Sequencing a Polymer Molecule

• US 20080286768A1
• Filed: 10/12/2005
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lingvitae AS
• Original Assignee: Lingvitae AS
• Inventors: Lexow, Preben
• Application Number:
  US11/577,033
• Publication Number:
  US 20080286768A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/6
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/6869 Methods for sequencing
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2521/319 Exonuclease
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2563/185 Nucleic acid dedicated to use as a hidden marker/bar code, e.g. inclusion of nucleic acids to mark art objects or animals

Abstract

A method for sequencing a target polymer molecule comprises the steps of: (i) treating the target polymer with an agent that degrades sequentially at least one end of the target polymer; (ii) converting at least a portion of the degraded end of different degraded polymers into a readable signal sequence, and labeling each of said degraded polymers with a tag that represents the relative order of degradation; (iii) determining the sequence of the readable signal sequence; and (iv) determining the sequence of the target polymer using the sequence data obtained in step (iii) and the identification of each associated tag.

Claims

1. A method for sequencing a target polymer molecule, comprising the steps of:

(i) treating the target polymer with an agent that degrades sequentially at least one end of the target polymer;

(ii) converting at least a portion of the degraded end of different degraded polymers into a readable signal sequence, and labeling each of said degraded polymers with a tag that represents the relative order of degradation;

(iii) determining the sequence of the readable signal sequence; and

(iv) determining the sequence of the target polymer using the sequence data obtained in step (iii) and the identification of each associated tag.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein samples of degraded polymer are removed at pre-determined time points during the degradation reaction and placed into separate compartments for analysis.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein each readable signal sequence contains a region complementary to a readable signal sequence of at least one other degraded polymer.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the combined readable signal sequences of all degraded polymers represents the sequence

of the target polymer.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the target polymer is a polynucleotide.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the polynucleotide is DNA.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the target polymer is a polypeptide.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the agent is an exonuclease.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the agent is a protease.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the readable signal sequence is or comprises a magnifying tag.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the tag is or comprises a magnifying tag of predetermined sequence.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the tag is a fluorophore.