sequencing methods play an important role in the actual effort to improve the efficiency of large-scale DNA analysis. Here we show the application of the linear PCR using a single fluorescent primer and dideoxynucleotide terminators in four separate sequencing reactions on the EMBL/Pharmacia's fluorescent automated DNA sequencer. We have used dideoxy/deoxynucleoside triphosphate ratios and linear amplification cycle conditions to obtain an accurate sequencing response of up to, and over, 500 bases from just 400 ng of double-stranded DNA template without chemical denaturation. The sequencing protocol described in this paper is effectively suited for enhancement of sensitivity and performance of the automated DNA sequencing system.     

Oligosaccharyltransferase isoforms that contain different catalytic STT3 subunits have distinct enzymatic properties

Oligosaccharyltransferase (OST) is an integral membrane protein that catalyzes N-linked glycosylation of nascent proteins in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. Although the yeast OST is an octamer assembled from nonhomologous subunits (Ost1p, Ost2p, Ost3p/Ost6p, Ost4p, Ost5p, Wbp1p, Swp1p, and Stt3p), the composition of the vertebrate OST was less well defined. The roles of specific OST subunits remained enigmatic. Here we show that genomes of most multicellular eukaryotes encode two homologs of Stt3p and mammals express two homologs of Ost3p. The Stt3p and Ost3p homologs are assembled together with the previously described mammalian OST subunits (ribophorins I and II, OST48, and DAD1) into complexes that differ significantly in enzymatic activity. Tissue and cell type-specific differences in expression of the Stt3p homologs suggest that the enzymatic properties of oligosaccharyltransferase are regulated in eukaryotes to respond to alterations in glycoprotein flux through the secretory pathway and may contribute to tissue-specific glycan heterogeneity.     

Application of partial restriction procedure in both shotgun and non-random strategies for nucleotide sequencing

Partial digestion of a target DNA fragment with 4-bp-recognition restriction enzymes followed by a forced ligation to an M13 vector was employed for the construction of a subfragment library. The library can be used for either shotgun or non-random nucleotide sequencing. Application of the partial digests generated with the 4-bp recognition restriction enzymes instead of DNase I in the improved non-random strategy for nucleotide sequencing (Li and Wu, 1987) made the procedure as easy as that of the random strategy. The library can also be used in shotgun nucleotide sequencing directly, and few self-ligated subfragments were found. The usefulness of this procedure was demonstrated by the sequencing of a goat 6.5-kb EcoRI fragment, which is located 5' to the globin gene.     

Optimized multiplex PCR: efficiently closing a whole-genome shotgun sequencing project

A new method has been developed for rapidly closing a large number of gaps in a whole-genome shotgun sequencing project. The method employs multiplex PCR and a novel pooling strategy to minimize the number of laboratory procedures required to sequence the unknown DNA that falls in between contiguous sequences. Multiplex sequencing, a novel procedure in which multiple PCR primers are used in a single sequencing reaction, is used to interpret the multiplex PCR results. Two protocols are presented, one that minimizes pipetting and another that minimizes the number of reactions. The pipette optimized multiplex PCR method has been employed in the final phases of closing the Streptococcus pneumoniae genome sequence, with excellent results.     

A versatile and simplified non-random strategy for nucleotide sequencing

We describe a versatile and simplified non-random strategy for nucleotide sequencing. This procedure avoids exposure of the vector DNA to endo- or exonucleases during construction of the subfragment library. The advantages resulting from this strategy are: (1) minimal manipulation in construction of the subfragment library, (2) no need for compatible restriction sites, (3) no insert size limitation, (4) can be used with both chemical and enzymatic sequencing methods. Hence, the procedure provides simplicity, universality and versatility for non-random nucleotide sequencing. We demonstrate the usefulness of this procedure by obtaining the nucleotide sequence of a goat 3.7-kb EcoRI fragment, which is 5' of the epsilon globin gene.     

Deletion of mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1 attenuates neuronal loss and improves locomotor function in a mouse model of spinal cord trauma

Natural product-inspired libraries of molecules with diverse architectures have evolved as one of the most useful tools for discovering lead molecules for drug discovery. In comparison to conventional combinatorial libraries, these molecules have been inferred to perform better in phenotypic screening against complicated targets. Diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) is a forward directional strategy to access such multifaceted library of molecules. From a successful DOS campaign of a natural product-inspired library, recently a small molecule with spiroindoline motif was identified as a potent anti-breast cancer compound. Herein we report the subcellular studies performed for this molecule on breast cancer cells. Our investigation revealed that it repositions microtubule cytoskeleton and displaces AKAP9 located at the microtubule organization centre. DNA ladder assay and cell cycle experiments further established the molecule as an apoptotic agent. This work further substantiated the amalgamation of DOS-phenotypic screening-sub-cellular studies as a consolidated blueprint for the discovery of potential pharmaceutical drug candidates.     

