BMC Genomics Research article BioMed Central Open Access An integrated 4249 marker FISH/RH map of the canine genome Matthew Breen†1, Christophe Hitte†2, Travis D Lorentzen†3, Rachael Thomas1, Edouard Cadieu2, Leah Sabacan3, Allyson Scott1, Gwenaelle Evanno2, Heidi G Parker3, Ewen F Kirkness4, Ruth Hudson5, Richard Guyon2, Gregory G Mahairas6, Boris Gelfenbeyn3, Claire M Fraser4, Catherine André2, Francis Galibert*2 and Elaine A Ostrander*3 Address: 1Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 4700 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA, 2UMR 6061 CNRS, Génétique et Développement, Faculté de Médecine, 35043 Rennes Cédex, France, 3Clinical and Human Biology Divisions, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle WA 98109-1024, USA, 4The Institute for Genomic Research, 9712 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA, 5Oncology Research, Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Suffolk, CB8 7UU, U.K and 6VieVax Corp. 1616 Eastlake Ave. E., Seattle, WA 98102 USA Email: Matthew Breen - matthew_breen@ncsu.edu; Christophe Hitte - christophe.hitte@univ-rennes1.fr; Travis D Lorentzen - tlorentz@fhcrc.org; Rachael Thomas - rachael_thomas@ncsu.edu; Edouard Cadieu - edouard.cadieu@univ-rennes1.fr; Leah Sabacan - lsabacan@fhcrc.org; Allyson Scott - allyson_scott@ncsu.edu; Gwenaelle Evanno - gwenaelle.evano@univ-rennes1.fr; Heidi G Parker - hgparker@fhcrc.org; Ewen F Kirkness - ekirknes@tigr.org; Ruth Hudson - ruth.hudson@aht.org.uk; Richard Guyon - richard.guyon@univ-rennes1.fr; Gregory G Mahairas - gmahairas@vievax.com; Boris Gelfenbeyn - bvenenum@yahoo.com; Claire M Fraser - cmfraser@tigr.org; Catherine André - catherine.andre@univ-rennes1.fr; Francis Galibert* - galibert@univ-rennes1.fr; Elaine A Ostrander* - eostrand@fhcrc.org * Corresponding authors †Equal contributors Published: 13 September 2004 BMC Genomics 2004, 5:65 doi:10.1186/1471-2164-5-65 This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/5/65 Received: 23 August 2004 Accepted: 13 September 2004 © 2004 Breen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. caninedogradiation hybridmicrosatellitesESTsBAC-ends Abstract Background: The 156 breeds of dog recognized by the American Kennel Club offer a unique opportunity to map genes important in genetic variation. Each breed features a defining constellation of morphological and behavioral traits, often generated by deliberate crossing of closely related individuals, leading to a high rate of genetic disease in many breeds. Understanding the genetic basis of both phenotypic variation and disease susceptibility in the dog provides new ways in which to dissect the genetics of human health and biology. Results: To facilitate both genetic mapping and cloning efforts, we have constructed an integrated canine genome map that is both dense and accurate. The resulting resource encompasses 4249 markers, and was constructed using the RHDF5000-2 whole genome radiation hybrid panel. The radiation hybrid (RH) map features a density of one marker every 900 Kb and contains 1760 bacterial artificial chromosome clones (BACs) localized to 1423 unique positions, 851 of which have also been mapped by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The two data sets show excellent concordance. Excluding the Y chromosome, the map features an RH/FISH mapped BAC every 3.5 Mb and an RH mapped BAC-end, on average, every 2 Mb. For 2233 markers, the orthologous human genes have been established, allowing the identification of 79 conserved segments (CS) between the dog and human genomes, dramatically extending the length of most previously described CS. Conclusions: These results provide a necessary resource for the canine genome mapping community to undertake positional cloning experiments and provide new insights into the comparative canine-human genome maps. Page 1 of 11 (page number not for citation purposes)