Improved resolution of the comparative horse-human map: investigating markers with in silico and linkage mapping approaches.
Abstract: Genetic maps are extremely important tools for tracing the genes that govern economically significant traits, and microsatellites are a significant component of these. In this study, we isolated 2346 novel horse microsatellites as resources for the construction of high-density horse genetic maps. Of these 2346 markers, 339 (14.5%) horse sequences showed sequence homology to DNA sequences in the human genome, demonstrating that microsatellites as type II markers are valuable resources for developing linkage maps and that they have a potential equal to that of type I markers for developing comparative maps. Of the 339 markers, 206 (60.8%) were assigned to horse chromosomes using the Animal Health Trust (AHT) full-sib reference family, and 195 (94.6%) of these localized to the expected syntenic locations on the human genome. These results confirmed the high level of accuracy of in silico mapping. Thus, the 339 markers that exhibited homology to the human genome increased the density of markers on the horse-human comparative map. The resulting comparative map will facilitate the use of horse microsatellites as genetic markers for the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) that have been mapped on the human genome. In addition, although the in silico and linkage mapping data did not agree for the other 11 (5.4%) of the assigned 206 markers, these may represent new putative regions of horse-human synteny.
Publication Date: 2007-01-08 PubMed ID: 17306472DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2006.12.018Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article explores a study where scientists isolated numerous novel horse microsatellites to improve the construction of horse genetic maps. Following the isolation, a significant percentage of these microsatellites showed sequence similarity to human DNA, the insight acquired might be useful for identifying similar traits in humans.
Microsatellites and Genetic Mapping
- The study aimed to isolate novel microsatellites from horse DNA in order to construct a more comprehensive horse genetic map. A genetic map serves as a crucial tool to identify and understand the genes responsible for various traits.
- In the study, the scientist successfully isolated 2346 novel horse microsatellites. This makes for an even richer resource for building a high-density horse genetic map.
Horse-Human Homology
- Out of the isolated microsatellites, 14.5% (or 339) showed sequence similarity to human DNA sequences. This is an important finding as it demonstrates the value of microsatellites, especially as type-II markers, in developing comparative maps, made to compare the genomes of different species.
- The research demonstrated the potential equivalence microsatellites hold to type-I markers in the comparative mapping process.
In Silico and Linkage Mapping
- The study also confirmed the accuracy of virtual, or in silico, mapping—a process where computational techniques are used for mapping genomes—by successfully assigning 60.8% of the markers showing human-horse homology to horse chromosomes.
- This achievement provides an important tool for the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) that have been mapped on the human genome. QTL are regions in DNA that correlate with particular phenotypes, variations in which are important to the study of genetics.
New Regions of Horse-Human Synteny
- In the end, the study also reveals that though the in silico and linkage mapping data did not match for 5.4% of the 206 assigned markers, these anomalies could represent novel horse-human syntenic regions, which can be essential in identifying common genes or markers in both species.
Cite This Article
APA
Tozaki T, Swinburne J, Hirota K, Hasegawa T, Ishida N, Tobe T.
(2007).
Improved resolution of the comparative horse-human map: investigating markers with in silico and linkage mapping approaches.
Gene, 392(1-2), 181-186.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gene.2006.12.018 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Laboratory of Racing Chemistry, 1731-2, Tsurutamachi, Utsunomiya, Tochigi 320-0851, Japan. ttozaki@lrc.or.jp
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Chromosome Mapping
- Databases, Genetic
- Genetic Markers
- Horses / genetics
- Humans
- Microsatellite Repeats
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- Raudsepp T, Gustafson-Seabury A, Durkin K, Wagner ML, Goh G, Seabury CM, Brinkmeyer-Langford C, Lee EJ, Agarwala R, Stallknecht-Rice E, Schäffer AA, Skow LC, Tozaki T, Yasue H, Penedo MC, Lyons LA, Khazanehdari KA, Binns MM, MacLeod JN, Distl O, Guérin G, Leeb T, Mickelson JR, Chowdhary BP. A 4,103 marker integrated physical and comparative map of the horse genome. Cytogenet Genome Res 2008;122(1):28-36.
- Chowdhary BP, Raudsepp T. The horse genome derby: racing from map to whole genome sequence. Chromosome Res 2008;16(1):109-27.
- Tozaki T, Hirota K, Hasegawa T, Ishida N, Tobe T. Whole-genome linkage disequilibrium screening for complex traits in horses. Mol Genet Genomics 2007 Jun;277(6):663-72.
- Vychodilova L, Plasil M, Futas J, Kopecka A, Molinkova D, Wijacki T, Jahn P, Knoll A, Horin P. Genetic susceptibility to sarcoid in Arabian horses: associations with MHC class II and compound MHC class I/KLRA genotypes. Vet Res Commun 2025 May 1;49(3):184.
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