Project Description :
Microsatellites or simple sequence repeats (SSR) are runs of tandemly repeated DNA with repeat units of 1–6 base pair (bp) in length. They exhibit extreme variability in repeat numbers between individuals and populations. Sequences of this nature generally occur as randomly dispersed repetitive elements in all eukaryotic genomes where their localization within the genome is relatively stable. These hypervariable repeat length has been successfully utilized to study DNA polymorphisms in humans, and in important practical applications such as DNA fingerprinting in forensic genetics, genetic linkage for gene mapping, molecular diagnosis of genetic diseases and strain typing of bacterial pathogens. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology, using oligonucleotides of unique sequences flanking the microsatellite followed by gel electrophoresis, enables the analysis of the length variant alleles (known as electromorphs) between populations and between individuals within a population. However sequence information for the repeats themselves and their flanking regions is absent. Moreover, current methods are time consuming and highly manual. The proposed project aim to analyse the polymorphism of tri- and tetra-nucleotide repeats using PCR coupled with mass spectrometry analysis. This study would provide rapid identification of repeat length by mass variation.

Pre-requisite :
Prospective students need to have interest and aptitude in molecular biology & bioanalytical chemistry.