[PDF][PDF] Detecting and estimating contamination of human DNA samples in sequencing and array-based genotype data

G Jun, M Flickinger, KN Hetrick, JM Romm… - The American Journal of …, 2012 - cell.com
The American Journal of Human Genetics, 2012cell.com
DNA sample contamination is a serious problem in DNA sequencing studies and may result
in systematic genotype misclassification and false positive associations. Although methods
exist to detect and filter out cross-species contamination, few methods to detect within-
species sample contamination are available. In this paper, we describe methods to identify
within-species DNA sample contamination based on (1) a combination of sequencing reads
and array-based genotype data,(2) sequence reads alone, and (3) array-based genotype …
DNA sample contamination is a serious problem in DNA sequencing studies and may result in systematic genotype misclassification and false positive associations. Although methods exist to detect and filter out cross-species contamination, few methods to detect within-species sample contamination are available. In this paper, we describe methods to identify within-species DNA sample contamination based on (1) a combination of sequencing reads and array-based genotype data, (2) sequence reads alone, and (3) array-based genotype data alone. Analysis of sequencing reads allows contamination detection after sequence data is generated but prior to variant calling; analysis of array-based genotype data allows contamination detection prior to generation of costly sequence data. Through a combination of analysis of in silico and experimentally contaminated samples, we show that our methods can reliably detect and estimate levels of contamination as low as 1%. We evaluate the impact of DNA contamination on genotype accuracy and propose effective strategies to screen for and prevent DNA contamination in sequencing studies.
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