Genetic selection of lambda phage clones from a gene clonotheque.

A genetic procedure for selection of specific lambda clones, by homologous recombination between lambda clones from a gene clonotheque and sequences cloned into a plasmid, was developed. Resulting clones are isolated in transduction experiments by plating infected Escherichia coli cells under conditions selecting for the antibiotic resistance marker carried by the plasmid. The feasibility of the method was demonstrated in a model test system as well as by isolation of alpha-interferon-specific sequences from the human gene clonotheque.