A 6-Mb contig-based comparative gene and linkage map of the rat schwannoma tumor suppressor region at 10q32.3

Frequent genetic aberrations of malignant schwannomas induced by the alkylating agent N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea in hybrids from inbred BD rat strains include allelic imbalances of the telomeric 20 Mb of chromosome 5 (Dis-2) and of the telomeric 5 Mb of chromosome 10q32 (Dis-1) in 59 and 94% of the tumors, respectively. The Dis-1 minimal loss of heterozygosity consensus region extends from D10Rat4 to the telomere and harbors a putative tumor suppressor gene(s). We constructed a 6-Mb BAC/PAC contig containing more than 70 known genes, 18 mapped microsatellites, and further ESTs/reference RNAs. A continuous block of strongly conserved synteny with mouse chromosome 11E2 and human chromosome 17q25.3 was found. Combining the sequence information from the rat and closely related syntenic regions of different mammalian species produces nearly complete gene maps as a basis for a positional candidate approach and gives insight into mammalian genomic evolution.