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Title: DNA MARKER TECHNOLOGY: A REVOLUTION IN ANIMAL GENETICS

Author
item DODGSON, JERRY - MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
item Cheng, Hans
item OKIMOTO, RONALD - MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/13/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The application of DNA-based genetic markers has revolutionized the development of genetic maps. This paper reviews the types of DNA-based markers that are being used to generate the chicken genetic map. In general, there are DNA-based markers that rely on having the DNA in hand and often most, if not all, the sequence characterized. And there are DNA-based markers that do not depend on knowing the sequence in advance. Each class of marker has its own advantages and disadvantages, especially with regards to cost, speed, and reliability. The prospects for using DNA-based markers in breeding programs, which is known as marker assisted selection, is discussed. Also, speculations on the future advances in the chicken genetic map are described. The benefactors of this research will be the poultry breeders who will be able to more accurately and efficiently generate superior chickens and poultry researchers who will be able to locate genes.

Technical Abstract: The development of DNA-based markers has had a revolutionary impact on gene mapping and, more generally, on all of animal and plant genetics. With DNA-based markers, it is theoretically possible to exploit the entire diversity in DNA sequence that exists in any cross. For this reason, high resolution genetic maps are being developed at unprecedented speed. The most commonly used DNA-based markers include those based on a cloned and (usually) sequenced DNA fragment and other, more random, assays for genetic polymorphism that can be grouped under the heading of fingerprint markers. The advantages and disadvantages of the various marker types are discussed, along with their application to the reference chicken genetic linkage maps and to the search for quantitative trait loci (QTL). The prospects for the use of DNA-based markers in marker assisted selection are considered, along with likely future trends in poultry gene mapping. Further development of both physical and linkage genome maps of the chicken will allow animal scientists to more efficiently detect and characterize QTL and will provide them access to the wealth of genetic information that is being generated about the human genome and genomes of model species such as the mouse and Drosophila.