Genetics of cultured mammalian cells, as studied by somatic cell hybridization.

In the past 10 years, the technique of somatic cell hybridization has been used extensively in studies on mammalian somatic cell genetics. Much of the work with hybrid cells has focused on the problems of gene regulation and gene mapping; these two areas and the consideration of new techniques are discussed in this article. The types of genetic manipulations than can be used to investigate these problems are the central theme of the review.