Multiplex polymerase chain reaction

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Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (Multiplex PCR) refers to the use of polymerase chain reaction to amplify several different DNA sequences simultaneously (as if performing many separate PCR reactions all together in one reaction). This process amplifies DNA in samples using multiple primers and a temperature-mediated DNA polymerase in a thermal cycler. The primer design for all primers pairs has to be optimized so that all primer pairs can work at the same annealing temperature during PCR.

Multiplex-PCR was first described in 1988 as a method to detect deletions in the dystrophin gene. [1] It has also been used with the steroid sulfatase gene. [2] In 2008, multiplex-PCR was used for analysis of microsatellites and SNPs. [3] In 2020, RT-PCR multiplex assays were designed that combined multiple gene targets from the Center for Diseases and Control in a single reaction to increase molecular testing accessibility and throughput for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics. [4]

Multiplex-PCR consists of multiple primer sets within a single PCR mixture to produce amplicons of varying sizes that are specific to different DNA sequences. By targeting multiple sequences at once, additional information may be gained from a single test run that otherwise would require several times the reagents and more time to perform. Annealing temperatures for each of the primer sets must be optimized to work correctly within a single reaction, and amplicon sizes, i.e., their base pair length, should be different enough to form distinct bands when visualized by gel electrophoresis. Alternatively, if amplicon sizes overlap, the different amplicons may be differentiated and visualised using primers that have been dyed with different colour fluorescent dyes. Commercial multiplexing kits for PCR are available and used by many forensic laboratories to amplify degraded DNA samples.

Applications

Some of the applications of multiplex PCR include:

  1. Pathogen Identification [5]
  2. High Throughput SNP Genotyping [6]
  3. Mutation Analysis [7]
  4. Gene Deletion Analysis [8]
  5. Template Quantitation [9]
  6. Linkage Analysis [10]
  7. RNA Detection [11]
  8. Forensic Studies [12]
  9. Diet Analysis [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polymerase chain reaction</span> Laboratory technique to multiply a DNA sample for study

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample rapidly, allowing scientists to amplify a very small sample of DNA sufficiently to enable detailed study. PCR was invented in 1983 by American biochemist Kary Mullis at Cetus Corporation. Mullis and biochemist Michael Smith, who had developed other essential ways of manipulating DNA, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993.

A microsatellite is a tract of repetitive DNA in which certain DNA motifs are repeated, typically 5–50 times. Microsatellites occur at thousands of locations within an organism's genome. They have a higher mutation rate than other areas of DNA leading to high genetic diversity. Microsatellites are often referred to as short tandem repeats (STRs) by forensic geneticists and in genetic genealogy, or as simple sequence repeats (SSRs) by plant geneticists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction</span> Laboratory technique to multiply an RNA sample for study

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a laboratory technique combining reverse transcription of RNA into DNA and amplification of specific DNA targets using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It is primarily used to measure the amount of a specific RNA. This is achieved by monitoring the amplification reaction using fluorescence, a technique called real-time PCR or quantitative PCR (qPCR). Combined RT-PCR and qPCR are routinely used for analysis of gene expression and quantification of viral RNA in research and clinical settings.

In molecular biology, an amplicon is a piece of DNA or RNA that is the source and/or product of amplification or replication events. It can be formed artificially, using various methods including polymerase chain reactions (PCR) or ligase chain reactions (LCR), or naturally through gene duplication. In this context, amplification refers to the production of one or more copies of a genetic fragment or target sequence, specifically the amplicon. As it refers to the product of an amplification reaction, amplicon is used interchangeably with common laboratory terms, such as "PCR product."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Real-time polymerase chain reaction</span> Laboratory technique of molecular biology

A real-time polymerase chain reaction is a laboratory technique of molecular biology based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It monitors the amplification of a targeted DNA molecule during the PCR, not at its end, as in conventional PCR. Real-time PCR can be used quantitatively and semi-quantitatively.

