The development and applications of the bacterial artificial chromosome cloning system.
The development of the Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) system was driven in part by the Human Genome Project as a means to construct genomic DNA libraries and physical maps for genomic sequencing. The BAC system is based on the well-characterized Escherichia coli F-factor, a low copy plasmid that exists in a supercoiled circular form in host cells. The structural features of the F-factor allow stable maintenance of individual human DNA clones as well as easy manipulation of the cloned DNA. BACs are currently used in a wide array of applications from genome sequencing to gene discovery. This paper describes the key elements in the development of the BAC system and its current notable applications.
Shizuya
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Beckman Institute, Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. shizuya@its.caltech.edu
Kouros-Mehr
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D000818:Animals; D022202:Chromosomes, Artificial, Bacterial; D003001:Cloning, Molecular / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic