Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Identification of RNA Fragments Resulting from Enzymatic Degradation using MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry
Published on: April 11, 2022
Rapid and accurate characterisation of short tandem repeats by MALDI-TOF analysis of endonuclease cleaved RNA
Doris Seichter1, Stefan Krebs, Martin Förster
1Lehrstuhl für Tierzucht und Allgemeine Landwirtschaftslehre, Tierärztliche Fakultät der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Veterinärstrasse 13, D-80539 München, Germany. Doris.Seichter@gen.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de
Abstract:
We describe the application of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for the characterisation of short tandem repeat (STR) sequences by the analysis of endonuclease cleaved RNA transcripts. Several simple bovine STR loci as well as interrupted and compound microsatellites were chosen as model loci to evaluate the capabilities of MALDI-TOF MS for STR analysis. In short, the described approach consists of a PCR amplification of the investigated STR sequence, which then is transcribed into RNA and cleaved by G-specific RNase T1. Base-specific cleavage of the transcript results in high informative fragment patterns from both the repetitive core sequence and the flanking region. Since sequence specificity from endonuclease cleavage is combined with the accuracy of MALDI-TOF measurements, this technique allows for fast and reliable determination of simple repeat lengths as well as for further characterisation of STR allele sequences, which is of high interest especially in more complex STR loci.
More Related Videos
11:08Proofreading and DNA Repair Assay Using Single Nucleotide Extension and MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry Analysis
Published on: June 19, 2018
05:412D-HELS MS Seq: A General LC-MS-Based Method for Direct and de novo Sequencing of RNA Mixtures with Different Nucleotide Modifications
Published on: July 10, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Rapid Identification of Pathogens
MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry
RNA-seq
Before the discovery of RNA-seq, microarray-based methods and Sanger sequencing were used for transcriptome analysis. However, while microarray-based...
Real Time RT-PCR
The real-time quantification of the number of amplified products is...
RACE - Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends
Since the...