Discovery of gene families and alternatively spliced variants by RecA-mediated cloning

Probing the functional complexity of the human genome will require new gene cloning techniques, not only to discover intraspecies gene homologs and interspecies gene orthologs, but also to identify alternatively spliced gene variants. We report homologous cDNA cloning methods that allow cloning of gene family members, genes from different species, and alternatively spliced gene variants. We cloned human 14-3-3 gene family members using DNA probes with as much as 35% sequence divergence, cloned alternatively spliced gene forms of Rad51D, and cloned a novel splice form of the human 14-3-3 theta gene with a unique expression pattern. Interspecies gene cloning was demonstrated for the mouse Rad51C and mouse beta-actin genes using human gene probes. The gene family cloning method is fast, efficient, and free from PCR errors; moreover, it exploits the abilities of RecA protein to pair homologous or partially homologous DNA sequences stably in kinetically trapped, multistranded DNA hybrids that can be used for subsequent gene clone enrichment.