Construction and characterization of the IGF Arabidopsis BAC library

A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library has been established for Arabidopsis thaliana (ecotype Col-0) covering about seven haploid nuclear genome equivalents. This library, called the Institut für Genbiologische Forschung (IGF) BAC library, consists of 10,752 recombinant clones carrying inserts (generated by partial EcoRI digestion) of an average size of about 100 kb in a modified BAC vector, pBeloBAC-Kan. Hybridization with organellar DNA and nuclear repetitive DNA elements revealed the presence of 1.1% clones with mitochondrial DNA, 0.2% clones with plastid DNA, 3.2% clones with the 180 bp paracentromeric repeat, 1.6% clones with 5S rDNA, and 10.8% clones with the 18S-25S rDNA repeat. With its extensive genome coverage, its rather uniformly sized inserts (80 kb < 85% < 120 kb) and low contamination with organellar DNA, this library provides an excellent resource for A. thaliana genomic mapping, map-based gene cloning, and genome sequencing.