A sequence-tagged site (or STS) is a short (200 to 500 base pair)

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

sequence that has a single occurrence in the

genome A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

and whose location and base sequence are known.

Usage

STSs can be easily detected by the

polymerase chain reaction The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample rapidly, allowing scientists to amplify a very small sample of DNA (or a part of it) sufficiently to enable detailed st ...

(PCR) using specific primers. For this reason they are useful for constructing genetic and physical maps from sequence data reported from many different laboratories. They serve as landmarks on the developing physical map of a genome. When STS loci contain genetic polymorphisms (e.g. simple sequence length polymorphisms, SSLPs, single nucleotide polymorphisms), they become valuable genetic markers, i.e. loci which can be used to distinguish individuals. They are used in

shotgun sequencing In genetics, shotgun sequencing is a method used for sequencing random DNA strands. It is named by analogy with the rapidly expanding, quasi-random shot grouping of a shotgun. The Sanger sequencing#Method, chain-termination method of DNA sequencin ...

, specifically to aid sequence assembly. STSs are very helpful for detecting microdeletions in some genes. For example, some STSs can be used in screening by PCR to detect microdeletions in Azoospermia (AZF)

genes In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

infertile In biology, infertility is the inability of a male and female organism to reproduce. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy organism that has reached sexual maturity, so children who have not undergone puberty, which is the body's sta ...

men.

References

External links

Sequence-Tagged Sites (STS) description on NCBI

Usage

References

External links

See also