Description
In 1996, we organized a workshop, inter alia, at the National Research Co- cil in Milan under the generous sponsorship of the European Science Foun- tion. On that occasion, a small group of investigators convened from many countries and presented early evidence of the possibility of assembling basic units of mammalian chromosomes into artificial constructs (or, indeed, red- ing the relevant components to more manageable dimensions and defined c- stitution). Progress in the following years has been slow but steady. Many scientists who took part in the workshop have since been engaged in active and prod- tive research. It goes to the credit of Humana Press to have realized the need for a book on artificial chromosomes that aims to provide better tools to all scientists committed to this field who are confronted with very difficult tech- cal problems. We have strived to cover in Mammalian Artificial Chromosomes: Methods and Protocols all relevant areas of artificial chromosome research, from basic genetics to daring attempts to build new tools for genetic therapy. We are of course grateful to the authors who have accepted the task of describing the technical steps and pitfalls that can be encountered in their research. Rarely has a very delicate methodology been presented with such meticulous care. We have been helped in this enterprise by the excellent librarian of the LITA Institute in Segrate, Italy, Ms. Claudia Piergigli, whom we thank warmly. Ms. From Natural to Artificial Chromosomes: An Overview Vittorio Sgaramella and Sandro Eridani Methodologies Applied to Domestic Animal Chromosomes Leopoldo Iannuzzi Mapping of the Hotspots of Recombination in Human DNA Cloned as Yeast Artificial Chromosomes Grzegorz Ira, Jacek Krl, and Jan Filipski Genomic Imprinting and Its Effects on Genes and Chromosomes in Mammals Yuji Goto and Robert Feil Centromeres and Neocentromeres Grard Roizs, Christoph Grunau, Jrme Buard, Albertina De Sario, and Jacques Puechberty Identification of Start Sites of Bi-Directional DNA Synthesis at Eukaryotic DNA Replication Origins Alessandro Vindigni, Gulnara Abdurashidova, and Arturo Falaschi Telomere Length Analysis and In Vitro Telomerase Assay Fiorentina Ascenzioni, Pier Assunta Fradiani, and Pierluigi Donini Telomerization of Mammalian Cells and Transplantation of Telomerized Cells in Immunodeficient Mice Peter J. Hornsby Chromosome-Based Vectors for Mammalian Cells: An Overview Han N. Lim and Christine J. Farr Mammalian Artificial Chromosome Formation in Human Cells After Lipofection of a PAC Precursor Jose I. de las Heras, Leonardo D’Aiuto, and Howard Cooke Use of Natural and Artificial Chromosome Vectors for Animal Transgenesis Yoshimi Kuroiwa, Kazuma Tomizuka, and Isao Ishida Pronuclear Microinjection of Purified Artificial Chromosomes for Generation of Transgenic Mice: Pick-and-Inject Technique Diane P. Monteith, Josephine D. Leung, Anita H. Borowski, Deborah O. Co, Tnde Praznovszky, Frank R. Jirik, Gyula Hadlaczky, and Carl F. Perez Modification of Human Bacterial Artificial Chromosome Clones for Functional Studies and Therapeutic Applications Michael R. Orford, Duangporn Jamsai, Samuel McLenachan, and Panayiotis A. Ioannou Index
