title: Spontaneous and induced minisatellite instability.
abstract: Minisatellites provide not only the basis for DNA fingerprinting and DNA profiling but also extremely informative systems for analysing processes of tandem repeat turnover in the human genome. Minisatellite instability appears to involve distinct mutation processes in somatic and germline cells; in the germline, mutation is frequently dominated by inter-allelic conversion-like events most likely occurring at meiosis and apparently regulated by cis-acting mutation initiator elements. Attempts to define these initiators in transgenic mice have so far been thwarted by what appears to be a major human/mouse barrier to the inter-species transfer of repeat instability. Minisatellites not only show high frequency spontaneous mutation in the germline, but also appear to be very sensitive to mutation induction by ionizing radiation, both in experimentally irradiated mice and in human populations exposed following the Chernobyl disaster; the mechanisms of mutation induction by radiation remain enigmatic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, UK. ajj@le.ac.uk
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Jeffreys
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bois
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Buard
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Collick
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dubrova
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Hollies
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: May
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Neil
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Stead
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tamaki
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yardley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000528:radiation effects; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004355:Drug Stability; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008540:Meiosis; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats; D009154:Mutation; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000737:chemistry; D014455:Ukraine
chemical_list: D004247:DNA