CHROMOSOMAL LOCATION OF 15 UNIQUE MOUSE KRAB-CONTAINING ZINC-FINGER LOCI

The mammalian genome contains hundreds if not thousands of zinc finger protein (ZSp) genes. While the function of most of these genes remain s to be determined, it is clear that a few of them play important role s in gene regulation and development. In studies described here, we ha ve used an interspecific mouse backcross mapping panel to determine th e chromosomal location of 15 KRAB-containing zinc finger loci. These l oci map to nine different mouse autosomes and the X Chromosome (Chr). Two Chrs, 7 and 9, contain cosegregating pairs of KRAB-containing Zfp genes, indicating that the KRAB-containing Zfp genes have evolved thro ugh processes involving regional as well as genome-wide duplication ev ents.