Field inversion gel electrophoresis with different pulse time ramps.

The influence of different pulse time ramps on the separation of yeast chromosomes with field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE) was investigated by the means of two dimensional gel electrophoresis. The problem of band inversion, which makes it difficult to distinguish DNA molecules of different size, has been solved by using double randomized pulse times. A major disadvantage of the field inversion technique is thereby overcome, making this system comparable to other pulsed field techniques.     

Parameters of field inversion gel electrophoresis for the analysis of pox virus genomes.

The effects of variation in the lengths of forward and reverse pulses, voltage gradient, gel concentration and gel temperature on the mobility of DNA molecules in agarose gels during field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE) have been determined. A curve, which best fits the empirical data, is presented and allows the choice of pulse conditions and voltage gradient most suitable for the resolution of molecules of chosen size. The use of FIGE in the analysis and direct mapping of large virus genomes is illustrated using vaccinia virus DNA.     

Pulse time and agarose concentration affect the electrophoretic mobility of cccDNA during PFGE and FIGE [corrected].

Circular DNAs have been shown to migrate in an unusual manner during field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE) and orthogonal field alternating gel electrophoresis (OFAGE). We studied the effect of varying pulse time and agarose concentration on the electrophoretic mobility of supercoiled (ccc) DNAs ranging from 2 kbp to 16 kbp during FIGE and contoured homogeneous electric fields (CHEF). Both supercoiled and linear molecules display a minimum mobility as a function of pulse time in a CHEF apparatus. Linear and cccDNAs of the same size are differently affected by pulse time. Pulse-time dependence was observed for cccDNAs in both systems. Pulse-time dependence in FIGE is very small at a 1.0% agarose concentration, but is pronounced in 0.8% or 1.2% gels.     

Atypical sieving of open circular DNA during pulsed field agarose gel electrophoresis

Pulsed field agarose gel (PFG) electrophoresis, originally used to improve the resolution by length of linear DNA [Cantor et al. (1988) Annu. Rev. Biophys. Biophys. Chem. 17, 287-304], is found here to cause atypical sieving of 48.5-97.0-kb open circular DNA. Two procedures of PFG electrophoresis are used: rotating gel electrophoresis with rotation of 2 pi radians [2 pi RGE; Serwer, P., & Hayes, S.J. (1989) Appl. Theor. Electrophor. (in press)] and field inversion gel electrophoresis [FIGE; Carle, G.F., Frank, M., & Olson, M. V. (1986) Science 232, 65-68]. During 2 pi RGE at 6 V/cm, the electrophoretic mobility (mu) of 48.5-kb open circular DNA increases in magnitude as agarose percentage (A) increases from 0.4 to 1.5. The sieving revealed by this mu vs A relationship is highly atypical (possibly unique) for any particle. The extent of this atypical sieving increases as electrical potential gradient, DNA length, and pulse time increase. In some cases a maximum is observed in a plot of mu's magnitude vs A. The mu of open circular lambda DNA is smaller in magnitude than the mu of equally long linear lambda DNA. Atypical sieving has also been observed by use of FIGE. As pulse times used during FIGE decrease below those achievable by 2 pi RGE, the progressive loss of circular DNA's atypical sieving is accompanied by both a dramatic increase in mu's magnitude at the lower A values and a decrease in mu's magnitude at the higher A values. At the lower A values, open circular DNA sometimes migrates more rapidly than linear DNA of the same length.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Conformational correlatives of DNA band compression and bidirectional migration during field inversion gel electrophoresis, detected by quantitative video epifluorescence microscopy.

Individual DNA molecules in the Mb size range were monitored by epifluorescence video microscopy during field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE). DNA migrating in an agarose gel gives rise to characteristic V-conformational elements and when doing so exhibits a reduced mobility. When the V-conformational elements per DNA molecule are few, the degree of retardation appears proportional to the number of V's, and since larger DNA species exhibit more V's, to DNA size. For a particular pulse frequency, the proportionality breaks down progressively as the number of V-conformational elements per DNA molecule increases. The loss of proportionality between DNA length and migration rate is being correlated with the macroscopically observed loss of electrophoretic size discrimination known as band compression. For a particular pulsing frequency and size class of DNA, the loss of size discrimination is thought to be due to the different orientations of migration, caused by the asymmetric distribution of V-conformational elements when the number of these elements is moderate. Small and very large DNA by contrast migrate with the direction of the biased field. These events, analyzed by microscopic measurement, are consistent with the known macroscopically observed double-valued mobilities in FIGE.     

