Detection of non-targeted transgenes by whole-genome resequencing for gene-doping control / Teruaki Tozaki, Aoi Ohnuma, Masaki Takasu, Kotono Nakamura, Mio Kikuchi, Taichiro Ishige, Hironaga Kakoi, Kei-Ichi Hirora, Norihisa Tamura, Kanichi Kusano, Shun-Ichi Nagata. - (Gene Therapy (2020) 7 August)
- PMID: 32770095
- DOI: 10.1038/s41434-020-00185-y
Abstract
Gene doping has raised concerns in human and equestrian sports and the horseracing industry. There are two possible types of gene doping in the sports and racing industry: (1) administration of a gene-doping substance to postnatal animals and (2) generation of genetically engineered animals by modifying eggs. In this study, we aimed to identify genetically engineered animals by whole-genome resequencing (WGR) for gene-doping control. Transgenic cell lines, in which the erythropoietin gene (EPO) cDNA form was inserted into the genome of horse fibroblasts, were constructed as a model of genetically modified horse. Genome-wide screening of non-targeted transgenes was performed to find structural variation using DELLY based on split-read and paired-end algorithms and Control-FREEC based on read-depth algorithm. We detected the EPO transgene as an intron deletion in the WGR data by the split-read algorithm of DELLY. In addition, single-nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions/deletions artificially introduced in the EPO transgene were identified by WGR. Therefore, genome-wide screening using WGR can contribute to gene-doping control even if the targets are unknown. This is the first study to detect transgenes as intron deletions for gene-doping detection.