SNP genotyping is the measurement of genetic variations of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between members of a species. It is a form of genotyping, which is the measurement of more general genetic variation. SNPs are one of the most common types of genetic variation. An SNP is a single base pair mutation at a specific locus, usually consisting of two alleles. SNPs are found to be involved in the etiology of many human diseases and are becoming of particular interest in pharmacogenetics. Because SNPs are conserved during evolution, they have been proposed as markers for use in quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis and in association studies in place of microsatellites. The use of SNPs is being extended in the HapMap project, which aims to provide the minimal set of SNPs needed to genotype the human genome. SNPs can also provide a genetic fingerprint for use in identity testing. The increase of interest in SNPs has been reflected by the furious development of a diverse range of SNP genotyping methods.

Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) is a variation of the multiplex polymerase chain reaction that permits amplification of multiple targets with only a single primer pair. It detects copy number changes at the molecular level, and software programs are used for analysis. Identification of deletions or duplications can indicate pathogenic mutations, thus MLPA is an important diagnostic tool used in clinical pathology laboratories worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bisulfite sequencing</span> Lab procedure detecting 5-methylcytosines in DNA

Bisulfitesequencing (also known as bisulphite sequencing) is the use of bisulfite treatment of DNA before routine sequencing to determine the pattern of methylation. DNA methylation was the first discovered epigenetic mark, and remains the most studied. In animals it predominantly involves the addition of a methyl group to the carbon-5 position of cytosine residues of the dinucleotide CpG, and is implicated in repression of transcriptional activity.

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a single-tube technique for the amplification of DNA and a low-cost alternative to detect certain diseases that was invented in 2000 at the University of Tokyo. Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) combines LAMP with a reverse transcription step to allow the detection of RNA.

The versatility of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has led to modifications of the basic protocol being used in a large number of variant techniques designed for various purposes. This article summarizes many of the most common variations currently or formerly used in molecular biology laboratories; familiarity with the fundamental premise by which PCR works and corresponding terms and concepts is necessary for understanding these variant techniques.

High Resolution Melt (HRM) analysis is a powerful technique in molecular biology for the detection of mutations, polymorphisms and epigenetic differences in double-stranded DNA samples. It was discovered and developed by Idaho Technology and the University of Utah. It has advantages over other genotyping technologies, namely:

Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) is a high-throughput genetic marker technique that can detect allelic variations to provides comprehensive genome coverage without any DNA sequence information for genotyping and other genetic analysis. The general steps involve reducing the complexity of the genomic DNA with specific restriction enzymes, choosing diverse fragments to serve as representations for the parent genomes, amplify via polymerase chain reaction (PCR), insert fragments into a vector to be placed as probes within a microarray, then fluorescent targets from a reference sequence will be allowed to hybridize with probes and put through an imaging system. The objective is to identify and quantify various forms of DNA polymorphism within genomic DNA of sampled species.

Molecular Inversion Probe (MIP) belongs to the class of Capture by Circularization molecular techniques for performing genomic partitioning, a process through which one captures and enriches specific regions of the genome. Probes used in this technique are single stranded DNA molecules and, similar to other genomic partitioning techniques, contain sequences that are complementary to the target in the genome; these probes hybridize to and capture the genomic target. MIP stands unique from other genomic partitioning strategies in that MIP probes share the common design of two genomic target complementary segments separated by a linker region. With this design, when the probe hybridizes to the target, it undergoes an inversion in configuration and circularizes. Specifically, the two target complementary regions at the 5’ and 3’ ends of the probe become adjacent to one another while the internal linker region forms a free hanging loop. The technology has been used extensively in the HapMap project for large-scale SNP genotyping as well as for studying gene copy alterations and characteristics of specific genomic loci to identify biomarkers for different diseases such as cancer. Key strengths of the MIP technology include its high specificity to the target and its scalability for high-throughput, multiplexed analyses where tens of thousands of genomic loci are assayed simultaneously.

