A systematic physical mapping and sequencing efforts in an estimated 10Mb region of particular interest on mouse chromosome 17.The goal is to define genes and regulatory phenomena in the region.

The region chosen is a part of the mouse t-complex (between DNA markers D17mit19 and D17Wsu193e). About 1% of the mouse genome, or 30 Mb, is included in the entire t-complex. It encodes genes involved in embryonic development, distortion of male transmission ratio, male sterility, and genomic imprinting. The mapping of many mutant loci to the region has made it fascinating to geneticists and developmental biologists for much of the century, but very few genes have been associated with mutant phenotypes (T, qk, Tme). The situation is particularly unsatisfactory for the large number of recessive lethal mutations that have been mapped to the t-complex: they have been grouped into at least 8 complementation groups, but none of the responsible genes has yet been found.

Because the region contains a number of duplications and rearrangements, it requires targeted mapping/ sequencing efforts

Seed contigs are established by screening Research Genetics and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI-22) libraries with mapped ESTs from ectoplacental cone and 7.5dpc embryonic cDNA libraries (Ko et al., 1998). STSs were also designed from genes mapped to the t-complex region, for which sequences were available in the Genbank database, and screened. The resulting clones were single colony purified from the wells and STS content was rationalized. Contigs are extended by walking steps with new STSs generated from unique sequences derived from the ends of BAC clones. The contigs are also enriched with STSs generated from inter-B1 products cloned into ‘TA’ cloning vector.

BAC clones have been recovered and seed contigs established for the genes Zfp54, Igf2r, Tsc2, Psmb1, Plg, Thbs2, and for ESTs D17Wsu134e, D17Wsu155e, D17Ertd197e and D17Ertd262e (Click here for the map).