A Linkage Map of the Rat Genome Derived from Three F₂ Crosses

We report the construction of a dense linkage map of the rat genome integrating 767 simple sequence length polymorphism markers, combined over three crosses with high rates of polymorphism. F₂ populations from WKY × S (n = 159), BN × S (n = 91), and BN × GK (n = 139) were selected and genotyped for combinations of microsatellite markers. The loci define 21 linkage groups corresponding to the 20 rat autosomal chromosomes and the X chromosome. The map spans a genetic length of 1998 cM. This combined linkage map should facilitate the advancement of genetic studies for a wide variety of rat models characterized for complex phenotypes.