LETTER

A Comparative Gene Map of the Horse (Equus caballus)

Published December 1, 1999. Vol 9 Issue 12, pp. 1239-1249. https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.9.12.1239
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Abstract

A comparative gene map of the horse genome composed of 127 loci was assembled based on the new assignment of 68 equine type I loci and on data published previously. PCR primers based on consensus gene sequences conserved across mammalian species were used to amplify markers for assigning 68 equine type I loci to 27 horse synteny groups established previously with a horse-mouse somatic cell hybrid panel (SCHP, UC Davis). This increased the number of coding genes mapped to the horse genome by over 2-fold and allowed refinements of the comparative mapping data available for this species. In conjunction with 57 previous assignments of type I loci to the horse genome map, these data have allowed us to confirm the assignment of 24 equine synteny groups to their respective chromosomes, to provisionally assign nine synteny groups to chromosomes, and to further refine the genetic composition established with Zoo-FISH of two horse chromosomes. The equine type I markers developed in this study provide an important resource for the future development of the horse linkage and physical genome maps.


The rapid progress being made in the development of genetic maps for humans and mice (Hudson et al. 1995; Stewart et al. 1997; Rhodes et al. 1998) has led to a recent boom in the construction of genome maps for a number of domesticated mammalian species of economic importance (Bishop et al. 1994; Archibald et al. 1995;O'Brien et al. 1997a; de Gortari et al. 1998). Many recent technological advances have contributed to the generation of these data which will greatly increase our ability to find and isolate genes that lead to genetic diseases and/or have an effect on economically important production traits of livestock (Cockett et al. 1994;Georges and Andersson 1996; Grobet et al. 1997).

Molecular markers based on repetitive or anonymous DNA sequences (Type II markers, O'Brien et al. 1993) such as microsatellites, Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPDs), and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) have been used extensively to saturate the genetic maps of various species because of their technical advantages and high degree of polymorphism (O'Brien et al. 1993; Georges and Andersson 1996; Andersson et al. 1996). Type II markers, however, are seldom informative across mammalian orders and therefore do not allow for the comparison of genetic maps from different species (O'Brien et al. 1993; Georges and Andersson 1996; Andersson et al. 1996). Conversely, molecular markers for functional genes conserved across species (Type I anchor loci, O'Brien et al. 1993) can be used for this purpose.

In conjunction with chromosome painting (Zoo-FISH) studies, mapping studies with type I loci have revealed that genomes from related species have a high degree of synteny conservation (O'Brien et al. 1993; Andersson et al. 1996; Wakefield and Graves 1996). This information forms the basis for comparative genome mapping, a discipline that allows the prospect of using information from highly characterized genomes to study genetic phenomena in map-poor species (O'Brien et al. 1993; Georges and Andersson 1996; Andersson et al. 1996; Wakefield and Graves 1996).

Although the horse genome is not as highly characterized as the genomes of other domestic animals, much progress has been made recently. Somatic cell hybrid (SCH) panels have been used to make synteny assignments of 240 type II markers (Bailey et al. 1995; Shiue et al. 1999), many of which were physically assigned to horse chromosomes by FISH (Sakagami et al. 1995; Tozaki et al. 1995; Breen et al. 1997;Godard et al. 1997, 1998). In addition, the first low-resolution microsatellite-based linkage maps of the horse have been published (Lindgren et al. 1998; Guérin et al. 1999). In the horse, a framework for comparative mapping has been established with chromosome painting studies (Raudsepp et al. 1996, 1997; Rettenberger et al. 1996), FISH assignments of type I loci (Lear et al. 1998a,b,c; Godard et al. 1998), and by synteny assignments of type I loci with SCH panels (Williams et al. 1993; Bailey et al. 1995; Caetano et al. 1999a,b). Using human chromosome-specific probes, Zoo-FISH was used to determine that a minimum of 21 chromosomal breaks, followed by the appropriate rearrangements, are necessary to reconstruct the horse karyotype relative to the human karyotype (Raudsepp et al. 1996; Rettenberger et al. 1996; Raudsepp et al. 1997; Chaudhary et al. 1998). However, in addition to these advancements in the equine genome map, a larger group of type I anchor loci needs to be mapped to allow for thorough comparisons with maps from model species and the study of the fine intrachromosomal gene structure of the horse genome.

Despite their value for comparative mapping, the incorporation of type I anchor loci to genome maps of multiple species has not been used extensively because of technical reasons. Large collections of PCR primer sets for type I loci [i.e. universal mammalian–sequence-tagged sites (UM-STS), comparative anchor tagged sequences (CATS) have been designed to amplify mammalian sequences by taking advantage of public sequence databases (Venta et al. 1996; Lyons et al. 1997). In this report we present the synteny assignment of 68 equine type I loci by analysis of a horse-mouse SCH panel with PCR-based markers generated with universal primers for mammalian genes.

