A jumping Robertsonian translocation: a molecular and cytogenetic study

We report a patient with mosaicism for two different Robertsonian translocations, both involving chromosome 21. She carries an unbalanced cell line with an i(21q) and a balanced cell line with a rob(21q22q). She is phenotypically normal but has two children who inherited the i(21q) and have Down syndrome. We demonstrate that both abnormal chromosomes are dicentric and that the proband’s 21/21 rearrangement is an isochromosome formed from a maternally derived chromosome 21. We propose a model in which the i(21q) is the progenitor rearrangement in the proband, which subsequently participated in a nonreciprocal rearrangement characteristic of a jumping translocation. In addition, we review other cases of constitutional mosaicism involving jumping translocations. Received: 4 October 1995 / Revised: 14 February 1996