Unexpected high rate of de novo constitutional t(11;22) translocations in sperm from normal males

Junction fragments from the constitutional t(11;22)(q23;q11) translocation have previously been cloned and sequenced. Here we report a high incidence of translocation-specific PCR products in sperm DNA from normal individuals. Somatic DNA from these and other normal individuals or from people with chromosomal breakage syndromes do not yield PCR junction fragments, indicating that this translocation originates during meiosis.