Efficient procedure for transferring specific human genes into Chinese hamster cell mutants: interspecific transfer of the human genes encoding leucyl- and asparaginyl-tRNA synthetases.

We have developed a simple and efficient procedure for transferring specific human genes into mutant Chinese hamster ovary cell recipients that does not rely on using calcium phosphate-precipitated high-molecular-weight DNA. Interspecific cell hybrids between human leukocytes and temperature-sensitive Chinese hamster cell mutants with either a thermolabile leucyl-tRNA synthetase or a thermolabile asparaginyl-tRNA synthetase were used as the starting material in these experiments. These hybrids contain only one or a few human chromosomes and require expression of the appropriate human aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase gene to grow at 39 degrees C. Hybrids were exposed to very high doses of gamma-irradiation to extensively fragment the chromosomes and re-fused immediately to the original temperature-sensitive Chinese hamster mutant, and secondary hybrids were isolated at 39 degrees C. Secondary hybrids, which had retained small fragments of the human genome containing the selected gene, were subjected to another round of irradiation, refusion, and selection at 39 degrees C to reduce the amount of human DNA even further. Using this procedure, we have constructed Chinese hamster cell lines that express the human genes encoding either asparaginyl- or leucyl-tRNA synthetase, yet less than 0.1% of their DNA is derived from the human genome, as quantitated by a sensitive dot-blot nucleic acid hybridization procedure. Analysis of these cell lines with Southern blots confirmed the presence of a small number of restriction endonuclease fragments containing human DNA specifically. These cell lines represent a convenient and simple means to clone the human genomic sequences of interest.