RESULTS

Development of PCR-Based Markers for Equine Type I loci

In addition to amplifying gene-specific fragments, a key feature necessary for the effective use of PCR-based markers in synteny mapping with interspecific SCH panels is the ability to differentiate between fragments amplified from the donor species (i.e. horse) and the murine background in each hybrid cell line. Most of the primers used in this study were designed to anneal to conserved short exon sequences flanking introns, which should therefore result in the amplification of fragments of different sizes and/or sequences in the two species.

A total of 289 previously published primers for mammalian type I loci (Venta et al. 1996; Lyons et al. 1997) were tested for their ability to amplify horse-specific fragments useful for synteny mapping with a SCH panel. PCR conditions were optimized to amplify markers for 42 equine type I loci (Table 1). Digestions of PCR products from mouse and horse using restriction enzymes were used to obtain gene-specific equine markers with an additional 26 primer sets. In one instance (RB1), an equine-specific primer was designed (Table 1) based on the sequence obtained from a fragment amplified from horse with primers published previously for this gene (Venta et al. 1996). The remaining primers amplified no fragments (5 primers), multiple equine fragments (180 primers), or fragments from horse and mouse that could not be differentiated with the techniques used (36 primers).

Table 1.

PCR Conditions for Amplifying 68 Equine Type I Loci with Universal Primers

Hsa UCD Symbol Locus name Anl T. °C MgCl (mm) R.E. Size (bp) Accession no.[ii]
1p36.22 NPPA natriuretic peptide precursor A502 HinfI305 AF134229
1p13.15 NGFB nerve growth factor, β532.5 RsaI158 AF134228
1q215 GBA glucosidase, β acid532 RsaI345 AF134220
1q23–q25.15 AT3 antithrombin III552187 AF134055
1q315 LAMC1 laminin, C-1502∼1400 AF134225, 6
2p2115 SPTBN1[iii] spectrin, β, nonerythrocytic 1502975 AF130782
2q12–q1415 PAX8 paired box homeotic gene 8552 HaeIII147 AF130778
2q1415 IL1b[iv] [v] interleukin-1 β551 HindIII∼906 AF130767, 8
2q24–q3218 CHRNA cholinergic receptor, nicotinic, α581405 AF130750
2q31–q3218 NEB nebulin561 PvuII∼2000 AF130774, 5
2q33–q34D CHRNG cholinergic receptor, nicotinic, γ601264 AF130751
2q34D FN1 fibronectin 15521009 AF130764
3p24.3–p24.216 RARB retonic acid receptor, β553 CfoI208AF13424
3p21.3316 GLB1 [iii] galactosidase, β-1502 RsaI429 AF130765
3q21–q2416 CP ceruloplasmin552.5∼1500 AF134057
3q21–q2416 RHO [iii] rhodopsin552 RsaI327 AF130780
3q2819 SST[vi] somatostatin501931 AF130783
4q223 ADH2 alcohol dehydrogenase 2521295 AF133272
4q223 ADH3 alcohol dehydrogenase 3522>2000 AF134056
4q282 FGG fibrinogen, γ polypeptide532∼1100 AF134218, 9
5q32–q3414 ADRB2 adrenergic receptor, β-2552 HinfI354 AF130746
6p24–p2320 EDNI[iii] endothelin-1582266 AF130760
6q1320 COL9a1[iii] collagen, type IX, α-1502292 AF130755
6q21.1–q2310 CGA chorionic gonadotropin, α chain454242 AF130749
6q21–q22.310 COL10[iii] collagen, type X, α 1502 PVuII365 AF130754
6q25.314 SOD2ps[viii] superoxide dismutase 2552154 AF130781
7p15–p144 TCRG t cell antigen receptor, γ subunit422.5 HinfI252 AF134235
7q11.213 ELN[iii] elastin581263 AF130761
7q21.1113 GUSB glucuronidase β532 Sau3AI382 AF134223
7q364 EN2 Engrailed 2532 PvuII189 AF134060
8q24.2–q24.39 TG thyroglobulin581749 AF130785
9p2223 IFNA1 interferon, α-1532 PvuII373 AF135017
9p2123 IFNB1 interferon, β-1552 HaeIII450 AF134227
9p1323 CNTFR ciliary neurotrophic f. recept.572.5456 AF134058
9q3125 TXN thioredoxin552 HinfI∼780 AF134237
9q3425 GRP78 glucose-regulated protein552 PvuII∼740 AF134222
10p1329 VIM vimentin572∼1230 AF135018
11p15.57 HBB hemoglobin, β502.5171 AF134224
11p15.3–p15.17 PTH parathyroid hormone552311 AF134233
11cen–q1312 ADRBK1 adrenergic receptor β kinase I531328 AF134059
11q1312 CD20[iii] CD20 antigen5521007 AF130748
11q237 DRD2 dopamine receptor D2502.5∼1300 AF134061, 2
11q23.37 THY1 Thy-1 T-cell surface antigen502∼800 AF134236
12p12.19 KRAS2ps[viii] Kirsten murine sarc. 2 viral onc., ps.581329 AF130769
12q13.3D PFKM phosphofructokinase m602∼1600 AF134230, 1
12q14D IFNG Interferon γ452325 AF130766
12q24.26 TCF1 transcription factor 1581602 AF130784
13q14.1q–14.217 RB1[vii] retinoblastoma552705 AF130779
14q11.21 CHY[iii] chymase- mast cell582697 AF130752
14q121 MYH6[v] myosin, heavy pol. 6 &/or 7, see text582 RsaI∼650 AF130771, 2
15q22–qter1 CYP1A2 cytochrome P450, subf. I, polyp. 2502.5 HinfI278 AF134063
15q26.11 FES[iii] feline sarcoma virus homologue582 510 AF130763
17q11.211 EVI2A ecotropic viral int. site 2A554 156 AF130762
17q11.211 NF1 neurofibromatosis I582 380 AF130776
17q2511 P4HB prolyl-4 hydroxylase β622 460 AF130777
1711 MYL4 myosin light chain 4582 682 AF130773
18p11.326 TS[iii] thymidylate synthetase551 539 AF130786
19q1310 CKM[iii] creatine kinase, muscle581 819 AF130753
20pter–p1222 PRNP prion protein551.5 191 AF134232
20q13.222 GNAS1 guanine nuc. binding protein501.5 RsaI324 AF134221
20q13.1122 ADA adenosine deaminase501.5 ∼1350 AF135790
21q22.326 ETS2 avian erythroblastosis virus onc. 2552 HinfI∼1000 AF134064
22q13.1C CYP2D[v] cytochrome P450, subfamily IID582 980 AF130756- 9
22q13.31–qterC ARSA arylsulfatase A582 247 AF130747
Xp11.21X ALAS2 Δ-aminolevulinate synthase532 HaeIII∼800 AF133200
Xq27.1–q27.2X F9 coagulation factor IX552 453 AF133201
Xq28X BGN biglycan572 HinfI∼710 AF135019, 0
Xq28X G6PD glucose-6-phosphate dehydro.552 HinfI∼750 AF133202

