Construction and characterization of a vestibular-specific cDNA library using T7-based RNA amplification.

Using a very small amount of inner-ear tissue, we constructed a human vestibular cDNA library by means of T7-based amplification of RNA. This library should allow us to identify genes likely to be involved in auditory and vestibular functions. Here we first report the characterization of the human vestibular cDNA library. Among 506 cDNA clones randomly selected from the vestibular cDNA library, DNA sequences of 301 cDNA clones were identical to those of genes of known function. Twenty-two cDNA clones were considered to be novel because they did not match any cDNA sequences in the public database. The information in our study will provide a valuable resource for identifying several novel genes underlying deafness disorders and vestibular dysfunction.