Simultaneous genotyping of multiplex single nucleotide polymorphisms of the K-ras gene with a home-made kit

Accurate and fast genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is important in the human genome project. Here an automated fluorescent method that can rapidly and accurately genotype multiplex known SNPs was developed by using a homemade kit, which has lower cost but higher resolution than commercial kit. With this method, oncogene K-ras was investigated, four known SNPs of K-ras gene exon 1 in 31 coloerctal cancer patients were detected. Results indicate that mutations were present in 8(26%) of 31 patients, and most mutations were localized in codon 12. The presence of these mutations is thought to be a critical step and plays an important role in human colorectal carcinogenesisas. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.