Simple rapid method for the synthesis of radioactively labeled cDNA hybridization probes utilizing bacteriophage M13mp7.

Double-stranded cDNA sequences for rat alpha 1-acid glycoprotein and rat glutathione S-transferase mRNAs were inserted into the Pst I site of bacteriophage M13mp7 and used to develop a new method for preparing specific cDNA hybridization probes directly from cloned template DNA. A palindrome sequence surrounding the Pst I site in the vector DNA permitted single-stranded DNA isolated from the recombinant phage to fold back, thus forming a stable hybrid bounded on the ends by a large loop of M13mp7 single-stranded DNA and a small loop of inserted foreign DNA. A primer corresponding to an internal sequence of the foreign DNA was hybridized, then Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I was used to synthesize a 32P-labeled complementary DNA copy of the cloned inserted DNA. The single-stranded cDNA reaction product was easily isolated by subsequent sedimentation through alkaline sucrose gradients. Gel electrophoresis of the labeled cDNA product, after denaturation with glyoxal, indicated a single discrete band with an electrophoretic mobility corresponding to the length of the inserted DNA sequence. About 95% of the cDNA product formed S1 nuclease-resistant hybrids in hybridization reactions with excess RNA in solution. DNA sequences complementary to the M13mp7 vector DNA were not detected in the cDNA product. Thus, these M13mp7-derived probes are the functional equivalent of cDNA copies to mRNAs and can be employed for quantitative measurements of mRNA concentration. This simple, rapid method probably can be used for most cloned DNA sequences to yield single-stranded radioactively labeled DNA, without contaminating vector DNA sequences, for virtually any hybridization requirement.