A consensus Alu repeat probe for physical mapping

Physical mapping of the human genome involves a variety of complex hybridization-based procedures, some of which rely upon the ability to separate human clones derived from human-rodent hybrid cell lines from those that contain background rodent-derived DNA sequences. The ability to block the repetitive element (Alu repeat) portion of inter-Alu PCR products derived from a variety of complex sources is also crucial for the isolation of unique DNA sequences. Here we report the construction and characterization of a new consensus Alu repeat probe (pPD39) designed for these purposes.