Truncated amplification: a method for high-fidelity template-driven nucleic acid amplification.
The error rate of conventional PCR is problematic when amplifying from single cells or amplifying segments for protein functional analysis by in vitro translation. We describe truncated amplification, a method for high-fidelity amplification in which DNA polymerase errors are not propagated efficiently and original DNA templates exert greater influence on the amplification process. Truncated amplification utilizes pairs of oligonucleotides and thermal cycling, but it differs from PCR. Truncated amplification amplifies non-exponentially with one or two chimeric oligonucleotides and produces truncated terminal products that are no more than three rounds of replication from the original template. Exon 6 of the p53 gene was utilized as a model system to demonstrate proof of principle. Chimeric oligonucleotides containing three 3'-->5' reversed-deoxynucleotides or 2'-OMe-ribonucleotides at 6-8 nucleotides from the 3 'terminus retained sequence specificity and primer extension activity. With PfuTurbo but not with Taq or Vent (exo-) DNA polymerases, the modified nucleotides completely truncated the DNA polymerase elongation. The resulting truncated terminal products are not templates for further amplification because of the short length of the 3' complementary region. Truncated amplific ation can amplify quadratically or geometrically depending on whether two or one chimeric oligonucleotides are used. Truncated amplification is a promising approach when template-driven amplification is desired to increase thefrequency of error-free products.
Liu
Qiang
Q
City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010-3000, USA.
Swiderski
Piotr
P
Sommer
Steve S
SS
D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics*; D005091:Exons; D016158:Genes, p53 / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D011786:Quality Control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019914:Taq Polymerase / Q000235:genetics; D013698:Templates, Genetic
D017931:DNA Primers; C072146:Pfu DNA polymerase; D019914:Taq Polymerase; C070331:Tli polymerase; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase