New approach for isolation of VNTR markers

Elsewhere we have reported an efficient method for isolating VNTR (Variable Number of Tandem Repeats) markers. Several of the VNTR markers isolated in those experiments were sequenced, and a DNA sequence of 9 bp (GNNGTGGG) emerged as an apparent consensus sequence for VNTR markers. To confirm this result and to develop more VNTR markers, we synthesized nine different 18-base-long oligonucleotides whose sequences each included GNNGTGGG. When 102 cosmid clones selected by these oligonucleotides were tested for polymorphism, 34 (33%) of them showed multiallelic VNTR polymorphisms (average heterozygosity 68%). This procedure represents a new and efficient approach for isolating additional VNTR markers and supports the idea that the GNNGTGGG sequence may play an important role in the generation of the multiallelic systems within the human genome.