AJP - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Vol 257, Issue 2 47-L52, Copyright © 1989 by American Physiological Society
The search for the cystic fibrosis gene
M. Buchwald, L. C. Tsui and J. R. Riordan
Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
This article reviews progress made to date in the attempt to find the gene
causing cystic fibrosis (CF). The search has been focused on a region of
the human genome containing no more than 10 genes and has been accomplished
in two steps. First, linkage analysis was used to localize the gene to the
q31 band of chromosome 7. Subsequently, molecular cloning methods were
employed to isolate DNA segments estimated to be within 400,000 base pairs
of the CF gene. The current challenge in the research is to find the genes
located in this interval and to then prove that one of them is the CF gene.
The approaches by which this will be accomplished are discussed.
