Reconstructing tumor amplisomes

Duplication of genomic sequences is a common phenomenon in tumor cells. While many duplications associated with tumors have been identified (e.g. via techniques such as CGH), both the organization of the duplicated sequences and the process that leads to these duplications are less clear. One mechanism that has been observed to lead to duplication is the extraction of DNA from the chromosomes and aggregation of this DNA into small, independently replicating linear or circular DNA sequences (amplisomes). Parts of these amplisomes may later be reinserted back into the main chromosomes leading to duplication. Although amplisomes are known to play an important role in tumorigenesis, their architecture and even size remain largely unknown.