Sequencing the DNA of recombinant chromosomes

With contemporary molecular cloning and DNA sequencing techniques, deriving the primary structure of higher cell genes is now routine. This publication reviews the chemical DNA sequencing method, and suggests strategies for sequencing recombinant DNA, whether arising naturally by chromosome rearrangement in vivo or created experimentally by gene splicing in vitro. One such strategy prepares end-labeled restriction fragments from an inserted or rearranged DNA region, for sequencing by the chemical method. Another maps the point at which the sequences of two related DNA regions diverge, and indicates which restriction endonucleases would be useful for sequencing across that point. These techniques can facilitate sequencing of DNA integrations, excisions, translocations, inversions, and introns in cloned chromosomal segments.