SYNTENY CONSERVATION BETWEEN PARTS OF HUMAN-CHROMOSOME 4Q AND BOVINE AND OVINE CHROMOSOME-6

Booroola Merino sheep are characterized by a high ovulation rate attri butable to the presence of the Fec(B) allele of the FEC gene. This gen e, which has been assigned to sheep chromosome 6, is linked to the gen e for EGF, which in man is located on the long arm of chromosome 4 (HS A 4q). To increase the number of known markers on sheep chromosome 6, we used comparative mapping data from sheep, man, and cattle, In our s tudy, we show a synteny between EGF and the genes PDHAZ and FGFS (from I-ISA 4q) and microsatellites ILSTS018, ILSTS090, and ILSTS093 (from bovine chromesome 6) in sheep. We also show that the conservation betw een HSA 4q and sheep chromosome 6 is disrupted between EGF and FGF2.