Abstract 1492: High-efficiency, strand-specific, low-bias library preparation method for transcriptome profiling of low-input RNA

Abstract

Abstract RNA Sequencing (RNA-seq) is a powerful technique for transcriptome analysis. It is widely used for gene expression analysis, detection of mutations, fusion transcripts, alternative splicing, and the study of post transcriptional modifications. RNA-seq is emerging as a powerful tool for molecular diagnostics as well, providing insights into the biological pathways and molecular mechanisms associated with disease progression including cancer. Recent improvements in next generation sequencing technologies (NGS) and sample barcoding strategies have resulted in significant cost reduction. As RNA-seq is increasingly adopted for molecular diagnostics, the quality and reproducibility of library preparation methods become more important. In addition, demand for library preparation methods that produce successful NGS libraries from very low input RNA or precious clinical samples is increasing. To achieve these goals, we have developed an RNA-seq library preparation method which can be used across a wide range of input RNA (5-1000 ng total RNA). GC content analysis, gene body coverage and gene expression correlation show that these important parameters remain consistent across varying inputs, even though input amounts vary by two orders of magnitude. As a result, our method has increased sensitivity and specificity for low-abundance transcripts, and reduced PCR duplicates and sequence bias, delivering high quality strand-specific data. Our method is compatible with poly A-tail enriched and ribosomal RNA depleted samples as well as RNA extracted from FFPE (formaldehyde fixed paraffin embedded) tissue samples. Citation Format: Anetta Nowosielska-Vecchietti. High-efficiency, strand-specific, low-bias library preparation method for transcriptome profiling of low-input RNA [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1492.