A yeast artificial chromosome contig linking the steroid sulfatase and Kallmann syndrome loci on the human X chromosome short arm.

In this report we describe the construction of a yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) contig linking the steroid sulfatase (STS) and Kallmann syndrome (KAL) loci on Xp22.3. Four human YAC libraries were screened initially with sequences from DXS237 (GMGX9), DXS278 (S232B), and KAL and later with primers from exon 10 of the STS gene and the end fragment of a YAC clone YGX3 to fill the gaps. Fifteen clones were isolated and the sizes of their human inserts were determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis followed by Southern hybridization with labeled total human DNA. Overlaps between the YAC clones were evaluated using more than 20 DNA markers, including the screening probes, the end fragments, and the Alu-PCR products of the YAC clones. The extent of overlapping between the clones was further determined by long-range restriction mapping. In combination with our previously reported YAC contigs around STS and KAL, a total of 2 Mb of Xp22.3 have been isolated in YAC clones. These clones will facilitate the isolation of new genes and the characterization of deletions and translocations which occur at very high frequency in this region of the human X chromosome.