Retrieval of human DNA from rodent-human genomic libraries by a recombination process

Recombination-based assay (RBA) for screening bacteriophage lambda libraries

The recombination-based assay represents a convenient way to screen a complex library constructed in bacteriophage lambda for homology to a given sequence cloned into a specially designed plasmid. The technique serves to screen a bacteriophage library rapidly and efficiently with a sequence cloned into a plasmid; counterselection then yields the gene product of interest with its plasmid carrier deleted. Because 10(6) to 10(7) plaque-forming units (pfu) may be screened using several petri dishes, and the homology for crossing-over need only be greater than 25 bp, the RBA represents an efficient way to screen complex lambda libraries rapidly for homology to a given sequence. In this procedure, a lambda library is screened using a specially designed plasmid carrying the desired target sequence. Recombinants arising from cross-over events between the plasmid and a bacteriophage carrying a corresponding region of homology are selected by their ability to grow on strain DM21. Growth of lambda on DM21 requires the presence of an allele encoded on the plasmid to suppress an amber mutation in the host strain that prevents lambda propagation. Recovery of the original phage carrying the target sequence requires a reversal of the homologous recombination event. This reversal occurs spontaneously, and is detected by PCR amplification using primers that flank the cloning site in the lambda vector.

Cloning and polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of anonymous Alu repeats on chromosome 11

We have shown that many of the Alu repeats found in the GenBank database are polymorphic and that this polymorphism can be detected by a simple technique, single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, after polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of each repeat from DNA of individuals. Here, we describe a method for collecting many anonymous Alu repeats and their flanks in a chromosome-specific phage library and cloning them into plasmids. The flanking single-copy sequences of each repeat in the plasmid were then determined, and 20mer to 30mer segments of these sequences were used as primers for the PCR-SSCP analysis. Many new polymorphic DNA markers on chromosome 11 were obtained with this method. These markers can also serve as sequence-tagged sites for physical mapping of the genome.

Improved genetic selection for screening bacteriophage libraries by homologous recombination in vivo

Three major difficulties have hindered the general application of in vivo recombination techniques to library screening: (i) the original selection could not be applied to libraries prepared in phage vectors lacking amber mutations, (ii) nonirradiated packaging extracts gave high backgrounds even when amber mutated vectors were used, and (iii) most red- vectors lacked rap, a recently discovered phage gene promoting phage-plasmid recombination. Here we describe a selection scheme for phage bearing suppressor tRNA plasmids, which relies upon an Escherichia coli host bearing an amber mutation in the dnaB gene. The selection is tight enough to allow library screening by recombination, is applicable to almost every phage vector in common use, and overcomes the background associated with nonirradiated packaging extracts. We also describe an ancillary plasmid that supplies the rap gene function in trans, permitting the recombination level to be raised fruitfully in phage libraries lacking endogenous rap. Finally, we demonstrate simple procedures for preparing and detecting phages that have lost integrated suppressor tRNA plasmids by homologous recombination.

Isolation of DNA sequences on human chromosome 21 by application of a recombination-based assay to DNA from flow-sorted chromosomes

By merging two efficient technologies, bivariate flow sorting of human metaphase chromosomes and a recombination-based assay for sequence complexity, we isolated 28 cloned DNA segments homologous to loci on human chromosome 21. Subregional mapping of these DNA segments with a somatic cell hybrid panel showed that 26 of the 28 cloned DNA sequences are distributed along the long arm of chromosome 21, while the other 2 hybridize with sequences on the short arm of both chromosome 21 and other chromosomes. This new collection of probes homologous to chromosome 21 should facilitate molecular analyses of trisomy 21 by providing DNA probes for the linkage map of chromosome 21, for studies of nondisjunction, for chromosome walking in clinically relevant subregions of chromosome 21, and for the isolation of genes on chromosome 21 following the screening of cDNA libraries.

Isolation of a mouse heat-shock gene (hsp68) by recombinational screening

We have used cloned fragments from a Drosophila melanogaster hsp70 gene and a mouse hsp68 cDNA in recombinational screens of mouse genomic libraries. Using the mouse probe we have isolated two overlapping recombinant lambda phages comprising 22 kb of cloned DNA. Southern analysis has localized the homology with the Drosophila hsp70 coding region to a 2.2-kb fragment containing the mouse heat-shock gene. Insertion accompanying recombinational screening can disrupt interesting sequences; we have overcome this inconvenience by developing a simple one-step genetic selection for phage which have precisely excised the microplasmid probe.

Human chromosome 21-encoded cDNA clones

We have employed two strategies to isolate random cDNA clones encoded by chromosome 21. In the first approach, a cDNA library representing expressed genes of WA17, a mouse-human somatic cell hybrid carrying chromosome 21 as its sole human chromosome, was screened with total human DNA to identify human chromosome 21-specific cDNAs. The second approach utilized previously characterized single-copy genomic fragments from chromosome 21 as probes to retrieve homologous coding sequences from a human fetal brain cDNA library. Six cDNA clones on chromosome 21 were obtained in this manner. Two were localized to the proximal long arm of chromosome 21, two to the distal portion of the long arm, and one to the region of 21q22 implicated in the pathology of Down syndrome.

Chromosome 13 restriction fragment length polymorphisms

The gene locus for hereditary retinoblastoma is on human chromosome 13, band q14. With this gene localization in mind, we cloned DNA fragments from this chromosome. Three of the fragments identify restriction fragment length polymorphisms. These three fragments are from the region 13q12-13q22, the chromosome region which contains the retinoblastoma locus. We expect that these restriction fragment length polymorphisms will be linked to the retinoblastoma locus, and that they will serve in certain retinoblastoma families as predictors of retinoblastoma gene carriers. They will also be useful in studies of other gene loci thought to be on chromosome 13.

Comparison of sequence repetitiveness of human cDNA and genomic DNA using the miniplasmid vector, piVX

We studied the sequence repetitiveness of human cDNA and genomic DNA fragments inserted in the miniplasmid piVX. Sequence repetitiveness was assayed by the frequency with which a given insert mediated recombination between the chimeric miniplasmid and a recombinant bacteriophage library constructed from large random human genomic fragments. The methodology allows rapid analysis and isolation of sequences of a given copy number in the genome: few (1 to 10 copies), low order-repeated (10 to 100 copies) and a more highly repeated (over 100 copies). In a model application of the method, the distribution of these classes of sequences was compared in cDNA and genomic DNA libraries constructed in piVX. The major difference observed between cDNA and genomic DNA repeat structure was the paucity of highly repeated elements in cDNA copies from high-molecular-weight cytoplasmic poly(A) + RNA.