Efficient, exon-aware RNA capture for gene expression and novel fusions

Total RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) provides a relatively unbiased view of the transcriptional state of a population of cells. However, most total RNA-seq experiments must contend with a large number of reads that are not helpful for gene-expression analysis, including reads from highly abundant non-coding transcripts like ribosomal RNA, intronic reads from pre-RNA, or contaminating genomic DNA. Target enrichment provides a way to focus sequencing on the informative parts of the genome, allowing for more sensitive detection of low-abundance transcripts, or for profiling only specific genes of interest.

In this application note, TWIST Bioscience presents capture sequencing experiments using Twist’s new RNA Exome panel, which uses a novel design strategy to specifically target every protein-coding isoform in Gencode v41 Basic.