Telomere length regulation in mice is linked to a novel chromosome locus.
Little is known about the mechanisms that regulate species-specific telomere length, particularly in mammalian species. The genetic regulation of telomere length was therefore investigated by using two inter-fertile species of mice, which differ in their telomere length. Mus musculus (telomere length >25 kb) and Mus spretus (telomere length 5-15 kb) were used to generate F1 crosses and reciprocal backcrosses, which were then analyzed for regulation of telomere length. This analysis indicated that a dominant and trans-acting mechanism exists capable of extensive elongation of telomeres in somatic cells after fusion of parental germline cells with discrepant telomere lengths. A genome wide screen of interspecific crosses, using M. spretus as the recurrent parent, identified a 5-centimorgan region on distal chromosome 2 that predominantly controls the observed species-specific telomere length regulation. This locus is distinct from candidate genes encoding known telomere-binding proteins or telomerase components. These results demonstrate that an unidentified gene(s) mapped to distal chromosome 2 regulates telomere length in the mouse.
Zhu
L
L
Rowe Program in Genetics, Departments of Biological Chemistry and Medicine University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Hathcock
K S
KS
Hande
P
P
Lansdorp
P M
PM
Seldin
M F
MF
Hodes
R J
RJ
D000818:Animals; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D016615:Telomere