An efficient strategy for large-scale high-throughput transposon-mediated sequencing of cDNA clones

We describe an efficient high-throughput method for accurate DNA sequencing of entire cDNA clones. Developed as part of our involvement in the Mammalian Gene Collection full-length cDNA sequencing initiative, the method has been used and refined in our laboratory since September 2000. Amenable to large scale projects, we have used the method to generate >7 Mb of accurate sequence from 3695 candidate full-length cDNAs. Sequencing is accomplished through the insertion of Mu transposon into cDNAs, followed by sequencing reactions primed with Mu-specific sequencing primers. Transposon insertion reactions are not performed with individual cDNAs but rather on pools of up to 96 clones. This pooling strategy reduces the number of transposon insertion sequencing libraries that would otherwise be required, reducing the costs and enhancing the efficiency of the transposon library construction procedure. Sequences generated using transposon-specific sequencing primers are assembled to yield the full-length cDNA sequence, with sequence editing and other sequence finishing activities performed as required to resolve sequence ambiguities. Although analysis of the many thousands (22 785) of sequenced Mu transposon insertion events revealed a weak sequence preference for Mu insertion, we observed insertion of the Mu transposon into 1015 of the possible 1024 5mer candidate insertion sites.     

Phylogenetic screening of a bacterial,metagenomic library using homing endonuclease restriction and marker insertion

Metagenomics provides access to the uncultured majority of the microbial world. The approaches employed in this field have, however, had limited success in linking functional genes to the taxonomic or phylogenetic origin of the organism they belong to. Here we present an efficient strategy to recover environmental DNA fragments that contain phylogenetic marker genes from metagenomic libraries. Our method involves the cleavage of 23S ribsosmal RNA (rRNA) genes within pooled library clones by the homing endonuclease I-CeuI followed by the insertion and selection of an antibiotic resistance cassette. This approach was applied to screen a library of 6500 fosmid clones derived from the microbial community associated with the sponge Cymbastela concentrica. Several fosmid clones were recovered after the screen and detailed phylogenetic and taxonomic assignment based on the rRNA gene showed that they belong to previously unknown organisms. In addition, compositional features of these fosmid clones were used to classify and taxonomically assign a dataset of environmental shotgun sequences. Our approach represents a valuable tool for the analysis of rapidly increasing, environmental DNA sequencing information.     

Combining bleach and mild predigestion improves ancient DNA recovery from bones

The feasibility of genome‐scale studies from archaeological material remains critically dependent on the ability to access endogenous, authentic DNA. In the majority of cases, this represents a few per cent of the DNA extract, at most. A number of specific pre‐extraction protocols for bone powder aimed to improve ancient DNA recovery before library amplification have recently been developed. Here, we test the effects of combining two of such protocols, a bleach wash and a predigestion step, on 12 bone samples of Atlantic cod and domestic horse aged 750–1350 cal. years before present. Using high‐throughput sequencing, we show that combined together, bleach wash and predigestion consistently yield DNA libraries with higher endogenous content than either of these methods alone. Additionally, the molecular complexity of these libraries is improved and endogenous DNA templates show larger size distributions. Other library characteristics, such as DNA damage profiles or the composition of microbial communities, are little affected by the pre‐extraction protocols. Application of the combined protocol presented in this study will facilitate the genetic analysis of an increasing number of ancient remains and will reduce the cost of whole‐genome sequencing.     

PCR-based unidirectional deletion method for creation of comprehensive cDNA libraries

A new strategy for the rapid creation of DNA deletion libraries using a simple PCR-based method is presented. Unidirectional deletion fragments are created and may be cloned into any vector system without the constraint of using restriction enzymes. Our strategy combines methodologies from DNA sequencing, PCR, and homologous recombination (either in vivo or in vitro) to allow for the creation of a library containing fragments representing all possible deletions of a given cDNA. Using this strategy we have successfully constructed a deletion library of the cDNA encoding for the lumenal domain of yeast Ire1p, and have shown that resulting fragments range from 100 bp to the full length cDNA (1557 bp). This method is simple, inexpensive, and can easily be adapted for automated high-throughput research.