Chromosome assignment by polymerase chain reaction techniques: assignment of the oncogene FGF-5 to human chromosome 4.

We describe a new chromosomal assignment method based on the polymerase chain reaction mediated amplification of target sequences in DNAs from somatic cell hybrids. The new method is faster, much more sensitive and less labor intensive than the standard method of chromosome assignment by Southern hybridization analysis of somatic cell hybrid DNAs. The feasibility of the new approach was demonstrated by verifying the assignment of the previously mapped acidic fibroblast growth factor gene to human chromosome 5. The method was employed to assign the related oncogene, FGF-5, to human chromosome 4.