Chromosome deletion mapping of interspersed low-copy repetitive DNA.

A cloned 2.2 Eco RI segment of interspersed repetitive DNA was hybridized to genomic DNA from a mentally retarded patient with an interstitial deletion in the long arm of one chromosome 12 (12q-). Under hybridization conditions of high stringency, one prominent 2.2-kilobase (kb) Eco RI fragment demonstrated reduced autoradiographic intensity in the 12q- sample compared with several normal controls. These findings indicate that the genomic location for one of the highly or perfectly homologous 2.2-kb Eco RI fragments is in chromosome region 12q21q22, and suggest that a low-copy repetitive DNA probe as used here may have practical utility, as in detecting small deletions or other chromosome alterations.