Whole-genome amplification using Φ29 DNA polymerase

The cornerstones of any genetic analysis study are the quality and quantity of the DNA samples. DNA is a precious limited resource, and in human disease studies the accessibility of sample DNA is often governed by the isolation method and the human source. Additionally, forensic analysis and archaeological research are generally infeasible without intact sample DNA. Therefore, mechanisms to preserve or enhance the quantity of the DNA stock are crucial to the success of these studies. Historically, to preserve and maintain DNA stocks, costly and labor-intensive Epstein-Barr-virus-transformed cell lines were produced. The creation of cell lines can be valuable for a number of reasons in addition to creating a renewable resource of DNA, but the cost and effort to create them, as well as the requirement of intact cells to begin with, limit the utility of this approach. More recently, whole-genome amplification (WGA), utilizing the unique property of the enzyme Φ29 DNA polymerase, has been used to generate robust high-fidelity copies of the genome. As described in this protocol, WGA using Φ29 DNA polymerase allows unbiased representation of the genome via multiple-strand displacement, followed by rolling-circle amplification on random primers.