Quantification of DNA damage by real-time qPCR

Abstract

This chapter describes the use of real-time qPCR to quantify damages in genomic DNA. The method is based on the ability of a lesion in one strand to inhibit restriction enzyme digestion of double-stranded DNA. Subsequent amplification of the complementary strand after restriction cleavage gives a quantitative measure of the damage content in that site (Real-time qPCR Analysis of Damage Frequency; RADF). We compare the RADF assay with the commonly used technique to assess damages by their ability to inhibit amplification of a large PCR fragment relative to a short PCR fragment. The RADF method described here is quick, accurate and allows the detection of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA damage in detailed regions.