Use of a competitive probe in assay design for genotyping of the UGT1A1 *28 microsatellite polymorphism by the smart amplification process

Biotechniques. 2007 Oct;43(4):479-84. doi: 10.2144/000112563.

Abstract

A key feature of the smart amplification process version 2 (SMAP-2) is the ability to suppress mismatch amplification by using a unique asymmetric primer design and Thermus aquaticus MutS (Taq MutS). However we report here that use of SMAP-2 for polymorphism determination of the UGT1A1 *28 allele required a further ancillary approach for complete background suppression. The UGT1A1 *28 allele is a microsatellite copy number polymorphism. This is the first reported SMAP-2 assay designed for genotyping genetic variations of microsatellites. We found that by the addition of a primer to the amplification reaction, called a competitive probe (CP), assay specificity could be significantly enhanced. Including sample preparation time and use of a CP-enhanced SMAP-2 assay, we could rapidly detect the UGT1A1 *28 polymorphism within 60 min. To test our method, we compared results from PCR sequencing and the CP-enhanced SMAP-2 assay on 116 human blood samples for UGT1A1 *28 polymorphism and demonstrated perfect concordance. These results illustrate the versatility of SMAP-2 for molecular diagnostics and provide a new approach for enhancing SMAP-2 assay specificity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Technical Report

MeSH terms

  • Biological Assay / methods*
  • DNA Probes / genetics*
  • Genotype
  • Glucuronosyltransferase / genetics*
  • Microsatellite Repeats / genetics*
  • Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / methods*
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / genetics*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA / methods*

Substances

  • DNA Probes
  • UGT1A1 enzyme
  • Glucuronosyltransferase