Application of fluorescence in situ hybridization in genome analysis of the mouse

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is an effective technique for localizing cloned DNA probes directly onto metaphase chromosomes. Human genome mapping using FISH has been significantly enhanced by the development of new techniques, especially high-resolution gene mapping with direct R-banding FISH and physical gene ordering with multi-color FISH. By contrast, FISH techniques have not been put to practical use for the analysis of the mouse genome compared with the human. We have developed and modified FISH techniques for use in mouse genome analysis. In this article we summarize and review our recent results with FISH analyses in the following studies: (i) high-resolution gene mapping with the direct R-banding FISH, (ii) analysis of chromosomal rearrangement with multi-color FISH, (iii) establishment of centromere mapping with the major satellite DNA probe, (iv) analysis of chromatin structure in meiotic cells, and (v) application of FISH in cytogenetic studies of genetic variation in the mouse, showing that these applications of FISH are very useful for mouse genome analysis.