Separation of large circular DNA by electrophoresis in agarose gels

The electrophoresis of circular DNA, ranging in size from 4.4 kilobase pairs (kbp) to 220 kbp, was studied in agarose gels. Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) DNA was used as a source of large supercoiled and open circular (relaxed) forms. The open circles above approximately 50 kbp were trapped at the sample wells of 1% agarose gels during electrophoresis at 3 V/cm. Field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE) was used to relieve the trapping of the open circles in the gels. Using FIGE (30 s forward pulse time), open circles with sizes of 115 and 220 kbp required reverse pulse times of 3 and 6 s, respectively, to free the circles from open-ended gel fibers. A minimum in the gel velocity of the open circles was measured at approximately 20 kbp. Open circles below approximately 20 kbp migrated slower than the supercoiled forms, and above 20 kbp the order was reversed. These results indicate that when the size of the open circles exceeded the average pore size of a gel and it was forced to span multiple pores, the open circles gained a mobility advantage. Decreasing the ionic strength of the electrophoresis buffer significantly decreased the mobility of the smaller circles and slightly increased the mobility of the larger circles.     

Model and computer simulations of the motion of DNA molecules during pulse field gel electrophoresis

A model is presented for the motion of individual molecules of DNA undergoing pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The molecule is represented by a chain of charged beads connected by entropic springs, and the gel is represented by a segmented tube surrounding the beads. This model differs from earlier reptation/tube models in that the tube is allowed to leak in certain places and the chain can double over and flow out of the side of the tube in kinks. It is found that these kinks often lead to the formation of U shapes, which are a major source of retardation in PFGE. The results of computer simulations using this model are compared with real DNA experimental results for the following cases: steady field motion as seen in fluorescence microscopy, mobility in steady fields, mobility in transverse field alternation gel electrophoresis (TFAGE), mobility in field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE), and linear dichroism (LD) of DNA in agarose gels during PFGE. Good agreement between the simulations and the experimental results is obtained.     

Electrophoretic analysis of Histoplasma capsulatum chromosomal DNA.

Seven chromosome-sized DNA molecules in the Downs strain of Histoplasma capsulatum were resolved by using chromosome-specific DNA probes in blot hybridizations of contour-clamped homogeneous electric field (CHEF) and field-inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE) agarose gels. The sizes of the chromosomal DNA bands extended from that of the largest Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome to beyond that of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe chromosomes. Under our experimental conditions, the order of the five largest DNA bands was inverted in the FIGE gel relative to the CHEF gel, demonstrating a characteristic of FIGE whereby large DNA molecules may have greater rather than lesser mobility with increasing size. Comparison of the Downs strain with other H. capsulatum strains by CHEF and FIGE analysis revealed considerable variability in band mobility. The resolution of seven chromosome-sized DNA molecules in the Downs strain provides a minimum estimate of the chromosome number.     

Cystic fibrosis: screening for a DNA deletion by field inversion gel electrophoresis

Summary We analyzed DNA of ten cystic fibrosis (CF) patients representing DNA of 19 different CF chromosomes and screened for deletions by means of field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE). No differences were detected after digestion of the DNA samples with the restriction enzymes Not I and Sfi I and hybridization with the probes MetH, MetD, J3.11, and 7C22. Thus the percentage of deletions occurring within the CF region and detectable with FIGE is less than 15.2% (95% confidence interval, N=19)     

Preparation and FIGE separation of infrequent restriction fragments from Mycoplasma mycoides DNA

Use of procedures for obtaining satisfactory preparation and digestion of intact DNA of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Y in agarose blocks is reported. The use of inverted field agarose gel electrophoresis (FIGE) for separation of the small number of fragments derived from the genome by several restriction endonuclease digestions is shown. An effect that fragments containing replication forks remain in the well during FIGE, distorting the representative yield of restriction fragments on the gels, is overcome by incubating cells with chloramphenicol for 1 1/2 h before harvest to allow rounds of replication to go to completion without new initiations of DNA synthesis.     

