Plant & Animal Genome VI Conference

P97

MAPPING GENETIC TRAITS AND GENOMIC DIVERGENCE IN ANIMALS BY AFLP

1. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine , Utrecht University, Yalelaan 1, 3584 CL Utrecht, THE NETHERLANDS
2. Keygene NV, PO Box 216, 6700 AE Wageningen, THE NETHERLANDS

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) generates a multilocus fingerprint pattern by ligation of linkers to genomic restriction fragments followed by selective PCR. Polymorphisms are caused by point mutations in or adjacent to restrictions sites. AFLP is extensively used in plant genetics and has generated already high-resolution maps for species as Arabidopsis, maize and tomato. Here we present applications of AFLP genome scanning in mammalian species.

• AFLP markers were incorporated in the rat genetic map and allowed the mapping of a QTL for blood pressure.
• Rabbit inbred strains can be used for mapping QTLs for the response to dietary cholesterol as a model for man. Within a relatively short time, a rabbit AFLP map has been constructed with over 100 markers in 16 autosomal linkage groups and on both sex chromosomes. This has already led to the mapping of a QTL for the artherosclerose index.
• AFLP allowed unbiased direct estimates of genetic diversity within domestic breeds of cattle, sheep and dogs in which selective breeding has reduced the genetic diversity.
• AFLP provided fair estimates of genetic distances of wild and domestic cross-hybridizing cattle-like species. These data appeared to be more informative for phylogeny than mitochondrial DNA.