[Coding single nucleotide polymorphism is an ideal marker for detecting gene imprinting by 5' nuclease assay].

OBJECTIVE

To establish a novel approach for quick and high throughput verification of human gene imprinting.

METHODS

By use of a pair of dye-labeled probes, 5' nuclease assay was combined with reverse transcriptase-PCR(RT-PCR) to genotype a coding single nucleotide polymorphism (cSNP), rs705(C/T) of a known imprinted gene, small nuclear ribonucleotide protein N (SNRPN), on both genomic DNA and cDNA of human lymphoblast cell lines.

RESULTS

Allele discrimination showed a clear monoallelic expression pattern of SNRPN, which was confirmed by RT-PCR based restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Pedigree analysis verified the paternal origin of expressed allele, which is in consistency with previous report.

CONCLUSION

Coding SNP is an ideal marker for detecting gene imprinting by 5' nuclease assay. This approach has also a potentiality to discover differential allele expression of non-imprinted genes in order to find gene cis-acting functional polymorphism.