Rearrangements of microinjected recombinant DNA in the genome of transgenic mice

Previously, mouse zygotes were microinjected with the recombinant plasmid pMA3, which contains the Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene attached to the promoter region of the Rous sarcoma virus (Gazaryan et al. 1984a). In the present work the pMA3 fragment with the flanking genomic sequences was isolated from the DNA of one transgenic Fo mouse by the "plasmid rescue" technique. The rescued plasmid (pMAR1) lacked all virus-specific sequences and retained only some pBR322 sequences. The flanking region at one end of the integrated pBR322-specific fragment contained a highly conserved mouse repetitive sequence. The possible mechanisms of rearrangement of foreign DNA in germ line cells are discussed.