An algorithm for the determination and quantification of components of nucleic acid mixtures based on single sequencing reaction

Background: Determination and quantification of nucleic acid components in a mixture is usually accomplished by microarray approaches, where the mixtures are hybridized against specific probes. As an alternative, we propose here that a single sequencing reaction from a mixture of nucleic acids holds enough information to potentially distinguish the different components, provided it is known which components can occur in the mixture. Results: We describe an algorithm that is based on a set of linear equations which can be solved when the sequencing profiles of the individual components are known and when the number of sequenced nucleotides is larger than the number of components in the mixture. We have implemented the procedure for one type of sequencing approach, pyrosequencing, which produces a stepwise output of peaks that is particularly suitable for the procedure. As an example we use signature sequences from ribosomal RNA to distinguish and quantify several different species in a...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2005
• Where: BMCBI
• Authors: Alexander E. Pozhitkov, Kathryn Stemshorn, Diethard Tautz
• Keywords: BMCBI 2005, Nucleic Acid, Nucleic Acid Components, Sequencing