SNP typing by apyrase-mediated allele-specific primer extension on DNA microarrays

This study reports the development of a microarray-based allele-specific extension method for typing of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The use of allele-specific primers has been employed previously to identify single base variations but it is acknowledged that certain mismatches are not refractory to extension. Here we have overcome this limitation by introducing apyrase, a nucleotide-degrading enzyme, to the extension reaction. We have shown previously that DNA polymerases exhibit slower reaction kinetics when extending a mismatched primer compared with a matched primer. This kinetic difference is exploited in the apyrase-mediated allele-specific extension (AMASE) assay, allowing incorporation of nucleotides when the reaction kinetics are fast but degrading the nucleotides before extension when the reaction kinetics are slow. Here we show that five homozygous variants (14% of the total number of variants) that were incorrectly scored in the absence of apyrase were correctly typed when apyrase was included in the extension reaction. AMASE was performed in situ on the oligonucleotide microarrays using fluorescent nucleotides to type 10 SNPs and two indels in 17 individuals generating approximately 200 genotypes. Cluster analysis of these data shows three distinct clusters with clear-cut boundaries. We conclude that SNP typing on oligonucleotide microarrays by AMASE is an efficient, rapid and accurate technique for large-scale genotyping.