MGA-seq: robust identification of extrachromosomal DNA and genetic variants using multiple genetic abnormality sequencing

Abstract

Genomic abnormalities are strongly associated with cancer and infertility. In this study, we develop a simple and efficient method - multiple genetic abnormality sequencing (MGA-Seq) - to simultaneously detect structural variation, copy number variation, single-nucleotide polymorphism, homogeneously staining regions, and extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) from a single tube. MGA-Seq directly sequences proximity-ligated genomic fragments, yielding a dataset with concurrent genome three-dimensional and whole-genome sequencing information, enabling approximate localization of genomic structural variations and facilitating breakpoint identification. Additionally, by utilizing MGA-Seq, we map focal amplification and oncogene coamplification, thus facilitating the exploration of ecDNA's transcriptional regulatory function.

Keywords: Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA); Genomic abnormalities; Homogenously staining regions (HSRs); Spatial chromatin conformation; Structural variation (SV).