Restriction enzymes MspI, HpaII, HaeIII, and HinfI applied to chicken mitotic chromosomes.

The restriction enzymes MspI, HpaII, HaeIII, and HinfI were applied in situ to chicken metaphase chromosomes to determine if they denatured specific regions to produce banding patterns. Human metaphase chromosomes were treated simultaneously to serve as controls. The MspI, HpaII, and HaeIII enzymes produced no visible banding patterns in chicken chromosomes. There was slight banding on a few chromosomes in HinfI preparations, which was similar to the occasional spontaneous banding observed in chicken chromosome preparations. The results indicate that these four enzymes do not denature C-band regions in sufficient magnitude to be detected in chicken metaphase chromosomes.