Rapid detection of mutations by conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis. Application to the identification of a fourth family with the Arg519→Cys substitution and three new mutations in the type II procollagen gene

Abstract

Conformation sensitive gel electrophoresis (CSGE) detects differences as small as a single base mismatch in DNA heteroduplexes of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. The altered migration of heteroduplexes versus homoduplexes is resolved in a polyacrylamide-based gel electrophoresis system. The technique was used here to detect conformational changes in the type II procollagen gene (COL2A1) in patients with growth plate defects. PCR products which displayed heteroduplex species were directly sequenced and all revealed either base substitutions or base deletions. Three of the base substitutions resulted in the identification of new mutations. These include a Gly{sub 691}{yields}Arg substitution in a proband with hypochondrogenesis, a Gly{sub 975}{yields}Ser base substitution in a family with late-onset spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (SEDT) and precocious osteoarthritis (POA), and a Gly{sub 988}{yields}Arg mutation in another patient with hypochondrogenesis. A fourth substitution was found to be the fourth example of an Arg{sub 519}{yields}Cys point mutation in a family with SEDT and POA. All mutations were confirmed by restriction site analysis. These results illustrate the utility of the CSGE method for the rapid detection of mutations in PCR products without the need for special equipment, primers or sample preparation.