Geographic variation in Giardia karyotypes

Chromosomes of 41 stocks of Giardia duodenalis derived from humans and 14 stocks from other animal species were analysed by field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE). These stocks have two predominant karyotypes as judged by FIGE which appear to fit a geographic distribution. Under FIGE conditions used to optimize the detection of size variation in Giardia chromosomes, five or six major chromosomes could be identified. Most of the stocks derived from North America have three major chromosomes smaller than 800 kb while most of the Australian stocks have four. A few exceptions, and minor variations, of these karyotypes were observed. It was estimated that not all of the DNA entered the gel, the remainder being trapped conformations or very large chromosomes. Karyotypes of Giardia stocks from different animal hosts and human sources within a geographical region are similar.     

Pulsed field gel electrophoresis of representatives of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis BCG strains

Abstract Using field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE), different Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, such as phage prototypes, exhibit different DNA restriction patterns which are easy to compare. Virulent and avirulent variants of M. tuberculosis H37, as well as daughter strains of M. bovis BCG, display characteristic DNA profiles. BCG strains isolated from suppurative adenitis following vaccination of French patients showed patterns identical to the BCG Pasteur strain used for vaccination. These results demonstrate that FIGE of DNA restriction fragments generated by Dra I represents a suitable technique for the analysis of mycobacteria at a genomic level. The Dra I profiles allow the differentiation and precise identification of the BCG Pasteur, Glaxo, Russian and Japanese strains.     

Comparison of the separation of Candida albicans chromosome-sized DNA by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis techniques.

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis techniques were used to study chromosome-sized DNA molecules of C. albicans. Chromosome-sized DNA of two strains of Candida albicans has been resolved into 8 bands by orthogonal-field-alternation gel electrophoresis (OFAGE). Six bands were observed in chromosomal preparations of C. albicans using field-inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE). Differences in the electrophoretic mobilities of bands of the strains of C. albicans examined suggests that chromosome-length polymorphisms exist and make it difficult to correlate the banding patterns among strains. These correlations were facilitated, however, by assignment of C. albicans chromosomes by hybridization using a collection of cloned DNA probes specific for each of the 8 observed bands. Southern blotting showed that the 6 FIGE bands consisted of 4 singlets and 2 comigrating doublets, accounting for the 8 bands observed by OFAGE analysis. The agreement between OFAGE and FIGE analysis suggests that the C. albicans haploid genome contains a minimum of 8 chromosomes.     

Use of pulsed field gel electrophoresis to size the chromosome of the bacterial fish pathogen Yersinia ruckeri

Field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE) and contour-clamped homogeneous field (CHEF) electrophoresis were used to analyse the chromosome of Yersinia ruckeri. The 8 base-pair recognition endonucleases, NotI and SfiI, generated less than 47 DNA fragments whose size and distribution were appropriate for pulsed field separation. Each isolate displayed a characteristic restriction pattern, with about 20% of bands in common. Depending on the strain used, the estimated genome size for this bacterial fish pathogen ranged from 4460 to 4770 kilobase pairs.     

Driving multiple pulsed field electrophoresis devices from one personal computer

A PC has been programmed to control more than one pulsed fieldelectrophoresis device (e.g. clamped homogeneous electric field,CHEF; field inversion gel electrophoresis, FIGE). Each deviceis assumed to have a field controller requiring signals to (i)switch the field on/off, (ii) re-orient the field and (iii)invert the field. An interface between the computer parallelport and up to four devices is suggested and this was builtfrom stan dard TTL logic and optical couplers. Software hasbeen written to drive all four devices in parallel. Each pulsedfield device may have a totally independent pulse regime, maybe stopped or started at random and may be monitored at anytime during an experiment. Setting up and running each deviceis almost entirely by mouse control and frequently used pulseregimes may be saved and rapidly retrieved from hard or floppydisk. The software can be configured for any combination ofCHEF and FIGE devices.     

