sequence capture

The technology “sequence capture” enables fast and accurate enrichment of thousands of selected genomic regions, either contiguous or dispersed, such as segments of chromosomes or all genes or exons.

The study, entitled “Direct Selection of Human Genomic Loci by Microarray Hybridization,” was published in the journal Nature Methods.

It is a highly efficient and cost-effective method for capturing targeted regions of the genome via NimbleChip™ microarrays in preparation for high-throughput 454 Sequencing™.

High-density microarrays are used for the enrichment of specific sequences from the human genome for high-throughput sequencing.

After capture of 6,726 approximately 500-base ’exon’ segments, and of ’locus-specific’ regions ranging in size from 200 kb to 5 Mb, followed by sequencing on a 454 Life Sciences FLX sequencer, most sequence reads represented selection targets.

These direct selection methods supersede multiplex PCR for the large-scale analysis of genomic regions.

Sequence capture process is simpler, more accurate, more efficient and more cost-effective than the multiplex PCR that was previously used to prepare genomic samples for sequencing.

In one experiment, more than 6,700 exons (the part of the genetic code that together form genes), were enriched and analyzed, as well as contiguous genomic regions of up to 5 million bases.

References

 Albert TJ, Molla MN, Muzny DM, Nazareth L, Wheeler D, Song X, Richmond TA, Middle CM, Rodesch MJ, Packard CJ, Weinstock GM, Gibbs RA. Direct selection of human genomic loci by microarray hybridization. Nat Methods. 2007 Nov;4(11):903-5. PMID: 17934467