Integrated Design Flow for Universal DNA Tag Arrays

High throughput genomic technologies have revolutionized biomedical sciences, and progress in this area continues at an accelerated pace in response to the increasingly varied needs of biomedical research. Among emerging technologies, one of the most promising is the use of universal tag arrays (UTA) [4]. A universal tag array consists of a set of DNA strings called tags, designed such that each tag hybridizes strongly to its antitag (Watson-Crick complement), but does not hybridize to any other antitag. Sample analysis is typically performed by a sequence of hybridization and single-base extension reactions involving reporter probes consisting of application specific primers ligated to antitags. This architecture provides unprecedented assay customization flexibility while maintaining a high degree of multiplexing and low unit cost. In this poster we describe an integrated flow for designing genomic assays based on universal tag arrays, building upon the DNA microarray design flow presented by Atlas et al. [2] and the integrated probe selection and tag assignment tools presented by Mandoiu et al. [6].