Nabsys 2.0, LLC (Nabsys), a pioneer in electronic genome mapping (EGM) technology, today announced new findings presented at the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) 2026 meeting. The data are featured in a poster titled "Direct genome-scale mapping of endonuclease activity of the human LINE-1 ORF2p endonuclease" (Poster 439), presented by the research team of Dr. Martin Taylor, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brown University.
EGM enables the direct detection of endonuclease activity at the genome scale by identifying DNA nicking events on long DNA molecules. This capability addresses challenges associated with mapping endonuclease-induced nicks within complex DNA mixtures. Beyond endonuclease activity, future applications of EGM may enable direct, genome-wide analysis of additional DNA modifications and damage.
The data presented demonstrate the use of EGM to directly measure nick positions generated by the LINE-1 ORF2p endonuclease across the human genome. This approach unlocks sequence-level insight into endonuclease activity associated with the LINE-1 retrotransposon that causes DNA damage and mutagenizes the human genome.
LINE-1 is an autonomous retrotransposon that expands within the genome through an RNA-mediated "copy and paste" mechanism and has written around one-third of the human genome. Approximately 5% of humans harbor a new LINE-1–mediated genomic insertion that is not present in either parent. By generating DNA breaks that can lead to insertions and structural rearrangements, ORF2p activity is increasingly recognized as a driver of genome instability, especially in cancer. Aberrant LINE-1 activity has also been linked to neurodegenerative disease and age-related decline, underscoring the importance of mapping its activity genome-wide.
Our understanding of the genomic sequences of LINE-1 endonuclease cuts is limited. Understanding this activity is critical to understanding LINE-1-mediated DNA damage in cancer and insertional mutagenesis in sporadic genetic disease. EGM provides a powerful tool to directly map this critical enzymatic activity genome-wide. We're also very excited about the potential of EGM to be adapted for other assays, such as directly mapping other DNA modifications and binding events."
Dr. Martin Taylor, Principal Investigator of the study
To perform the assay, DNA molecules treated with ORF2p endonuclease were labeled using the OhmX Velocity Optimized Label and Tagging™ ("VOLT") Whole Genome Kit. Prepared samples were then analyzed using EGM on the OhmX™ Platform to identify and map endonuclease nick sites. Nicking frequency was assessed in a concentration-dependent manner to determine endonuclease activity.
"LINE-1 activity contributes to the pathology of common diseases, including cancer, by inducing inflammation and DNA damage," said Barrett Bready, MD, Founder and CEO of Nabsys. "We are pleased to collaborate with Marty Taylor and his team on this important work. We believe EGM is a powerful tool for directly measuring genome-scale DNA modifications, with the potential to significantly impact cell and gene therapy discovery and development."
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