High throughput molecular confirmation of β-thalassemia mutations using novel TaqMan probes

β-Thalassemia is a public health problem where 4.5% of Malaysians are β-thalassemia carriers. The genetic disorder is caused by defects in the β-globin gene complex which lead to reduced or complete absence of β-globin chain synthesis. Five TaqMan genotyping assays were designed and developed to det...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kho, Siew Leng, Chua, Kek Heng, George, Elizabeth, Tan, Mary Anne Jin Ai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI 2013
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/29672/1/High%20throughput%20molecular%20confirmation%20of%20%CE%B2.pdf
Description
Summary:β-Thalassemia is a public health problem where 4.5% of Malaysians are β-thalassemia carriers. The genetic disorder is caused by defects in the β-globin gene complex which lead to reduced or complete absence of β-globin chain synthesis. Five TaqMan genotyping assays were designed and developed to detect the common β-thalassemia mutations in Malaysian Malays. The assays were evaluated with 219 “blinded” DNA samples and the results showed 100% sensitivity and specificity. The in-house designed TaqMan genotyping assays were found to be cost- and time-effective for characterization of β-thalassemia mutations in the Malaysian population.