PUBLICATION

A genotyping method combining primer competition PCR with HRM analysis to identify point mutations in Duchenne animal models

Authors
Lasa-Fernandez, H., Mosqueira-Martín, L., Alzualde, A., Lasa-Elgarresta, J., Vallejo-Illarramendi, A.
ID
ZDB-PUB-201020-15
Date
2020
Source
Scientific Reports   10: 17224 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Alzualde, Ainhoa
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Birefringence
  • Disease Models, Animal*
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
  • Genotyping Techniques/methods*
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Inbred mdx
  • Molecular Diagnostic Techniques/methods*
  • Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne/genetics*
  • Point Mutation*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
33057138 Full text @ Sci. Rep.
Abstract
Dystrophin-null sapje zebrafish is an excellent model for better understanding the pathological mechanisms underlying Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and it has recently arisen as a powerful tool for high-throughput screening of therapeutic candidates for this disease. While dystrophic phenotype in sapje larvae can be easily detected by birefringence, zebrafish genotyping is necessary for drug screening experiments, where the potential rescue of larvae phenotype is the primary outcome. Genotyping is also desirable during colony husbandry since heterozygous progenitors need to be selected. Currently, sapje zebrafish are genotyped through techniques involving sequencing or multi-step PCR, which are often costly, tedious, or require special equipment. Here we report a simple, precise, cost-effective, and versatile PCR genotyping method based on primer competition. Genotypes can be resolved by standard agarose gel electrophoresis and high-resolution melt assay, the latter being especially useful for genotyping a large number of samples. Our approach has shown high sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility in detecting the A/T point mutation in sapje zebrafish and the C/T mutation in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne. Hence, this method can be applied to other single nucleotide substitutions and may be further optimized to detect small insertions and deletions. Given its robust performance with crude DNA extracts, our strategy may be particularly well-suited for detecting single nucleotide variants in poor-quality samples such as ancient DNA or DNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded material.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping