Maintenance of replication patterns in human-mouse hybrids retaining only one human chromosome.

The time of termination of DNA replication of human chromosomes in human-mouse hybrids retaining only one human chromosome was analyzed. Hybrids between SV40-transformed human skin fibroblasts and mouse peritoneal macrophages were used for these studies. Data obtained from hybrids containing only human chromosome 7 or 17 were compared with data from related hybrids containing additional human chromosomes. When either human chromosome 7 or 17 was present alone, it terminated replication at the same stage of the S phase as in hybrids in which other human chromosomes were present (relative to the time of termination of replication of the mouse chromosomes). In comparing the hybrids containing single human chromosomes, it was found that chromosome 17 terminated replication much earlier than chromosome 7. Therefore, the relationship between the replication times of these chromosomes normally observed in human cells was maintained in the hybrids in the absence of all other human chromosomes. The results also indicate that the presence of SV40 gene sequences in chromosomes 7 and 17 did not alter the relative times of termination of replication of those chromosomes.