A method for mapping germ line sequences in Tetrahymena thermophila using the polymerase chain reaction

Abstract

A method for mapping DNA sequences to specific germinal chromosomes in the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila has been developed. This mapping technique (PCR mapping) utilizes the polymerase chain reaction and template DNA derived from nullisomic strains to directly assign micronuclear DNA sequences to specific micronuclear chromosomes. Using this technique, a number of unique sequences and short repetitive sequences flanked by unique sequences have been mapped to four of the five germinal chromosomes.