A contiguous Not I restriction map of band q22.3 of human chromosome 21

A contiguous high-resolution NotI restriction map of the distal region of the long arm of human chromosome 21 was constructed by three strategies: linking clones to identify adjacent pieces of DNA, partial digestion to identify neighboring fragments, and cell line polymorphisms to prove identity or adjacency of DNA fragments. Twenty-nine single-copy DNA probes and five linking clone probes were used to determine the order of 30 Not I fragments, covering 10 megabases of DNA in band q22.3. Smaller Not I fragments occur preferentially in this region, suggesting that band q22.3 is unusually rich in genes, since Not I sites occur almost exclusively in CpG islands. Comparison of the physical map and genetic maps in this region reveals a 10-fold higher than average recombination frequency.