Separation of Different Conformations of Plant Mitochondrial DNA Molecules by Field Inversion Gel Electrophoresis

Mitochondrial (mt) DNA structure in higher plants is still unclear as to the circularity or linearity of the genome. We have developed a system to electrophoretically separate distinct populations of mtDNA, with some populations enriched for networked linear and circular DNA molecules. Using field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE) and electron microscopy (EM), we have identified four distinct populations of mtDNA from two Brassica species. Using FIGE, two slow migrating mtDNA populations ran faster than a 66 kbp Escherichia coli circular plasmid marker, while these same populations comigrated in the compression zone in contour-clamped homogeneous electrophoretic field (CHEF) gels. A fast-migrating mtDNA population was also resolved by FIGE as a diffuse band between 20 to 70 kbp when compared with linear lambda () markers. FIGE resolved the 66 kbp circular marker into several multimers, while CHEF resolved only open-circular monomers and linears. In agreement with FIGE results, EM analysis indicated the two slow migrating mtDNA populations contained circular (both supercoiled and relaxed circles) and free linear molecules of 10-60 kbp, and networked linear molecules of 45–140 kbp total size that may represent recombination intermediates. The fast migrating population consisted of 10–50 kbp linear molecules. Well-bound mtDNA showed only long linear molecules of 40–150 kbp with no detection of circles or complex/rosette molecules. This report shows that FIGE has clear advantages over CHEF for separating large DNA molecules with different conformations, and may be very useful for studies to characterize genome structure in complex systems such as plant mitochondria.     

Long-range physical map of the Ly-6 complex: mapping the Ly-6 multigene family by field-inversion and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.

The Ly-6 proteins are encoded by a recently identified multigene family. Much attention has been focused on these proteins because they may be involved in lymphocyte activation, and expression of some of them occurs at critical times in the differentiation of lymphocytes. These features make it important to investigate and to characterize further this family of molecules and the genes that encode them. To aid our investigation of these issues, we have constructed a physical map of the entire Ly-6 complex in the C57BL/6 murine genome using the combined techniques of field-inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE), phage and cosmid genomic library screening, and two-dimensional DNA electrophoresis. This map spans approximately 1600 kb, and comparison of the FIGE map and cosmids indicates that most of the Ly-6 complex has been isolated in the cosmid clones.     

Cosmid mapping of the human chorionic gonadotropin beta subunit genes by field-inversion gel electrophoresis.

A cosmid clone containing the entire hCG beta gene cluster has been isolated. The restriction map of this clone has been determined by an indirect-end-label FIGE (field inversion gel electrophoresis) method. Analysis of this cosmid clone shows that there are 6 hCG beta genes in human genomic DNA. A previously uncloned portion of the hCG beta cluster, termed the "gap" region, has been shown not to contain any sequences homologous to the hCG beta cDNA. The restriction mapping method employed in this study takes advantage of the superior resolution of FIGE for high molecular weight DNA fragments in the size range 15-50 kb. This method is broadly applicable and permits rapid and accurate restriction mapping for extended regions of genomic DNA that have been cloned into cosmid or lambda vectors.     

Field inversion gel electrophoresis in denaturing polyacrylamide gels.

The velocities of single stranded DNA molecules in denaturing polyacrylamide gels during symmetric and asymmetric field inversion were measured at different pulse times and gel concentrations. Under the conditions chosen in our study, pulse times as short as a few milliseconds lead to a retardation of DNA molecules larger than 400 bases. We found that a field inversion with an electric field in the forward direction of about double the strength of that applied in the backward direction is a good compromise between the degree of retardation, the temperature control requirements and the run time of the gel.     

Preparation of megabase-sized tomato DNA and separation of large restriction fragments by field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE)

The Schwartz and Cantor technique for releasing and fractionating megabase-sized DNA from agarose-embedded cells is beginning to bridge the gap in resoluation between classical genetics and current molecular DNA techniques, particularly in mammalian systems. As yet no conditions have been described for preparing plant DNA that is of sufficient length to allow similar long-range restriction mapping experiments in plant systems. In this report, we describe the application of the Schwartz and Cantor technique for preparing high molecular weight DNA from embedded tomato leaf protoplasts, as well as conditions for generating and fractionating large restriction fragments, by field inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE). The bulk of DNA released from lysed protoplasts was at least 2 Mb in size and amenable to restriction digestion as shown by hybridizing Southern blots with, among others, a probe for the Adh-2 gene of tomato. Restriction fragments as large as 700 kb were detected. Chloroplast DNA is isolated intact, amenable to restriction analysis and, in its native form, not mobile in FIGE.