LINKAGE MAPPING OF THE FOS CELLULAR ONCOGENE (FOS) TO RAT-CHROMOSOME-6 AND ITS POSSIBLE ROLE IN THE REGULATION OF COMPENSATORY RENAL GROWTH

Using the analysis of HXB/BXH recombinant inbred (RI) strains, we have recently detected a suggestive association between the D6Mit9 marker and a compensatory growth of the remnant kidney after unilateral nephr ectomy (P = 6 x 10(-4)). Based on conserved synteny between mice, rats , and humans, the putative quantitative trait locus (QTL) might map to a region with several positional candidate genes: for instance, the F os oncogene was implicated as a possible candidate gene for compensato ry renal growth (CRG). In the current study, we mapped the Fos gene in RI strains 27 cM apart from the position where the putative CRG regul atory QTL was detected. Despite relatively wide confidence intervals f or mapping QTLs with modest effects in a small population of RI strain s, this finding probably excludes the Fos as a positional candidate fo r CRG.