CGH mapping of Genetic Deficiencies balanced by sDp3 on LGIII

Background: A collection of genetic deficiencies covering over 70% of the Caenorhabditis elegans genome exists, however the application of these valuable biological tools has been limited due to the incomplete correlation between their genetic and physical characterization. Results: We have applied oligonucleotide array Comparative Genomic Hybridization (oaCGH) to the high resolution, molecular characterization of several genetic deficiency and duplication strains in a 5Mb region of Chromosome III. We incorporate this data into a physical deficiency map which is subsequently used to direct the positional cloning of essential genes within the region. From this analysis we are able to quickly determine the molecular identity of several previously unidentified mutations. Conclusion: We have applied accurate, high resolution molecular analysis to the characterization of genetic mapping tools in Caenorhabditis elegans. Consequently we have generated a valuable physical mapping resource, which we have demonstrated can aid in the rapid molecular identification of mutations of interest. Keywords: C.elegans Deficiencies CGH 3 test samples from sDp3 balanced strains individually hybridized to reference DNA (N2 Bristol)