Time- and cost-efficient identification of T-DNA insertion sites through targeted genomic sequencing

PLoS One. 2013 Aug 12;8(8):e70912. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070912. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Forward genetic screens enable the unbiased identification of genes involved in biological processes. In Arabidopsis, several mutant collections are publicly available, which greatly facilitates such practice. Most of these collections were generated by agrotransformation of a T-DNA at random sites in the plant genome. However, precise mapping of T-DNA insertion sites in mutants isolated from such screens is a laborious and time-consuming task. Here we report a simple, low-cost and time efficient approach to precisely map T-DNA insertions simultaneously in many different mutants. By combining sequence capture, next-generation sequencing and 2D-PCR pooling, we developed a new method that allowed the rapid localization of T-DNA insertion sites in 55 out of 64 mutant plants isolated in a screen for gyrase inhibition hypersensitivity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / drug effects
  • Arabidopsis / genetics*
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics*
  • Gene Order
  • Genome, Plant*
  • Genomics
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing* / methods
  • Mutagenesis, Insertional*
  • Mutation
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Topoisomerase II Inhibitors / pharmacology

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial
  • T-DNA
  • Topoisomerase II Inhibitors

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a grant from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to NB, EZ and EL were funded by scholarships from NSERC. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.