Unmet Need: Effective methods for genetic profiling
RNA contributes significantly to the complexity of information transfer from genome to phenome. Alternative transcripts have been considered as biomarkers for improved early diagnosis of diseases, and as targets for designing novel treatment options. Recent studies have revealed that the transcriptome diversity was largely due to usage of alternative transcription start and termination sites, rather than the alternative splicing. There is a need to find effective methods of genetic profiling to capture alternative polyadenylation sites (APSs).
The Technology: Whole Transcriptome Start Site Sequencing (WTSS)
Profiling the 5’-ends of transcripts is conventionally achieved by enrichment of the 5’ G-cap in methods like SAGE and CAGE library preparation. These methods involve a lot of steps and are challenging. Researchers at WSU have developed a new approach of WTSS which can be used to profile 5’-ends of transcripts with and without caps in one library preparation.
Applications:
•To study the information flow from genome to transcriptome/proteome to phenome and explain altered phenotypes.
Advantages:
•Overcomes the challenges involved in preparation of CAGE libraries.
•Eliminates all the complicated steps involved in the process.
•Cheaper, faster and more efficient compared to the other conventional methods available.
Patent Information:
Provisional patent application filed.