Field alternation gel electrophoresis--status quo

Since the description of the original technique of field alternation gel electrophoresis (FAGE) about ten years ago there have been significant developments in the area. Between 1983 and early 1987 dramatic improvements in the technique and apparatus resulted in a 500- to 600-fold increase in the functional separation capacity of conventional agarose gel electrophoresis. Details of the improvements in technique and equipment was the subject of an earlier review [H. J. S. Dawkins, J. Chromatogr., 492 (1989) 615]. This review concentrates on the application of FAGE technology. The FAGE technique is no longer restricted to simply separating large DNA fragments. This method is presently being used for electrophoretic karyotyping, long-range genomic mapping, cloning of large DNA fragments into new vectors, the study of pathogenic chromosomal alterations and the structural analysis of chromosomes. The applications of FAGE in molecular biology and genetics is constantly expanding, with the full potential of this technique still to be realised.