Human Genome and Genomics Flashcards
Is DNA sequencing a common practice in genetics?
- The ultimate fine structure map of a gene or chromosome is its nucleotide pair sequence
- Prior to 1975 the thought of sequencing entire chromosomes was barely conceivable
- Today sequencing is a routine laboratory procedure
What DNA Sequencing procedures are there?
- There are two different procedures by which the nucleotide sequences of DNA molecules can be determined:
1. Manual sequencing
2. Automated sequencing
What are the first two steps of DNA sequencing?
- To sequence the DNA it must first be separated into two strands.
- The strand to be sequenced must be copied using chemically altered bases
What are the last two steps of DNA sequencing?
- The altered bases cause the copying process to stop each time one particular letter is incorporated into the growing DNA chain
- This process is carried out for all four bases and then the fragments are put together like a jigsaw to reveal to original piece of DNA
What is the Manual DNA sequencing based on?
Manual DNA sequencing is also known as the Sanger Dideoxy Method and it is based on three main points:
- The synthesis (using DNA polymerase) of new strands of DNA that are copied from the DNA (template) of interest
- The incorporation of 32P label (to allow detection)
- The termination of DNA synthesis at defined positions
What does the Sanger sequence start with?
- Sanger sequencing starts with DNA synthesis
- In DNA synthesis the 3’ OH group is required for the formation of the phosphodiester bond to join the next base
- In the presence of this free 3’-OH you going to keep getting elongation
What happens in the Sanger sequence if there is no 3’-OH group?
- If that 3’ OH-group is not present (ie. the base incorporated is a 2’3’- dideoxy-ribonucleotide) then the synthesis of the new DNA chain will terminate
- Instead of the 3’-OH there will be a 2’,3’-dideoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (there will be two oxygen’s missing)
What is the first step in the process of Sanger sequencing?
- The first step is to set up four DNA polymerisation reactions in four separate tubes that contain the following components:
- > Template strand
- > Primer strand
- > DNA Polymerase
- > dGTP, dATP, dTTP, 32P-dCTP
What is the second step in the process of Sanger sequencing?
- Add one of the four 2’3’-dideoxy-ribonucleoside triphosphate chain terminators to each of the four reaction mixtures
What are steps 3-6 in the process of Sanger sequencing?
- Denature the reaction products
- Load them on a polyacrylamide gel
- Separate the products based on size by gel electorphoresis
- Expose the gel to x-ray film
What does the “32P” mean?
- The 32P in front of a base pair or a singular base means that that base is radio-labelled, which means that it is missing a 3’-OH (also, when writing the 32P remember that the 32 is an integer and so it is actually ^32P)
What is the general procedure for Automated DNA sequencing?
- Similar in principle to the manual Sanger sequencing method
- Each ddNTP has a different fluorescent tag attached (instead of radio-labelling dNTP’s )
- All four reactions are loaded in the same lane on the gel (because all the different bases have a different fluorescent colour they can all be done at the same time in the same tube)
- A fluorescent detector analyses the position of each fluorescent tag as they pass through the gel or capillary tube
- Software manipulates the data to give a print out
Study the diagrams for DNA synthesis in Sanger sequencing, Process of Sanger sequencing and Automated DNA Sequencing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Nzo4FTzXCbwOZjpoc_J_4IF3gsOXPcoyC2BowELmx0U/edit?usp=sharing
What is Genomics?
- Branch of molecular biology concerned with the structure, function, evolution, and mapping of genomes.
How was characterisation of genes in a genome initially performed and why was it limited in humans?
- Identifying or generating mutants
- Generating linkage maps using these mutant strains
- This approach is limited in humans, ie. limited to linkage mapping of inherited or spontaneously acquired mutations with clear phenotypes
What techniques were used instead of the initial characterisation of genes in a genome approach?
- In the 1980’s, researchers began using recombinant DNA techniques to map chromosomes
- Resulted in the assignment of about 3,500 markers and genes to human chromosomes
- The coupling of recombinant DNA techniques and automated DNA sequencing accelerated the study of the human genome (Genomics)
How did the Human genome project begin?
- The Human Genome Project (public endeavor) was launched in 1990, and was estimated to cost $3 billion and take 15 years
- Initially focused on generating detailed physical and genetic maps of the human genome
- Development of automated sequencing techniques and establishment of International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium (IHGSC) made large-scale sequencing possible
- The IHGSC group used a map-based approach to sequencing the genome
Who was Craig Venter?
- In 1998, Craig Venter (Celera Genomics) announced a private bid to sequence the human genome
- Venter proposed a shotgun sequencing approach he claimed would be quicker than the map-based approach
What was the shotgun sequencing approach?
- Shotgun sequencing is the method that was used by the privet genome project
- It requires multiple copies of the genome (Human) which are effectively blown up into millions of little fragments
- Each fragment is then sequenced
- The small fragments are assembled using an immense amount of computer power to match overlapping sections
What is the draw back of the shotgun approach?
- The draw back of this approach comes when dealing with repeat sequences. Often there is no way of knowing how long the repeat sequence is, or in which of the many possible different positions the fragments overlap
- Even the incredibly powerful software used to shotgun sequence the human genome couldn’t cope with this.
- Celera, the private company which relied on this approach had to use the public data to fill in the gaps left by the repeats