High-resolution BAC-based map of the central portion of mouse chromosome 5.

The current strategy for sequencing the mouse genome involves the combination of a whole-genome shotgun approach with clone-based sequencing. High-resolution physical maps will provide a foundation for assembling contiguous segments of sequence. We have established a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based map of a 5-Mb region on mouse Chromosome 5, encompassing three gene families: receptor tyrosine kinases (PdgfraKit-Kdr), nonreceptor protein-tyrosine type kinases (Tec-Txk), and type-A receptors for the neurotransmitter GABA (Gabra2, Gabrb1, Gabrg1, and Gabra4). The construction of a BAC contig was initiated by hybridization screening the C57BL/6J (RPCI-23) BAC library, using known genes and sequence tagged sites (STSs). Additional overlapping clones were identified by searching the database of available restriction fingerprints for the RPCI-23 and RPCI-24 libraries. This effort resulted in the selection of >600 BAC clones, 251 kb of BAC-end sequences, and the placement of 40 known and/or predicted genes within this 5-Mb region. We use this high-resolution map to illustrate the integration of the BAC fingerprint map with a radiation-hybrid map via assembled expressed sequence tags (ESTs). From annotation of three representative BAC clones we demonstrate that up to 98% of the draft sequence for each contig could be ordered and oriented using known genes, BAC ends, consensus sequences for transcript assemblies, and comparisons with orthologous human sequence. For functional studies, annotation of sequence fragments as they are assembled into 50-200-kb stretches will be remarkably valuable.