In vitro exposure of tumorigenic cell lines to the chemotherapeutic agent PALA (N-(phosphonoacetyl)-L-aspartate) usually results in cell death (shown here to be apoptosis), followed by clonal growth of rare survivors. On the other hand, normal diploid cells respond to PALA by arresting in G1 and G2 of the cell cycle. It was previously suggested that growth control mechanisms might exist to prevent cells from entering S phase under toxic conditions and that genes involved in such mechanisms were mutated or deleted in tumor cells. Interestingly, the tumor suppressor gene p53, a putative G1 control gene, was shown to mediate PALA-induced growth arrest. However, growth arrest occurs in cells that lack wild-type p53, suggesting that other genes are involved as well. To identify these genes, we have generated whole cell hybrids between mouse melanoma and normal human fibroblast cells. At early passage, a whole cell hybrid (BHF12) responds to PALA with growth arrest, while at later passage, the same hybrid undergoes apoptosis. To determine which human chromosomes are required for the PALA-induced growth arrest phenotype, we isolated subclones of the hybrid and tested them for their PALA response. FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification have been used to identify the human chromosome content of BHF12 and its subclones. Several human chromosomes, in addition to chromosome 17 (the location of p53), are consistently associated with the growth arrest phenotype.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)