MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEW HUMAN MINISATELLITE THAT IS ABLE TO FORM SINGLE-STRANDED LOOPS IN-VITRO AND IS RECOGNIZED BY NUCLEAR PROTEINS

We report the isolation of a new low polymorphic GC-rich human minisat ellite locus (MsH42) that contains different recombination motifs and is homologous to sequences involved in immunoglobulin class-switching. Furthermore, we show that MsH42 undergoes slipped-strand mispairing d uring PCR indicating its ability to generate single-stranded loops. Sp ecific DNA-protein complexes were detected in band-shifting experiment s using nuclear extracts from mouse testes and human NC-37 cells. The possible implications of this minisatellite in recombination events is discussed. (C) 1997 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.