[i] All primers used in this study were published by Lyons and coworkers (1997), with the following exceptions:

[ii] Multiple accession numbers indicated sequences obtained from the 5′ and 3′ ends of partially sequenced PCR products, or multiple highly homologous sequences most likely amplified from different syntenic isoforms of paralogous genes (see text).

[iii] Primers published by Venta and associates (1996).

[iv] The primers used to amplify equine IL1B were originally designed to amplify IL1A (see text).

[v] These primers amplify multiple equine fragments of different but highly homologous sequences (see text).

[vi] Amplifies a fragment of unknown sequence in addition to the equine SST gene (see text).

[vii] The forward primer used to amplify equine RB1 (5′=TTTGATATCGAAGGGTCTGAC-3′) was designed in this study and the reverse primer was as in Venta et al. (1996).

[viii] These primers amplify equine sequences lacking expected introns and therefore are thought to be horse pseudogenes from the respective loci.

Sequencing PCR Products

To verify that the PCR products used for making synteny assignments correspond to the expected equine gene homologs, a total of 50 isolated PCR fragments amplified from a thoroughbred horse were cloned and sequenced. The remaining 18 horse PCR products were gel-isolated and partially sequenced by direct sequencing (Table1). All of the nucleotide sequences obtained were used to search GenBank with the BLAST routine and confirm the identity of 66 of the genes mapped. In two instances (KRAS2, SOD2), the cloned equine PCR fragment lacked the expected intron sequence, sug gesting that the PCR products mapped are pseudogenes.

Many of the primers that amplified horse-specific fragments were designed to target specific genes from large paralogous gene families. Several of the isolated PCR products cloned were found to contain multiple fragments of highly homologous sequences, most likely amplified from different syntenic isoforms of paralogous genes (Table1). For example, the MYH6 primers (Lyons et al. 1997) amplified two equine fragments that are 97% identical at the expected exon regions. These equine fragments are highly homologous to the human myosin heavy polypeptide alpha and beta genes (MYH6 andMYH7, respectively), which are closely linked and show 93% sequence identity. Similarly, the primers used to amplify two highly homologous equine fragments from the equine IL1B gene (92% identity) were originally designed to amplify IL1A (Lyons et al. 1997), two genes that are closely linked in human Chromosome 2. Therefore, although these markers were useful for determining the equine synteny assignment of the respective loci, further characterization will be necessary for determining which gene sequence was amplified from these paralogous gene families in the horse.

