A radiation hybrid map for the bovine Y Chromosome

Abstract.

Screening a bovine Y Chromosome-specific DNA library resulted in 34 new microsatellites, six of which mapped to the pseudoautosomal region (PAR), and 28 localized to the Y-specific region. These microsatellites, together with 23 markers previously mapped to the bovine Y Chr, were scored on a 7000-rad cattle–hamster radiation hybrid (RH) panel. Retention frequency of individual markers ranged from 18.5% to 76.5% with an average of 48.4%. Markers with high retention frequency (>55%) were found to exist in multiple copies on the Y Chr. Thirteen markers were placed on the PAR RH map with the AmelY gene proximal to the pseudoautosomal boundary and 46 markers, including Sry and Tspy gene, on the Y-specific region of the RH map. The microsatellites developed and mapped in this work will be useful for comparative map** of cattle, sheep, and goat, studying the origin, evolution, and migration of bovidae species and provide an initial platform to develop a high-resolution map of the Y Chr and positional cloning of Y-specific genes.