AN STS-BASED MAP OF THE HUMAN GENOME

A physical map has been constructed of the human genome containing 15, 086 sequence-tagged sites (STSs), with an average spacing of 199 kilob ases. The project involved assembly of a radiation hybrid map of the h uman genome containing 6193 loci and incorporated a genetic linkage ma p of the human genome containing 5264 loci. This information was combi ned with the results of STS-content screening of 10,850 loci against a yeast artificial chromosome library to produce an integrated map, anc hored by the radiation hybrid and genetic maps. The map provides radia tion hybrid coverage of 99 percent and physical coverage of 94 percent of the human genome. The map also represents an early step in an inte rnational project to generate a transcript map of the human genome, wi th more than 3235 expressed sequences localized. The STSs in the map p rovide a scaffold for initiating large-scale sequencing of the human g enome.