A rat genetic linkage map and comparative maps for mouse or human homologous rat genes

Abstract

The rat (Rattus norvegicus) is used in a broad field of biomedical research, and numerous animal models for human diseases have been developed. The rat genetic map, however, remains poorly documented. Hedrich (1990) described a rat linkage map consisting of 13 groups, of which only 6 were assigned to chromosomes. Levan and coworkers (1991, 1992) collected mapping information from the literature, including their own works. Their tables and figures contain gene chromosomal assignments, cytogenetical localizations, and comparisons of the rat G-banding pattern with those of mice and humans, but do not include any information about gene orders or distances. Recently, an informative rat genetic linkage map has been reported by Serikawa and colleagues (1992b). It is based on the segregation of 125 polymorphic markers in seven rat backcrosses and two F 2 crosses, and all of the linkage groups are assigned to particular chromosomes. The linkage map and the information on microsatellite markers became a great help for genetic studies with rat models for human diseases. Since then, a considerable amount of new data for the rat linkage map has appeared in several publications. We, therefore, have collected mapping data published up to the middle of 1993, including our recent reports, and have summarized it here in a list of mapped loci. This genetic map, constructed by combining several linkage data, and two comparative maps for mouse or human homologous rat genes should be very informative to many researchers working on genetic studies in rats, mice, or humans.