Characterization of an unusual and complex chromosome 21 rearrangement using somatic cell genetics and cloned DNA probes

In a previous case of a newborn infant with typical Down syndrome, chromosome analysis indicated the presence of an unusual and complex translocation of chromosome 21. The patient's cells contained one normal chromosome 21 and a rearranged, F group-sized submeta-centric chromosome. This abnormal chromosome appeared to involve duplication of the distal portion of 21q with translocation to the short arm, and a deletion of C-band-positive centromeric heterochromatin. Using linearly ordered cloned DNA probes, we report the detailed molecular examination of this abnormal chromosome, which has been isolated on a hamster background in a hybrid cell line. Both short arm and pericentromeric sequences are present on this chromosome, as well as distal 21q sequences. However, a substantial portion of proximal 21q is deleted. The distal boundary of this deleted section can be pinpointed within the region between two loci (D21S8 and D21S54), a distance of about 5,000 kb. This study illustrates the power of using precisely mapped, linearly ordered DNA probes to characterize this type of rearrangement. In addition, this hybrid cell line can also be used as a member of a mapping panel to map DNA sequences regionally on chromosome 21.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/38249/1/1320330316_ftp.pd

Isolation of chromosome-21-specific DNA probes and their use in the analysis of nondisjunction in Down syndrome

Thirteen single-copy, chromosome-21-specific DNA probes were isolated from a recombinant library made from flow-sorted chromosome 21 DNA and regionally mapped using a panel of somatic cell hybrids. Five probes mapped in the 21q21-q22.1 region, six to the 21q22.1-qter region, and one to each of the regions 21q22.1-q22.2 and 21q22.3. Two of these probes, one of which maps in the critical region for Down syndrome, have recently been shown to be expressed at high levels in Down syndrome brain tissue (Stefani et al. 1988). Following preliminary screening for restriction fragment lenght polymorphisms (RFLPs), five polymorphisms were discovered with four of the chromosome 21 DNA probes. A frequent Msp I polymorphism detected by one of the probes was used in conjunction with four previously described polymorphic chromosome 21 probes to analyse the origin of nondisjunction in 33 families with a child or fetus with trisomy 21. The parental origin of the additional chromosome 21 was determined in 12 cases: in 9 (75%) of these it was derived from the mother and in the other 3 cases (25%) it was of paternal origin. Cytogenetic analysis of Q-banding heteromorphisms was informative in three of five families tested, and in each case the RFLP results were confirmed. The meiotic stage of nondisjunction was defined with confidence in five families, the results being obtained with pericentromeric RFLP or cytogenetic markers. Recombination between two nondisjoined chromosomes was demonstrated in one family and is consistent with the view that a lack of recombination between chromosome 21 homologues or failure of their conjunction is not the invariable cause of trisomy 21.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47624/1/439_2004_Article_BF00293885.pd

The bovine gene map

The present status of the bovine gene map as well as some of the methods and strategies important for future efforts in completing the gene map of cattle are reviewed