Use of a Chemically Modified T7 DNA Polymerase for Manual and Automated Sequencing of Supercoiled DNA

Procedures are presented for reliable and accurate nucleotide sequence analysis using as template supercoiled DNA prepared by a modified rapid boiling minipreparation protocol. This method yields DNA templates suitable for sequencing within 1 h of bacterial harvest. We describe optimal reaction conditions for supercoiled miniprep DNA sequencing using a modified T7 DNA polymerase (Sequenase) in dideoxynucleotide chain termination reactions. We demonstrate that under these conditions, the sequencing data obtained with miniprep DNA is indistinguishable from that obtained with CsCl purified supercoiled DNA or from that obtained using single stranded DNA templates. We further show that the supercoiled DNA sequencing reactions can be analyzed on a commercially available automated DNA sequencing system that detects 32P labeled DNA during its electrophoretic separation. Taken together, these developments represent a significant improvement in the process of nucleotide sequence analysis.