<title>Detection of base pair mismatches in duplex DNA and RNA oligonucleotides using electrospray mass spectrometry</title>

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

The identify and location of base pair mismatches in non- covalent DNA:RNA duplexes are established using MS and MS-MS on a quadruple ion trap with electrospray ionization (ESI). MS-MS experiments on a 14mer duplex (D) with a single C:A base pair mismatch using lower activation energy results in selective cleavage of the mismatched A nucleobase, even in the presence of the wild-type duplex. The location of the mismatch base pair can be discerned via presence of the wild-type duplex. The location of the mismatch base pair can be discerned via selection of the (D-5H)5- ion and fragmentation of the backbone at that location in a n additional MS-MS experiment. Selective fragmentation is observed for C in a C-C mismatched base pair, which is very difficult to detect using chemical cleavage or E. coli mismatch binding protein. In an RNA:DNA duplex with a single base pair mismatch, the DNA base is removed without fragmentation of the RNA strand, greatly simplifying the interpretation of the resulting MS spectrum. A method is presented for detecting two DNA strands, for example a point mutation which generates an oncogenic phenotype, and the wild-type message. The results suggest that ESI-MS-MS may provide a rapid and selective method to identify and locate genetic mutations without the need for chemical degradation or protein binding followed by gel electrophoresis.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.