COLD-PCR is a modified polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol that enriches variant alleles from a mixture of wildtype and mutation-containing DNA. The ability to preferentially amplify and identify minority alleles and low-level somatic DNA mutations in the presence of excess wildtype alleles is useful for the detection of mutations. Detection of mutations is important in the case of early cancer detection from tissue biopsies and body fluids such as blood plasma or serum, assessment of residual disease after surgery or chemotherapy, disease staging and molecular profiling for prognosis or tailoring therapy to individual patients, and monitoring of therapy outcome and cancer remission or relapse. Common PCR will amplify both the major (wildtype) and minor (mutant) alleles with the same efficiency, occluding the ability to easily detect the presence of low-level mutations. The capacity to detect a mutation in a mixture of variant/wildtype DNA is valuable because this mixture of variant DNAs can occur when provided with a heterogeneous sample – as is often the case with cancer biopsies. Currently, traditional PCR is used in tandem with a number of different downstream assays for genotyping or the detection of somatic mutations. These can include the use of amplified DNA for RFLP analysis, MALDI-TOF genotyping, or direct sequencing for detection of mutations by Sanger sequencing or pyrosequencing. Replacing traditional PCR with COLD-PCR for these downstream assays will increase the reliability in detecting mutations from mixed samples, including tumors and body fluids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In silico PCR</span>

In silico PCR refers to computational tools used to calculate theoretical polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results using a given set of primers (probes) to amplify DNA sequences from a sequenced genome or transcriptome.

Multiple Annealing and Looping Based Amplification Cycles (MALBAC) is a quasilinear whole genome amplification method. Unlike conventional DNA amplification methods that are non-linear or exponential, MALBAC utilizes special primers that allow amplicons to have complementary ends and therefore to loop, preventing DNA from being copied exponentially. This results in amplification of only the original genomic DNA and therefore reduces amplification bias. MALBAC is “used to create overlapped shotgun amplicons covering most of the genome”. For next generation sequencing, MALBAC is followed by regular PCR which is used to further amplify amplicons.

Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a single tube, isothermal alternative to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). By adding a reverse transcriptase enzyme to an RPA reaction it can detect RNA as well as DNA, without the need for a separate step to produce cDNA,. Because it is isothermal, RPA can use much simpler equipment than PCR, which requires a thermal cycler. Operating best at temperatures of 37–42 °C and still working, albeit more slowly, at room temperature means RPA reactions can in theory be run quickly simply by holding a tube. This makes RPA an excellent candidate for developing low-cost, rapid, point-of-care molecular tests. An international quality assessment of molecular detection of Rift Valley fever virus performed as well as the best RT-PCR tests, detecting less concentrated samples missed by some PCR tests and an RT-LAMP test. RPA was developed and launched by TwistDx Ltd., a biotechnology company based in Cambridge, UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kompetitive allele specific PCR</span>

Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) is a homogenous, fluorescence-based genotyping variant of polymerase chain reaction. It is based on allele-specific oligo extension and fluorescence resonance energy transfer for signal generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RNase H-dependent PCR</span> Laboratory technique

RNase H-dependent PCR (rhPCR) is a modification of the standard PCR technique. In rhPCR, the primers are designed with a removable amplification block on the 3’ end. Amplification of the blocked primer is dependent on the cleavage activity of a hyperthermophilic archaeal Type II RNase H enzyme during hybridization to the complementary target sequence. This RNase H enzyme possesses several useful characteristics that enhance the PCR. First, it has very little enzymatic activity at low temperature, enabling a “hot start PCR” without modifications to the DNA polymerase. Second, the cleavage efficiency of the enzyme is reduced in the presence of mismatches near the RNA residue. This allows for reduced primer dimer formation, detection of alternative splicing variants, ability to perform multiplex PCR with higher numbers of PCR primers, and the ability to detect single-nucleotide polymorphisms.

Reverse complement polymerase chain reaction (RC-PCR) is a modification of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It is primarily used to generate amplicon libraries for DNA sequencing by next generation sequencing (NGS). The technique permits both the amplification and the ability to append sequences or functional domains of choice independently to either end of the generated amplicons in a single closed tube reaction. RC-PCR was invented in 2013 by Daniel Ward and Christopher Mattocks at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, UK.

