Abstract
DNA methylation is one of the epigenetic mechanisms for gene
regulation, and tobacco-smoking can altered this mechanism. Currently available
techniques to distinguish current smokers from never smokers, based on DNA
methylation status, use chip arrays and require large amounts of DNA and
laborious bioinformatic analysis, making them unsuitable for forensic or other
applications with limited samples. FIU inventors have developed kits and methods to identify
DNA methylation status at specific gene locations in a cell (CpG sites), which
help identify smoking habits of the person from which the cell originated. The
kits comprise specific sets of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers designed
to amplify the CpG sites of interest, and optionally a sequencing primer
designed to sequence the amplicon produced by the PCR.
Benefit
Simple, and cost effectiveAllow for the determination of the methylation status with high accuracy and speedWork with small amounts of samples: between about 0.1 to about 500 ng genomic DNACan be designed in a high-throughput manner to process a large number of samples
Market Application
Intelligence tool in case of unknown DNA profiles when working with trace levels of DNA recovered from crime scenesDiagnostic marker in clinical fields for certain diseases, such as lung infectionsPotential use by insurance companies to identify the smoking status of an individual
Brochure
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