Identification of point mutations by mispairing PCR as exemplified in MERRF disease

The point mutation in the tRNA(Lys) gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from patients with myoclonic epilepsy and ragged red fibers (MERRF) was quantitatively analyzed after digestion with the restriction endonuclease Nae I of the PCR amplified DNA. Since the point mutation is not part of a restriction site for a commonly available restriction endonuclease, the Nae I restriction site was introduced by PCR using a mispairing primer. The percentage of mutated mtDNA was determined in a few hairs of five members of an affected family by counting the radioactivity of the fragments after PCR amplification with labelled dATP.