References

  1. ↑ Chamberlain JS, Gibbs RA, Ranier JE, Nguyen PN, Caskey CT (1988). "Deletion screening of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy locus via multiplex DNA amplification". Nucleic Acids Research. 16 (23): 11141–11156. doi:10.1093/nar/16.23.11141. PMC   339001 . PMID   3205741.
  2. ↑ Ballabio A, Ranier JE, Chamberlain JS, Zollo M, Caskey CT (1990). "Screening for steroid sulfatase (STS) gene deletions by multiplex DNA amplification" (PDF). Human Genetics. 84 (6): 571–573. doi:10.1007/BF00210812. hdl: 2027.42/47626 . PMID   2338343. S2CID   18579745.
  3. ↑ Hayden MJ, Nguyen TM, Waterman A, Chalmers KJ (2008). "Multiplex-ready PCR: a new method for multiplexed SSR and SNP genotyping". BMC Genomics. 9: 80. doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-9-80 . PMC   2275739 . PMID   18282271.
  4. ↑ Perchetti, GA; Nalla, AK; Huang, ML; Jerome, KR; Greninger, AL (2020). "Multiplexing primer/probe sets for detection of SARS-CoV-2 by qRT-PCR". Journal of Clinical Virology. 129: 104499. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104499 . PMC   7278635 . PMID   32535397.
  5. ↑ Järvinen, Anna-Kaarina; Laakso, Sanna; Piiparinen, Pasi; Aittakorpi, Anne; Lindfors, Merja; Huopaniemi, Laura; Piiparinen, Heli; Mäki, Minna (2009). "Rapid identification of bacterial pathogens using a PCR- and microarray-based assay". BMC Microbiology. 9: 161. doi: 10.1186/1471-2180-9-161 . PMC   2741468 . PMID   19664269.
  6. ↑ Myakishev, M. V. (2001). "High-Throughput SNP Genotyping by Allele-Specific PCR with Universal Energy-Transfer-Labeled Primers". Genome Research. 11 (1): 163–169. doi:10.1101/gr.157901. PMC   311033 . PMID   11156625.
  7. ↑ Morlan, John; Baker, Joffre; Sinicropi, Dominick (2009). "Mutation Detection by Real-Time PCR: A Simple, Robust and Highly Selective Method". PLOS ONE. 4 (2): e4584. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.4584M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004584 . PMC   2642996 . PMID   19240792.
  8. ↑ Abbs, S; Bobrow, M (1992). "Analysis of quantitative PCR for the diagnosis of deletion and duplication carriers in the dystrophin gene". Journal of Medical Genetics. 29 (3): 191–196. doi:10.1136/jmg.29.3.191. PMC   1015896 . PMID   1552558.
  9. ↑ "Welcome | Forensic DNA Profiling Facility" (PDF).
  10. ↑ Reis, Andre (1991). "PCR in Linkage Analysis of Genetic Diseases". PCR Topics. pp. 75–79. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-75924-6_15. ISBN   978-3-540-52934-7.
  11. ↑ Miyakawa, Y.; Yoshizawa, H.; Mishiro, S.; Machida, A.; Akahane, Y.; Sugai, Y.; Tanaka, T.; Sugiyama, Y.; Okada, S.; Okamoto, H. (August 1990). "Detection of hepatitis C virus RNA by a two-stage polymerase chain reaction with two pairs of primers deduced from the 5'-noncoding region". The Japanese Journal of Experimental Medicine. 60 (4): 215–222. PMID   1963453.
  12. ↑ "DNA Evidence: Basics of Analyzing".
  13. ↑ Dunshea, Glenn (2009). "DNA-Based Diet Analysis for Any Predator". PLOS ONE. 4 (4): e5252. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.5252D. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005252 . PMC   2668750 . PMID   19390570.
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