YAC Transfer by Microinjection

Soon after the first report of how yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) could be used as cloning vectors for large DNA fragments, the transfer of YACs into mammalian cells came into focus of interest, Following mammalian cell transfer, the YAC integrates into the host genome. Because of the large size of YACs, genes contained within the construct should be regulated and expressed at levels comparable to their endogenous counterparts. This method should, therefore, allow the identification of genes by complementation and can also be used to study gene function and regulation in vivo. YACs ranging in size from 35–650 kb have been transferred to mammalian cells.