Pyrosequencing for SNP Genotyping

Pyrosequencing is a real-time DNA sequencing method. It is based on the transformation of pyrophosphates, released during DNA elongation by DNA polymerase, into measurable light. During DNA elongation, a single pyrophosphate molecule is released following incorporation of a single nucleotide. In the pyrosequencing reaction, released pyrophosphates are then rapidly converted by sulfurylase to adenosine triphosphate, which in turn is utilized by luciferase to produce light. Within standardized conditions, this reaction is accomplished in a few milliseconds and the light produced can be registered with a CCD camera. Therefore, it becomes possible to quantitatively measure the nucleotides incorporated. This approach has been automated in different platforms and can be used for a wide variety of applications, such as single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping, DNA sequencing, loss of heterozygosity analysis, and CpG methylation studies. Here we describe the entire process, focusing our attention on SNP genotyping, and giving examples of some other applications.