High resolution radiation hybrid maps of bovine chromosomes 19 and 29: comparison with the bovine genome sequence assembly

Background: High resolution radiation hybrid (RH) maps can facilitate genome sequence assembly by correctly ordering genes and genetic markers along chromosomes. The objective of the present study was to generate high resolution RH maps of bovine chromosomes 19 (BTA19) and 29 (BTA29), and compare them with the current 7.1X bovine genome sequence assembly (bovine build 3.1). We have chosen BTA19 and 29 as candidate chromosomes for mapping, since many Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) for the traits of carcass merit and residual feed intake have been identified on these chromosomes. Results: We have constructed high resolution maps of BTA19 and BTA29 consisting of 555 and 253 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers respectively using a 12,000 rad whole genome RH panel. With these markers, the RH map of BTA19 and BTA29 extended to 4591.4 cR and 2884.1 cR in length respectively. When aligned with the current bovine build 3.1, the order of markers on the RH map for BTA19 and 29 showed inconsistencies with respect to the genome assembly. Maps of both the chromosomes show that there is a significant internal rearrangement of the markers involving displacement, inversion and flips within the scaffolds with some scaffolds being misplaced in the genome assembly. We also constructed cattle-human comparative maps of these chromosomes which showed an overall agreement with the comparative maps published previously. However, minor discrepancies in the orientation of few homologous synteny blocks were observed. Conclusion: The high resolution maps of BTA19 (average 1 locus/139 kb) and BTA29 (average 1 locus/208 kb) presented in this study suggest that by the incorporation of RH mapping information, the current bovine genome sequence assembly can be significantly improved. Furthermore, these maps can serve as a potential resource for fine mapping QTL and identification of causative mutations underlying QTL for economically important traits.