ISOLATION OF DEVELOPMENTALLY-REGULATED GENES BY DIFFERENTIAL DISPLAY SCREENING OF CDNA LIBRARIES

mRNA differential display RT-PCR has been extensively used for the iso lation of genes differentially expressed between RNA populations. We h ave assessed its utility for the identification of developmentally reg ulated genes in plasmid cDNA libraries derived from individual tissues dissected from early mouse embryos. Using plasmid Southern blot hybri disation as a secondary screen, we are able to identify such genes and show by whole-mount in situ hybridisation that their expression patte rn is that expected from the differential display profile.