CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS DEFICIENCY MAPPING

• Published in: Genetics (Austin) Vol. 108; no. 2; pp. 331 - 345
• Main Authors: Sigurdson, D. Christine, Spanier, Gail J, Herman, Robert K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD Genetics Soc America 01.10.1984; Genetics Society of America
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Caenorhabditis - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans; Chromosome Deletion; Chromosome Mapping; Classical genetics, quantitative genetics, hybrids; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genes, Lethal; Genes, Recessive; Genetic Complementation Test; Genetic Linkage; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Invertebrata; Investigations; Methyl Methanesulfonate; Caenorhabditis elegans; Linkage group; Helmintha; Nemathelminthia; Mutation; Invertebrata; Nematoda
• ISSN: 0016-6731; 1943-2631; 1943-2631
• DOI: 10.1093/genetics/108.2.331

Six schemes were used to identify 80 independent recessive lethal deficiencies of linkage group (LG) II following X-ray treatment of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Complementation tests between the deficiencies and ethyl methanesulfonate-induced recessive visible, lethal and sterile mutations and between different deficiencies were used to characterize the extents of the deficiencies. Deficiency endpoints thus helped to order 36 sites within a region representing about half of the loci on LG II and extending over about 5 map units. New mutations occurring in this region can be assigned to particular segments of the map by complementation tests against a small number of deficiencies; this facilitates the assignment of single-site mutations to particular genes, as we illustrate. Five sperm-defective and five oocyte-defective LG II sterile mutants were identified and mapped. Certain deficiency-by-deficiency complementation tests allowed us to suggest that the phenotypes of null mutations at two loci represented by visible alleles are wild type and that null mutations at a third locus confer a visible phenotype. A segment of LG II that is about 12 map units long and largely devoid of identified loci seems to be greatly favored for crossing over.