CHARACTERIZATION OF THE GENOMES

We propose to sequence the V alpha, J alpha, V delta and J delta gene segments from the alpha-and delta chain T-cell receptor loci in man and mouse. In addition, we propose to sequence 250 kb of contiguous DNA sequence 5' from the C alpha gene in each species. This will region encompass all of the J alpha, C delta, J delta, and V delta gene segment as well as many of the V alpha gene segments. These DNA sequence analyses will provide us with fundamental insights into the other kinds of genes that may be encoded in these areas, the possibility of using extensive homology comparisons to identify non-coding conserved regions of sequence and the problems of megabase DNA sequencing, In addition, we propose to develop better techniques for mapping DNA and more rapid techniques for sequencing DNA.