Innovative sequencing methods for DNA oxidation damage

Oxidative damage to the genome is an important and complex process wherein the locations and persistence of sites of oxidation in the genome may be predictive of adverse outcomes such as mutation and cancer. With a wealth of new information available concerning genome-wide mutational landscapes of human cancer, there is an urgent need and great promise in understanding factors that influence the persistence of oxidation in the genome and to be able to predict mutation signatures from persistent DNA oxidation. Emerging strategies to identify molecular initiating events giving rise to mutation signatures have not focused on DNA damage sequencing or oxidative damage. The recent click-code-seq method for mapping DNA oxidation at single-nucleotide resolution developed in our lab provides an exciting new possibility to understand on a genome-wide level the relationship between oxidative damage and its adverse consequences. Using this approach, distinct patterns of oxidative damage in a variety of different genomic elements have been discovered.