An integrated 4249 marker FISH/RH map of the canine genome

Matthew Breen^*¹ , Christophe Hitte^*² , Travis D Lorentzen^*³ , Rachael Thomas¹ , Edouard Cadieu² , Leah Sabacan³ , Allyson Scott¹ , Gwenaelle Evanno² , Heidi G Parker³ , Ewen F Kirkness⁴ , Ruth Hudson⁵ , Richard Guyon² , Gregory G Mahairas⁶ , Boris Gelfenbeyn³ , Claire M Fraser⁴ , Catherine André² , Francis Galibert² and Elaine A Ostrander³

¹Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 4700 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA

²UMR 6061 CNRS, Génétique et Développement, Faculté de Médecine, 35043 Rennes Cédex, France

³Clinical and Human Biology Divisions, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle WA 98109-1024, USA

⁴The Institute for Genomic Research, 9712 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA

⁵Oncology Research, Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Suffolk, CB8 7UU, U.K

⁶VieVax Corp. 1616 Eastlake Ave. E., Seattle, WA 98102 USA

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

BMC Genomics 2004, 5:65doi:10.1186/1471-2164-5-65


Published:	13 September 2004

Abstract

Background

The 156 breeds of dog recognized by the American Kennel Club offer a unique opportunity to map genes important in genetic variation. Each breed features a defining constellation of morphological and behavioral traits, often generated by deliberate crossing of closely related individuals, leading to a high rate of genetic disease in many breeds. Understanding the genetic basis of both phenotypic variation and disease susceptibility in the dog provides new ways in which to dissect the genetics of human health and biology.

Results

To facilitate both genetic mapping and cloning efforts, we have constructed an integrated canine genome map that is both dense and accurate. The resulting resource encompasses 4249 markers, and was constructed using the RHDF5000-2 whole genome radiation hybrid panel. The radiation hybrid (RH) map features a density of one marker every 900 Kb and contains 1760 bacterial artificial chromosome clones (BACs) localized to 1423 unique positions, 851 of which have also been mapped by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The two data sets show excellent concordance. Excluding the Y chromosome, the map features an RH/FISH mapped BAC every 3.5 Mb and an RH mapped BAC-end, on average, every 2 Mb. For 2233 markers, the orthologous human genes have been established, allowing the identification of 79 conserved segments (CS) between the dog and human genomes, dramatically extending the length of most previously described CS.

Conclusions

These results provide a necessary resource for the canine genome mapping community to undertake positional cloning experiments and provide new insights into the comparative canine-human genome maps.