Cheaper and more efficient

A common feature of cancer cells is the change in the number of copies (copy number alterations, CNA) in which each chromosome or gene is present in the genome. There may be many different CNAS within the same tumor. Tumors with a large amount of CNA are usually very aggressive and tend to metastasize more often, even after aggressive treatment.

Now Sweden has developed a new genomic method called CUTseq, which can estimate the amount and type of CNA in different parts of the same tumor, at a much lower cost than existing technologies.

The method works with DNA extracted from biopsies and even very small samples of tumor tissues.

By tagging DNA extracted from several regions of the same tumor sample using unique molecular barcodes, it is possible to obtain a complete picture of the heterogeneity of CNA in the tumor using a single sequencing experiment.

According to the scientists who developed the new method, the use of CUTseq is not limited to the diagnosis of cancer.

For example, CUTseq can be used as a platform for cell line authentication and genome stability monitoring in large cell line repositories and biobanks. It can be applied as an alternative to other genome sequencing methods, such as RAD-seq, to assess biodiversity in a cost-effective way.

Article by Zhang et al. CUTseq is a versatile method for preparing multiplexed DNA sequencing libraries from low-input samples published in the journal Nature Communications.

Elena Panasyuk, portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Karolinska Institutet: New diagnostic method finds aggressive tumors.