A 1.7-MB YAC CONTIG AROUND THE HUMAN BDNF GENE (11P13) - INTEGRATION OF THE PHYSICAL, GENETIC, AND CYTOGENETIC MAPS IN RELATION TO WAGR SYNDROME

WAGR (Wilms tumor, aniridia, genito-urinary abnormalities, mental reta rdation) syndrome in humans is associated with deletions of the 11p13 region. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene maps to this region, and its deletion seems to contribute to the severity of the p atients' mental retardation. Yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) carry ing the BDNF gene have been isolated and characterized. Localization o f two known exons of this gene leads to a minimal estimation of its si ze of about 40 kb. Chimerism of the BDNF YACs has been investigated by fluorescence in situ hybridization and chromosome assignment on somat ic cell hybrids. Using the BDNF gene, YAC end sequence tagged sites (S TS), and Genethon microsatellite markers, we constructed a 1.7-Mb cont ig and refined the cytogenetic map at 11p13. The resulting integrated physical, genetic, and cytogenetic map constitutes a resource for the characterization of genes that may be involved in the WAGR syndrome. ( C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.