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Abstract

A novel suspension hybridization assay was used to determine nucleic acid copy number by flow cytometry. The assay was validated with low copy (lc) products ranging in length from 100 to 2304 bp conjugated to spectrally-distinct polystyrene microspheres. In the example provided herein, these conjugated microspheres were used as multiplex hybridization probes to detect homologous sequences in genomic DNA extracted from cytogenetic cell pellets and labeled with biotin-dUTP. Hybridization was detected with phycoerythrin-labeled streptavidin and analyzed by flow cytometry. Copy number differences were distinguishable by comparing the mean fluorescence intensities of test probes with a diploid reference probe in genomic DNA of patient samples and abnormal cell lines. The assay is capable of distinguishing a single allele and three alleles at a test locus from a biallelic reference sequence, regardless of chromosomal context. The assay is an improvement on previous methods which require prior amplification of locus-specific target DNA because, lc probes provide adequate specificity and sensitivity for accurate copy number determination of homologous targets. Because of its high sensitivity and accuracy, the assay is useful for determination of nucleic acid copy number for a variety of applications, including determination of genomic copy number in humans, animal models of disease and in solution, measurement of transcript levels, forensic DNA analysis, and quality control analysis in agriculture.

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