Non-isotopic restriction mapping of cosmid DNA

A protocol for the non-isotopic restriction mapping of cosmid DNA was developed. After digestion with λ terminase and partial digestion with restriction enzymes. DNA fragments containing right or left cohesive cos termini were selectively captured by hybridization with biotinylated oligonucleotides, bound to magnetic beads coated with streptavidin and recovered by heating. Recovered DNA fragments containing cos ends were resolved by agarose gel electrophoresis, and fluorescence from the DNA fragments in the ethidium bromide-stained gel was detected with the fluorescent image analyzer, FMBIO(TM). Restriction maps were directly determined from the ladder of the partial digestion products. Two micrograms of cosmid DNA for each partial digestion were sufficient for mapping the restriction enzyme sites. This procedure provides a prototype for other cos sequence-mediated or other specific sequence-mediated DNA isolation technologies and a convenient method for non-isotopic DNA analysis. The rapid physical analysis of cosmid DNA that we present here will contribute to large DNA structural analyses like the human genome project.