Mitotic chromosome preparations from mouse cells for karyotyping.

This unit contains protocols for the preparation of mitotic chromosomes from mouse peripheral blood, Giemsa banding of those chromosomes, and classification into a karyotype, including recognition of some common pitfalls of misidentification and information for determining aberrant chromosomes. The methods described can be used to identify visible chromosomal rearrangements and their precise cytological breakpoints in the living mouse. In conjunction with fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), the metaphase spreads can also be used for the linear placement of loci on a chromosome and for determining the insertion site(s) of a foreign transgene.