Modified Taq DNA Polymerase for Allele-Specific Ultra-Sensitive Detection of Genetic Variants

Allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) has been used as a simple, cost-effective method for genotyping and gene mapping in research and clinical settings. AS-PCR permits the detection of single nucleotide variants and insertion or deletion variants owing to the selective extension of a perfectly matched primer (to the template DNA) over a mismatched primer. Thus, the mismatch discrimination power of the DNA polymerase is critical. Unfortunately, currently available polymerases often amplify some mismatched primer–template complexes as well as matched ones, obscuring AS detection. To increase mismatch discrimination, mutations were generated in the Thermus aquaticus (Taq) DNA polymerase, the most efficient variant was selected, and its performance evaluated in single nucleotide polymorphism and cancer mutation genotyping. In addition, the primer design and reaction buffer conditions were optimized for AS amplification. Our highly selective AS-PCR, which is based on an allele-discriminating priming system that leverages a Taq DNA polymerase variant with optimized primers and reaction buffer, can detect mutations with a mutant allele frequency as low as 0.01% in genomic DNA and 0.0001% in plasmid DNA. This method serves as a simple, fast, cost-effective, and ultra-sensitive way to detect single nucleotide variants and insertion or deletion mutations with low abundance.