Sensitive Profiling Technique Detects DNA Variations

By Biotechdaily staff writers
Posted on 06 Aug 2004

Researchers using a highly sensitive DNA profiling technique have found that the DNA of normal individuals varies to a larger extent than had been previously found using other methods.

Investigators at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (NY, USA) employed a technique called representational oligonucleotide microarray analysis or ROMA to map the DNA from 20 normal individuals from a variety of geographic backgrounds. ROMA inserts a probe into the DNA every 35 kilobases.

A report published in the July 23, 2004, issue of Science revealed that the sensitive ROMA technique detected 76 large-scale copy number polymorphisms (CNPs). On average, individuals differed by 11 CNPs, and the average length of a CNP interval was 465 kilobases. Copy number variations were found for 70 different genes within CNP intervals, including genes involved in neurologic function, regulation of cell growth, regulation of metabolism, and several genes known to be associated with disease.

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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory