Modeling formamide denaturation of probe-target hybrids for improved microarray probe design in microbial diagnostics.

Application of high-density microarrays to the diagnostic analysis of microbial communities is challenged by the optimization of oligonucleotide probe sensitivity and specificity, as it is generally unfeasible to experimentally test thousands of probes. This study investigated the adjustment of hybr...

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Main Authors: L Safak Yilmaz, Alexander Loy, Erik S Wright, Michael Wagner, Daniel R Noguera
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0043862&type=printable
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author L Safak Yilmaz
Alexander Loy
Erik S Wright
Michael Wagner
Daniel R Noguera
author_facet L Safak Yilmaz
Alexander Loy
Erik S Wright
Michael Wagner
Daniel R Noguera
author_sort L Safak Yilmaz
collection DOAJ
description Application of high-density microarrays to the diagnostic analysis of microbial communities is challenged by the optimization of oligonucleotide probe sensitivity and specificity, as it is generally unfeasible to experimentally test thousands of probes. This study investigated the adjustment of hybridization stringency using formamide with the idea that sensitivity and specificity can be optimized during probe design if the hybridization efficiency of oligonucleotides with target and non-target molecules can be predicted as a function of formamide concentration. Sigmoidal denaturation profiles were obtained using fluorescently labeled and fragmented 16S rRNA gene amplicon of Escherichia coli as the target with increasing concentrations of formamide in the hybridization buffer. A linear free energy model (LFEM) was developed and microarray-specific nearest neighbor rules were derived. The model simulated formamide melting with a denaturant m-value that increased hybridization free energy (ΔG°) by 0.173 kcal/mol per percent of formamide added (v/v). Using the LFEM and specific probe sets, free energy rules were systematically established to predict the stability of single and double mismatches, including bulged and tandem mismatches. The absolute error in predicting the position of experimental denaturation profiles was less than 5% formamide for more than 90 percent of probes, enabling a practical level of accuracy in probe design. The potential of the modeling approach for probe design and optimization is demonstrated using a dataset including the 16S rRNA gene of Rhodobacter sphaeroides as an additional target molecule. The LFEM and thermodynamic databases were incorporated into a computational tool (ProbeMelt) that is freely available at http://DECIPHER.cee.wisc.edu.
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spelling doaj-art-af7ce56b4526481fb69d40d5b0eecf372025-08-20T02:08:46ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-0178e4386210.1371/journal.pone.0043862Modeling formamide denaturation of probe-target hybrids for improved microarray probe design in microbial diagnostics.L Safak YilmazAlexander LoyErik S WrightMichael WagnerDaniel R NogueraApplication of high-density microarrays to the diagnostic analysis of microbial communities is challenged by the optimization of oligonucleotide probe sensitivity and specificity, as it is generally unfeasible to experimentally test thousands of probes. This study investigated the adjustment of hybridization stringency using formamide with the idea that sensitivity and specificity can be optimized during probe design if the hybridization efficiency of oligonucleotides with target and non-target molecules can be predicted as a function of formamide concentration. Sigmoidal denaturation profiles were obtained using fluorescently labeled and fragmented 16S rRNA gene amplicon of Escherichia coli as the target with increasing concentrations of formamide in the hybridization buffer. A linear free energy model (LFEM) was developed and microarray-specific nearest neighbor rules were derived. The model simulated formamide melting with a denaturant m-value that increased hybridization free energy (ΔG°) by 0.173 kcal/mol per percent of formamide added (v/v). Using the LFEM and specific probe sets, free energy rules were systematically established to predict the stability of single and double mismatches, including bulged and tandem mismatches. The absolute error in predicting the position of experimental denaturation profiles was less than 5% formamide for more than 90 percent of probes, enabling a practical level of accuracy in probe design. The potential of the modeling approach for probe design and optimization is demonstrated using a dataset including the 16S rRNA gene of Rhodobacter sphaeroides as an additional target molecule. The LFEM and thermodynamic databases were incorporated into a computational tool (ProbeMelt) that is freely available at http://DECIPHER.cee.wisc.edu.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0043862&type=printable
spellingShingle L Safak Yilmaz
Alexander Loy
Erik S Wright
Michael Wagner
Daniel R Noguera
Modeling formamide denaturation of probe-target hybrids for improved microarray probe design in microbial diagnostics.
PLoS ONE
title Modeling formamide denaturation of probe-target hybrids for improved microarray probe design in microbial diagnostics.
title_full Modeling formamide denaturation of probe-target hybrids for improved microarray probe design in microbial diagnostics.
title_fullStr Modeling formamide denaturation of probe-target hybrids for improved microarray probe design in microbial diagnostics.
title_full_unstemmed Modeling formamide denaturation of probe-target hybrids for improved microarray probe design in microbial diagnostics.
title_short Modeling formamide denaturation of probe-target hybrids for improved microarray probe design in microbial diagnostics.
title_sort modeling formamide denaturation of probe target hybrids for improved microarray probe design in microbial diagnostics
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0043862&type=printable
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