Nanopore sequencing of complex genomic rearrangements in yeast reveals mechanisms of repeat-mediated double-strand break repair

  1. Sergei M. Mirkin1
  1. 1Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, USA;
  2. 2Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
  • Corresponding author: sergei.mirkin{at}tufts.edu
  • Abstract

    Improper DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair results in complex genomic rearrangements (CGRs) in many cancers and various congenital disorders in humans. Trinucleotide repeat sequences, such as (GAA)n repeats in Friedreich's ataxia, (CTG)n repeats in myotonic dystrophy, and (CGG)n repeats in fragile X syndrome, are also subject to double-strand breaks within the repetitive tract followed by DNA repair. Mapping the outcomes of CGRs is important for understanding their causes and potential phenotypic effects. However, high-resolution mapping of CGRs has traditionally been a laborious and highly skilled process. Recent advances in long-read DNA sequencing technologies, specifically Nanopore sequencing, have made possible the rapid identification of CGRs with single base pair resolution. Here, we have used whole-genome Nanopore sequencing to characterize several CGRs that originated from naturally occurring DSBs at (GAA)n microsatellites in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These data gave us important insights into the mechanisms of DSB repair leading to CGRs.

    Footnotes

    • [Supplemental material is available for this article.]

    • Article published online before print. Article, supplemental material, and publication date are at http://www.genome.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gr.228148.117.

    • Freely available online through the Genome Research Open Access option.

    • Received July 21, 2017.
    • Accepted October 26, 2017.

    This article, published in Genome Research, is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International), as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

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