Short tandem repeats (STRs) are short tandemly repeated DNA sequences that involve a repetitive unit of 1-6 bp. Because of their polymorphisms and high mutation rates, STRs are widely used in biological research. St...Short tandem repeats (STRs) are short tandemly repeated DNA sequences that involve a repetitive unit of 1-6 bp. Because of their polymorphisms and high mutation rates, STRs are widely used in biological research. Strand-slippage replication is the predominant mutation mechanism of STRs, and the stepwise mutation model is regarded as the main mutation model. STR mutation rates can be influenced by many factors. Moreover, some trinucleotide repeats are associated with human neurodegenerative diseases. In order to deepen our knowledge of these diseases and broaden STR application, it is essential to understand the STR mutation process in detail. In this review, we focus on the current known information about STR mutation.展开更多
基金Public service sectors(agriculture)special project(Grant No.201003067)from Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of ChinaNational Natural Science Fund(Grant No.31201480)by National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)
文摘Short tandem repeats (STRs) are short tandemly repeated DNA sequences that involve a repetitive unit of 1-6 bp. Because of their polymorphisms and high mutation rates, STRs are widely used in biological research. Strand-slippage replication is the predominant mutation mechanism of STRs, and the stepwise mutation model is regarded as the main mutation model. STR mutation rates can be influenced by many factors. Moreover, some trinucleotide repeats are associated with human neurodegenerative diseases. In order to deepen our knowledge of these diseases and broaden STR application, it is essential to understand the STR mutation process in detail. In this review, we focus on the current known information about STR mutation.