Priscilla M.K. Poon, Zheng Zhao, Xiang-qian Wu, Yu-xing Ni, Chi-Pui Pang
Rapid Analysis of CGG Repeat Length in the FMR1 Gene
The number of trinucleotide CGG repeats at the 5? untranslated
region of the FMR1 gene is associated with
the fragile X syndrome of mental retardation. We
screened for the CGG repeat length in the FMR1 gene
of the X-chromosomes from unrelated normal Chinese
subjects recruited in Hong Kong and Dalian, a southern
and a northern Chinese city respectively. These
cities are about 3000 km apart and the residents have
few historical interactions. Genomic DNA was
analysed by PCR and detected by Southern hybridisation
with a radiolabelled (CGG)5 probe for the CGG repeat
number. A different distribution pattern of CGG
allele size from the Caucasians is observed. It is a bimodal
pattern with the most common CGG repeats allele
at 29 against 30 in the Caucasians. Among the
Hong Kong subjects, five alleles of more than 50 CGG
repeats were detected, and four of those were in heterozygous
females. There was no difference in the repeat
patterns in subjects from the two cities, suggesting
no genotypic variation in FMR1 between northern
and southern Chinese.
Clinical Chemical Laboratory Medicine, Walter de Gruyter
Print ISSN: 1434-6621
Volume: 38, 09/2000
Pages: 935 - 938
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