In one instance (SST), the equine PCR product contained fragments with the expected sequence in addition to fragments with completely unrelated sequence, except for the primer binding sites. Primers specific to the anonymous equine fragment were designed (F-5′-TTTCCATGGACTTATTTCCC-3′/R-5′-TCCCTTGTTACCTGGAGTATG-3′). The PCR product amplified with these primers was only found in the SCH clonal lines where the SST product was found, suggesting this unrelated sequence is syntenic with the equine SST gene.

SCH Panel Analysis with Equine PCR-based Type I Loci

The genome of the horse consists of 31 autosomes plus the X and Y sex-chromosomes. Previous work with the UC Davis horse-mouse SCH panel established 33 equine synteny groups. A total of 25 synteny groups were assigned to their respective horse chromosomes by correlation with microsatellites and type I loci mapped previously by FISH (Shiue et al. 1999; Caetano et al. 1999a), with microsatellites assigned by DNA typing of trisomic horses (Bowling et al. 1997) and with sex-chromosome type I markers (Shiue 1999). Chromosome assignments of synteny groups were made based on a range of one to six physically assigned loci.

The 68 markers for equine type I loci we characterized were mapped to 27 different synteny groups (Table 2). Forty-five of these markers were mapped to 18 synteny groups that had been assigned previously to specific horse chromosomes. The remaining 23 markers were mapped to 9 synteny groups which are not presently assigned to equine chromosomes.

Table 2.

Correlation Values of 68 Equine Type I Loci with Markers Previously Assigned to UCD Davis Syntenic Groups and/or Horse Chromosomes

gr

[i] Significant correlation values are indicated in the shaded areas.

[ii] Indicates the UCD syntenic group number.

[iii] A number in this row indicates the syntenic group has been assigned to the corresponding horse chromosome. Numbers in square brackets indicate the syntenic group is provisionally assigned to the corresponding chromosome (see text).

[iv] Markers in this row were chosen as reference loci for the respective synteny groups (see Shiue et al. 1999; Caetano et al. 1999a,b).

[v] Markers in bold have been assigned to the respective horse chromosomes by FISH.

[vi] CNTFR is not significantly correlated with any of the microsatellite markers mapped to UCD23, therefore this column was added to show the significant correlation to two equine genes added to this synteny group in this study (IFNB1,IFNA1).

DISCUSSION

Sixty-eight makers for equine type I loci were characterized and mapped by SCH panel analysis. These data, combined with 26 type I loci previously assigned with the UC Davis SCH panel (Caetano et al. 1999a,b) and 32 type I loci mapped by other groups working on the characterization of the horse gene map, provide the most comprehensive comparative mapping data currently available for the horse genome (Table 3), when considered in conjunction with chromosome painting studies of the horse karyotype (Raudsepp et al 1996, 1997; Rettenberger et al. 1996; Chaudhary et al. 1998). These data have allowed us to confirm the assignment of 24 equine synteny groups to their respective chromosomes, to provisionally assign nine synteny groups, and to further refine the genetic composition of two horse chromosomes established previously with Zoo-FISH.

Table 3.

Human–Horse Comparative Gene Map Using Synteny, Linkage and in Situ Hybridization (127 Genes)

