The recently identified Fanconi anaemia A (FAA) gene is located on chromosomal band 16q24.3 within a region that has been frequently reported to show loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in breast cancer.
We have investigated the molecular pathology of FA by screening the FAA gene for mutations in a panel of 90 patients identified by the European FA research group, EUFAR.
A total of seven known genes, including PRSM1, PISSLRE, and the recently cloned Fanconi anemia A (FAA) gene, and potential transcripts from exon-trapping experiments have been located to this contig.
Knowledge of the structure of the FAA gene will provide an invaluable resource for the discovery of mutations in the gene that accounts for about 60-66% of FA patients.