title: The Random Oligonucleotide-Primed Synthesis Assay for the Quantification of DNA Strand Breaks.
abstract: DNA strand breaks arise from normal cellular processes such as replication, transcription, and DNA repair as well as spontaneous DNA damage caused by cell metabolic activities. In addition, strand breaks occur due to direct or indirect DNA damage produced by various abiotic and biotic stresses. Strand breaks are among the most problematic DNA lesions because unrepaired strand breaks may lead to cell cycle arrest, gross chromosome rearrangements, or even cell death. Thus, the measurement of the relative number of strand breaks can provide an informative picture of genome stability of a given cell, tissue, or organism. Here, we describe the use of random oligonucleotide-primed synthesis (ROPS) assay for the detection and quantification of the level of strand breaks in tissue samples. The applications of the assay for a quantitative detection of 3'OH, 3'P, or DNA strand breaks at a cleavage site of the deoxyribose residue are discussed.
authors: Lethbridge Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
authors: Andriy
authors: A
authors: Bilichak
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, Canada, T1K 3M4. igor.kovalchuk@uleth.ca.
authors: Igor
authors: I
authors: Kovalchuk
mesh_terms: D053960:DNA Breaks; D004260:DNA Repair; D004261:DNA Replication; D042822:Genomic Instability; D009841:Oligonucleotides
chemical_list: D009841:Oligonucleotides
keywords: DSBs; Double-strand breaks; Genome stability; ROPS; Random oligonucleotide-primed synthesis; SSBs; Single-strand breaks