Hsa[i] Locus Locus name ECA [ii] Method[iii] Bta [iv] Mmu [v] Fca [vi] Ssc [vii]
1p36.2 NPPA natriuretic peptide precursor, A2S164
1p36.2–p36.13 PGD phosphogluconate dehydrogenase 2p12 I,L164C16q2.2 q2.5
1p31 PGM1 phosphoglucomutase 15L35C16
1p13.1 NGFB nerve growth factor, β5S334q1.6–q2.3
1q21 GBA glucosidase,β, acid5S334
1q23–q25.1 AT3 antithrombin III5S161
1q31 LAMC1 laminin, C15S161
2p25 ODC1 ornithine decarboxylase 15q27 I12
2p21 CAD carbamoylphosphate synthetase 15q25 I1
2p21 SPTBN1 spectrin, β, nonerythrocytic 115S11
2q14 IL1B interleukin 1, β15S223q1.1–q1.4
2q12–q14 PAX8 human paired domain15S2
2q21 LCT lactase-phlorizin hydrolase 15q21 I115q1.3
2q32.1 MSTN myostatin18S21
2q24–q32 CHRNA cholinergic receptor, nicotin, α18S22
2q31–q32 NEB nebulin18S22
2q33–34 CHRNG cholinergic receptor, nicotin, γ[6]S21
2q34 FN1 fibronectin 1[6]S21
3p24.3–24.2 RARB retinoic acid receptor, β16S14
3p21.33 GLB1 galactosidase, β, 116S9B3
3q21–q24 RHO rhodopsin16S226
3q21 TF transferrin 16q23 S1913q3.1
3q21–q23 LTF lactotransferrin 16q I229
3q21–q24 CP ceruloplasmin16S1913q3.2–q3.3
3q28 SST somatostatin19S116
4p16.3 FGFR3 fibroblast growth factor receptor3S65
4q11–q13 ALB albumin 3q14 S,I658q1.2
4q12 GC group specific component3L65
4q12 KIT mast cell growth factor receptor 3q21 L,I65B18p12–p21
4q12 PDGFRA platelet derived growth factor A 3q21 I, L658p12
4q22 ADH2 alcohol dehydrogenase 23S63
4q22 ADH3 alcohol dehydrogenase 33S638
4q26–q27 IL2 interleukin 22S173B18
4q28 FGG fibrinogen, γ polyp2S1738
5p13 IL7R interleukin receptor 721S15
5p13–p12 GHR growth hormone receptor21S201516q1.3–q1.4
5p14 C9 complement component 921S116q14
5q11–q12 CTLA3 cytotoxic T-1 assoc serine es 321S13
5q13 HEXB hexoseaminidase b14S2013
5q21–q23 CAMK4 calmodulin depend. Prot. kinase 414S18
5q31.1 CSF2 colony stimulating factor 214S7115
5q31–q32 SPARC secreted pro, ac, cyst-rich14S711
5q32–34 ADRB2 adrenergic receptor, β214S718
5q33.2–q33.3 CSF1R colony stimulating factor 1 receptor14S718A1
6pter–p21.1 CLPS colipase20S177
6p25–p24 F13 coagulation factor 13, A 20q13 L,I234
6p21.2 PIM1 Pim-1 oncogene 20q24 I17B2
6p21 HLA major histocompatibility complex20qL,I,S2317B27
6p21.3 CYP21 cytochrome P45020L23177
6p21.3 C4 complement component 420L23177
6p21.3 TNFA tumor necrosis factor, A20S23177p1.1–q1.1
6q13 COL9A1 collagen type IX, α-1 20q24 S1
6q24–p23 EDN1 endothelin 120S137p1.3–p1.2
6q12 ME1 malic enzyme 10q12 S,I99B21
6q21.1–q23 CGA glycoprotein hormone, α chain10S941
6q21–q22.3 COL10A1 collagen, type X, α 110S10
6q25.1 ESR estrogen receptor 31q15 S961p2.5–p2.4
6q26 PLG plasminogen31S17
7p15–p14 TCRG T-cell receptor, γ subunit4S413A2
7q11.2 ELN elastin13S255
7q11.23–q21 GUSB glucuronidase, β13S255E3
7q31.3 LEP leptin4S4618
7q36 EN2 Engrailed 24S5
8q11 DNAPK DNA protein kinase, catalytic sub. 9p12 S16
8q24 TG thyroglobulin9S1415
9p22 IFNA1 interferon, α-123S841
9p21 IFNB1 interferon, β-123S841
9p13 CNTFR ciliary neurotrophic factor receptor23S8q214
9q31 TXN thioredoxin25S84
9q33 GRP78 glucose-regulated protein25S1121q2.12q2.13
10p13 VIM vimentin29S13210
11p15.3–p15.1 PTH parathyroid hormone7S1572
11p15.5 HBB hemoglobin β7S157D1
11p15 TUB Tubby7S7
11p15.5 IGF2 insulin-like growth factor 2 12q14 S,I297
11q12 CD20 CD20 antigen12S19
11cen-q13 ADRBK1 adrenergic receptor β kinase 112S19
11q22 PR progesterone receptor 7p16 I9
11q23.3 THY1 Thy-1 T-cell surface antigen7S159
11q23 DRD2 dopamine receptor D27S9
12p12.2–p12.1 LDHB lactate dehydrogenase B[28]S56B45 q12
12q13.3 PFKM phosphofructokinase m[6]S5
12q21 PEPB peptidase B[28]S510B45
12q22–q24.1 IGF1 insulin-like growth factor 1[28]S5105q2.5
12q24 IFNG interferon γ[6]S5105p1.1–q1.1
12q24.2 TCF1 transcription factor 1[8]S5
13q14.1–q14.2 RB1 retinoblastoma17S1214
14q11 MYH6 myosin, heavy 61S14
14q11.2 CHY Chymase, mast cell1S11
14q13.1 NP nucleoside phosphorylase 1q26 S,I1014B37q2.1–q2.2
14q32.1 PI/AAT protease inhibitor/AAT 24q15 L,I7127q2.4–q2.6
15q22–qter MPI mannose phosphate isomerase1S219B37
15q22–qter CYP1A2 cytochrome P450, subf. I, polyp. 21S9
15q25–q26 IGF1R insulin-1 growth factor 1 receptor1S2171q1.7–q1.2
15q26.1 IDH2 isocitrate dehydrogenase 21S7B3
15q26.1 FES feline sarcoma virus homologue1S217B3
16pter–p13.3 HBA hemoglobin A 13q I,L11
16p24.3 MC1R melanocortin receptor 3p12 L,S,I188
16q13–q22.1 CES1 carboxylesterase3L8
16q21 GOT2 glutamate oxaloact. transam., mito 3p15 I,L8
16q22.1 HP haptoglobin3L188
17q11.2 EVI2A ecotropic viral integration site2A11S11
17q11.2 NF1 neurofibromatosis 111S1911
17q21 MYL4 myosin, light chain 411S1911
17q22–q24 GH growth hormone11S191112p1.2–p1.5
17q23.1–q25.3 HYPP hyperkalemic periodic paralysis11S11
17q25 P4HB prolyl-4 hydroxylase β11S1911
18p11.32 TS thymidylate synthetase[8]S245
19p13.3–p13.2 C3 complement component 3 7pter I,S172p17–p14
19cen–q13.2 A1BG β globulin, A110L
19q13.1 GPI glucose phosphate isomerase 10pter I1876q12
19q13 CRC calcium release channel 10pter I186q12
19q13 CKM creatine kinase, muscle10S7
20pterp12 PRNP prion protein22S132
20q11.2 GHRH growth hormone releasing hormone22S132
20q11.2 ASP agouti signaling protein 22q15 S,I2
20q13.11 ADA adenosine deaminase22S132A3
20q13.2 GNAS1 guanine nucleotide-binding protein22S132
21q22.3 MX1 myxovirus resistance 26q17 I11613
21q22.3 ETS2 avian erythroblastosis virus onc. 2 26q17 I,S116C2
22q13.31–qter ARSA arylsulfatase A[28]S15
22q13.1 CYP2D cytochrome P450, subfamily IID[28]S515
Xp11.21 ALAS2 anemia, hereditary sideroblasticXSX
Xq27.1–q27.2 F9 coagulation factor 9XSXXXX
Xq28 G6PD glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenaseXSXXXX
Xq28 BGN biglycanXSX
Xq28 F18 factor 18 Xq29 S,I

