Mapping of mammalian genomes with radiation (Goss and Harris) hybrids

This chapter describes the use of radiation hybrids for constructing high-resolution maps of the human genome. Radiation hybrids have recently been implemented for mouse mapping and have been found to have a higher level of resolution compared to that of interspecies meiotic mapping panels. The chapter presents the advantages and disadvantages of the two different types of radiation hybrid panels. One advantage of the chromosome-specific panels is their reduced complexity. Because the human component in the hybrids is derived from a single chromosome or a reduced number of chromosomes, the hybrid can be used as a resource for chromosome-specific marker isolation. Using methods, such as interspersed repetitive sequence-polymerase chain reaction (IRS-PCR) to obtain the human sequences has greatly improved their usefulness. Moreover, the hybrids are easier to analyze with markers from multigenic families due to their reduced complexity. As radiation hybrid mapping has become more popular, numerous laboratories have expressed an interest in gaining access to hybrid panels. There is a renewed interest in total genome hybrid panels because they can be used without a piori knowledge of a marker's location. © 1995, Academic Press Inc.