The long-term priority of this aspect of the Laboratory of Cancer Genetics is the development and implementation of methods integrating molecular and cytogenetic technologies. The impetus for this effort is largely derived from the inadequacy of older technologies to unravel the complex genomic alterations occurring during oncogenesis. Improvements in technology for placing molecular probes onto the cytogenetic map combined with the ability to convert cytogenetically observable structures into discrete molecular reagents now provide an important pathway for information flow between the molecular and cytogenetic arenas. Chromosome microdissection has provided a key technology for generating the reagents which facilitate this effort. The project is divided into two major areas. 1) High-resolution positional reagents in visualization methods. [This work encompasses microdissection and amplification technology as well as high-resolution fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)]. 2) Isolation of region-specific cDNAs by microdissection-mediated cDNA capture. [The specific aim encompassing a variety of techniques aimed at using various hybrid selection techniques to identify candidate cDNAs involved in human disease].