[i] Data retrieved from Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (March 1999). Full references are available at http://www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim/.

[ii] ECA assignment as in Shiue et al. (1999). In bold, physically assigned markers.

[iii] Method: (I) In situ hybridization; (L) linkage; (S) synteny. Full references available at http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/horse.

[iv] Data retrieved from Bovmap Database, INRA, Laboratoire de Génétique Biochimique et de Cytogénétique de Jouy-en-Josas (March 1999). Full references are available at http://locus.jouy.inra.fr/cgi-bin/bovmap/intro.pl. and The Cattle Mapping Database (ARKDB), Roslin Institute, UK (March 1999). Full references available at http://www.ri.bbsrc.ac.uk/cgi-bin/arkdb/browsers/browser.sh?species=cattle

[v] Data retrieved from Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI) Resource, Mouse Genome Informatics, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine (March 1999). Full references are available at http://www.informatics.jax.org/.

[vi] Data retrieved from O'brien et al. (1997b).

[vii] Data retrieved from PiGBASE, Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, UK (May 1998). Full references are available at http://www.ri.bbsrc.ac.uk/pigmap/pigbase/pigbase.html.

Provisional Assignment of Equine Synteny Groups by Comparative Mapping

The lack of markers physically mapped to certain horse chromosomes has not allowed for the assignment of all 33 established equine synteny groups to their respective chromosomes. Nonetheless, the consideration of the synteny assignments of the equine type I loci we mapped and the other markers mapped with the UC Davis SCH panel, in conjunction with the data obtained by Zoo-FISH studies of the horse karyotype have allowed the tentative assignment of nine equine synteny groups.

A total of four equine type I loci were mapped to synteny group UCD5 (AT3, GBA, LAMC1, NGFB). The corresponding human homologs of these genes have been mapped to human Chromosome 1 (Table 1). Raudsepp et al. (1996) reported that painting probes from Hsa1, hybridize to three horse chromosomes (ECA2, 5, and 30). The previous assignment of UCD synteny groups 2 and 30 to ECA2 and ECA30, respectively (Shiue et al. 1999), therefore suggests that UCD5 is located on horse chromosome 5.

