Methods for integration site distribution analyses in animal cell genomes

Methods. 2009 Apr;47(4):261-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2008.10.028. Epub 2008 Nov 25.

Abstract

The question of where retroviral DNA becomes integrated in chromosomes is important for understanding (i) the mechanisms of viral growth, (ii) devising new anti-retroviral therapy, (iii) understanding how genomes evolve, and (iv) developing safer methods for gene therapy. With the completion of genome sequences for many organisms, it has become possible to study integration targeting by cloning and sequencing large numbers of host-virus DNA junctions, then mapping the host DNA segments back onto the genomic sequence. This allows statistical analysis of the distribution of integration sites relative to the myriad types of genomic features that are also being mapped onto the sequence scaffold. Here we present methods for recovering and analyzing integration site sequences.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chromosomes / genetics
  • DNA, Viral / genetics
  • Gene Targeting / methods*
  • Genome, Viral / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Intracellular Space / virology*
  • Virus Integration / genetics*

Substances

  • DNA, Viral