Linking porcine microsatellite markers to known genome regions by identifying their human orthologs.
Microsatellites, or tandem simple sequence repeats (SSRs), have become one of the most popular molecular markers in genome mapping because of their abundance across genomes and because of their high levels of polymorphism. However, information on which genes surround or flank them has remained very limited for most SSRs, especially in livestock species. In this study, an in silico comparative mapping approach was developed to link porcine SSRs to known genome regions by identifying their human orthologs. From a total of 1321 porcine microsatellites used in this study, 228 were found to have blocks in alignment with human genomic sequences. These 228 SSRs span about 1459 cM of the porcine genome, but with uneven distributions, ranging from 2 on SSC12 to 24 on SSC14. Linking these porcine SSRs to the known genome regions in the human genome also revealed 16 new putative synteny groups between these two species. Fifteen SSRs on SSC3 with identified human orthologs were typed on a pig-hamster radiation hybrid (RH) panel and used in a joint analysis with 80 known gene markers previously mapped on SSC3 using the same panel. The analysis revealed that they were all highly linked to either one or both adjacent markers. These results indicated that assigning the porcine SSRs to known genome regions by identifying their human orthologs is a reliable approach. The process will provide a foundation for positional cloning of causative genes for economically important traits.
Jiang
Zhihua
Z
Department of Animal Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6351, USA. jiangz@wsu.edu
Michal
Jennifer J
JJ
D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D006224:Cricetinae; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D005819:Genetic Markers; D016678:Genome; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D008126:Lod Score; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D021101:Radiation Hybrid Mapping / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D013552:Swine / Q000235:genetics*
D005819:Genetic Markers