Large-scale integration of human genetic and physical maps

Genetic maps are used routinely in family-based linkage studies to identify the rough location of genes that influence human traits and diseases. Unlike physical maps, genetic maps are based on the amount of recombination occurring between adjacent loci rather than the actual number of bases separating them. Genetic maps are constructed by statistically characterizing the number of crossovers observed in parental meioses leading to the transmission of alleles to their offspring. Considerations such as the number of meioses observed, the heterozygosity and physical distance between the loci studied, and the statistical methods used can impact the construction and reliability of a genetic map. As is well known, poorly constructed genetic maps can have adverse effects on linkage mapping studies. With the availability of sequence-based maps, as well as genetic maps generated by different researchers (such as those generated by the Marshfield and deCODE groups), one can investigate the compatibility and properties of different maps. We have integrated information from the most current human genome sequence data (UCSC genome assembly Human July 2003) as well as 8399 microsatellite markers used in the Marshfield and deCODE maps to reconcile the these maps. Our efforts resulted in updated sex-specific genetic maps.