BETA-THALASSEMIA MUTATIONS IN CHINESE SUBJECTS IDENTIFIED BY SYNTHETIC OLIGONUCLEOTIDES

<正> As most of the β-thalassemia mutations are point mutations, the oligonucleotides, specific for the β-thalassemia genes (β~T), can be synthesized to detect the mutations directly. Using synthetic oligonucleotides (nonadecamers) hemologous to the six β~T mutations as well as their normal counterparts as hybridization probes, DNAs from 10 β-thalassemia patients and their parents, living in Sichuan, Zhejiang, Guangxi and Hunan, were analysed. Of the 20 β~T chromosomes analysed to date, six different β-