Four equine genes were assigned to UCD synteny group D (Table 2). The human homologs of equine FN1 and CHRNG have been mapped to Hsa2, and the homologs of PFKM andIFNG have been mapped to Hsa12. Furthermore, we have recently assigned PAX3 (Hsa2q35) and PMEL17(Hsa12q13) to this synteny group and physically mappedPMEL17 to ECA6 by FISH (A.T. Bowling et al., unpubl. observations). The q arm of horse Chromosome 6 was shown to hybridize to painting probes from Hsa12, whereas the p arm did not hybridize to probes from any human chromosome (Raudsepp et al. 1996). Therefore, the assignment of UCD-D to horse Chromosome 6 is in agreement with ZooFISH studies of the horse karyotype and suggests that the p arm of ECA6 contains material orthologous toHsa2.

We had previously assigned UCD6 to ECA6 (Shiue et al. 1999) based on the assignment of a microsatellite (ASB14) by FISH (Breen et al. 1997), but this assignment has now been withdrawn (M. Breen, pers. comm.). Two horse genes, TCF1 (Hsa12) and TS(Hsa18), were assigned to UCD6 (Table 2). Therefore, the consideration that ECA8 is the only horse chromosome to hybridize to painting probes from human Chromosomes 12 and 18 (Raudsepp et al. 1996), and that no synteny groups have been assigned to this horse chromosome, suggests that UCD6 should be tentatively assigned toECA8.

Painting probes from human Chromosomes 3, 9, 10, and 13 were shown to hybridize exclusively to horse Chromosomes 16 and 19, 23 and 25, 1 and 29, and 17, respectively (Raudsepp et al. 1996). Equine genes with homologs located on these human chromosomes were assigned to UCD synteny groups 16 and 19, 23 and 25, 29, and 17, respectively (Table2). The consideration that synteny groups UCD1, UCD19, and UCD23 were assigned respectively to ECA1, ECA19, andECA23 (Shiue et al. 1999), suggests the provisional assignment of UCD synteny groups 16, 17, 25, and 29 to ECA16,ECA17, ECA25, and ECA29, respectively. The assignment of equine ADRB2 (Hsa5) to synteny group UCD14 is in agreement with the tentative assignment of this synteny group to horse Chromosome 14 as proposed by Caetano et al. (1999b).

Equine gene homologs mapping to human Chromosomes 12 and 22 were assigned to UCD synteny group C. Three horse chromosomes (ECA1, ECA8, and ECA28) have been shown to have blocks orthologous to Hsa12 and Hsa22 (Raudsepp et al. 1996). As mentioned previously, UCD1 has been assigned toECA1 (Shiue et al. 1999) and we have tentatively assigned UCD6 to ECA8. Therefore, the most consistent explanation of the current data is the provisional assignment of UCDC to horse Chromosome 28.

In view of the described data, ECA27 is the only horse chromosome without an assigned or provisionally assigned synteny group. UCDA is the only established synteny group that has not been assigned to a horse chromosome. Therefore, the tentative assignment of UCDA to horse Chromosome 27 is reasonable, given the current data.

In addition, the assignments of type I loci to horse synteny groups have allowed two refinements of the human-horse comparative data produced with in situ hybridization experiments. The q arm ofECA13 was shown to be orthologous to Hsa16, whereas the orthology of the p arm of this horse chromosome was not determined (Raudsepp et al. 1996). The human homologs of two equine genes (ELN and GUSB) assigned to ECA13 have been mapped to Hsa7, which therefore suggests that the p arm of this horse chromosome contains material orthologous to human Chromosome 7. Similarly, the orthology of the p arm of ECA6 could not be determined (Raudsepp et al. 1996) but the assignment of equine genes with homologs located on Hsa2 to ECA6 (UCDD), suggests that the p arm of this horse chromosome contains material orthologous to human Chromosome 2. Physical mapping of these equine genes mapped by synteny will be necessary to confirm these inferences.

Application of Universal Primers for Type I Loci

Although the published universal primers used for generating type I equine markers were highly useful for producing a first generation comparative map of the horse genome with the techniques used, additional markers could be readily developed from a few of the remaining primers tested. A total of 36 of the primers tested amplified candidate fragments for equine type I loci which could not be amplified in the somatic cell hybrids, while mouse-specific bands were amplified instead, and therefore could not be used for synteny mapping. We speculate that small deviations of the equine gene sequence from the consensus at the primer binding sites caused the observed preferential amplification of mouse products. Further characterization by cloning and sequencing of horse-specific PCR products from these primers, followed by redesigning of horse-specific primers, could result in additional markers for equine type I loci useful for synteny mapping.

It is likely that the observed amplification of no fragments, multiple fragments, and anonymous equine sequences by a number of the primers used in this study may have been caused by deviations of the equine gene sequences from the consensus sequences used for designing the primers. In addition, expansion of intron sequences within targeted gene regions to sizes beyond the amplification range of Taq DNA polymerase may also have caused the observed results. In these instances, markers for equine type I loci may be developed by redesigning new universal primers to target other intron regions of the respective genes using the reported strategies (Venta et al. 1996;Lyons et al. 1997).

