Genotypic analysis of multiple loci in somatic cells by whole genome amplification.

To screen multiple loci in small purified samples of diploid and aneuploid cells a PCR-based technique of whole genome amplification was adapted to the study of somatic lesions. DNA samples from different numbers of flow-sorted diploid and aneuploid cells from biopsies were amplified with a degenerate 15mer primer. Aliquots of these reactions were then used in locus-specific reactions using a single round of PCR cycles with individual sets of primers representing polymorphic markers for different regions. As a result, polymorphic markers for different chromosomal regions, including VNTRs and dinucleotide repeats, can be used to perform up to 30 locus-specific PCR assays with a single sample obtained from fewer than 1000 cells.