THE MDX-AMPLIFICATION-RESISTANT MUTATION SYSTEM ASSAY, A SIMPLE AND RAPID POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION-BASED DETECTION OF THE MDX ALLELE

The mdx mouse is a murine genetic equivalent of the human X-linked let hal disorder, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), A number of studies u tilizing the mdx mouse have demonstrated the feasibility of gene thera py for this disorder, Many such studies require the ability to determi ne rapidly the mdx genotype of experimental animals, Previous methods described to identify the mdx allele require multiple manipulations wh ich are technically demanding, We now describe a simple and rapid meth od to detect the mdx and wild-type alleles in crude mouse DNA samples, by the mdx-amplification-resistant mutation system (ARMS) assay, With this system we correctly identified the mdx status of various transge ne-containing animals in a rapid and simple fashion, We discuss the ut ility of this system for many other studies utilizing the mdx mouse as a model system. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.