General Considerations

Because synteny mapping by SCH panel analysis does not allow for the precise determination of the relative order and distance between syntenic markers, further work is needed to integrate the markers from this study into the International Equine Linkage Map (Guérin et al. 1999). Intraspecific sequence variation at the intron sequences amplified in most of the markers we mapped can be used to produce genetic markers useful for linkage mapping studies with pedigreed families (Lyons et al. 1997), and therefore order these genes relative to each other and to other markers, in the horse linkage map. In addition, dinucleotide repeat sequences found in the intron regions of a few of the equine PCR products we sequenced are currently being characterized (Caetano 1999) and may be useful in linkage studies as markers for the respective loci. The integration of type I loci into the horse linkage map will be useful for further refining the comparative map of the horse and revealing existing intrachromosomal rearrangements which may have occurred during the evolution of the horse genome.

The assignment of synteny groups to horse chromosomes has been highly dependent on the physical mapping of type I and II markers by FISH. Additional physical mapping data is needed to confirm proposed assignments, ratify provisional assignments, and moreover, to proceed with the establishment of a basic framework map of the horse genome. The small average size of the PCR-based type I markers we characterized precludes their direct use as probes in in situ hybridizations to metaphase chromosome spreads. The technical requirements of current FISH procedures demand larger DNA probes, which can be isolated from available horse BAC libraries (Godard et al. 1998) with the equine markers we characterized. In addition to their use in physical mapping, the isolated large-insert genomic clones may also be used for isolating microsatellite sequences associated with the respective equine genes, which could then be used in linkage studies.

Although type I gene homologs from all human chromosomes have been assigned to the horse genome map (Table 3), no equine type I loci have been mapped to horse Chromosomes 27 and 30. Zoo-FISH was used to show that ECA30 hybridizes to DNA fragments from human Chromosome 1 (Raudsepp et al. 1996) but the homeology of ECA27 could not be determined with this technique. A continued effort to develop and map markers for equine type I loci will be necessary to fill the gaps in the horse-human comparative map and to continue its refinement.

METHODS

Optimization of PCR Amplification Parameters

The methods utilized for optimizing PCR conditions to amplify horse-specific fragments with each primer set for use in synteny mapping with a horse-mouse SCH panel have been described previously (Caetano et al. 1999a). Optimal conditions for amplifying 68 equine type I loci are indicated in Table 1. Horse and mouse PCR products of the same length were subjected to a panel of 15 restriction enzymes (not shown), in the buffer and temperature conditions recommended by the suppliers, prior to electrophoresis. Restriction enzymes selected to distinguish these PCR products from the two species are indicated in Table 1.

Sequencing

Plugs containing DNA fragments amplified from a thoroughbred horse with each of the primer sets selected for mapping were taken from agarose gels with glass Pasteur pipettes and incubated at room temperature in 75 μl of low TE buffer (10 mm Tris-HCl, 0.1 mm EDTA, pH 8.0) overnight. This solution was used as template for a PCR reaction under the conditions used to amplify the original product. An aliquot from this PCR reaction was quantified in an agarose gel and the remaining was used for cloning (TA Cloning Kit, Invitrogen). A minimum of 3 clones from each fragment was sequenced with ABI Prism sequencing kits and sequencing products were analyzed with an ABI 377 automated sequencer. Large PCR fragments that could not be readily cloned with the techniques used were isolated from agarose gels with the QIAEXII kit (Qiagen) and sequenced by direct sequencing. A few of the type I markers characterized were not completely sequenced because of the presence of extensive intron sequences which could not be used for sequence comparisons with other species. Each sequence obtained was subjected to BLAST searches of GenBank at the National Center for Biotechnology Information internet server (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). Sequences from 68 equine genes were submitted to GenBank.

Somatic Cell Hybrid Panel Analysis

The establishment of the UC Davis SCH panel has been described (Shiue et al. 1999). DNA from the same 108 horse-mouse heterohybridoma cell lines used in previous studies (Shiue et al. 1999; Caetano et al. 1999a,b) were used in this study. DNA from each cell line was amplified with each of the 68 primer sets (Table 1) and scored for the presence or absence of horse-specific fragments after electrophoresis. Amplification products obtained from each hybrid cell line with 26 primer sets were digested with the respective restriction enzymes prior to electrophoresis (Table 1). Correlation coefficients were calculated between all of the markers in the UC Davis SCH panel database and each of the 68 loci studied. A correlation value ≥0.70 (Table 2) was accepted as evidence for synteny between two markers (Chevalet and Corpet 1986).

A.R.C. was supported by a fellowship from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brasília, Brazil.

Notes

[22] These authors contributed equally to this work.

[23] Corresponding author.

Notes

[24] E-MAIL [email protected]; FAX (530) 752-3179.

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