Plant & Animal Genome VI Conference

P72

DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTI-ALLELIC RAPD DERIVED MARKER LINKED TO AN INHERITED RETINAL DISEASE OF DOGS: STUDIES OF PROGRESSIVE ROD-CONE DEGENERATION (PRCD)

James A. Baker Institute, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis is used for identification of markers linked to genetic traits in species for which little or no genome information is available. We report here identification a RAPD derived marker linked to progressive rod-cone degeneration (prcd), an inherited autosomal recessive retinal disease in dogs. A total of 400 standard 10-mer primers were used for amplification using DNA samples from normal (+/+), and affected (prcd/prcd) dogs. A single primer was identified which amplified a 1.5 kb DNA fragment only from normal dogs. PCR using longer primers designed from the sequence characterized amplified region of the 1.5 kb DNA fragment identified a co-dominant multi-allelic polymorphism in the prcd-informative pedigree. Three recombinants were identified among 34 informative offsprings yielding a LOD score of 5.8 at distance of 8.8 cM. This is the first reported identification of a RAPD derived marker with multiple alleles linked to a mammalian disease locus.