Molecular characterization of four intra-t mouse recombinants

Recombination in the proximal region of mouse chromosome 17 is greatly reduced in heterozygotes carrying the wild-type and the t complex-type chromosomes. The reason for this is the presence of two non-overlapping inversions in the t complex. Rare crossing-over does, however, occur within the t complex of the t/+ heterozygotes. Here we characterize four such exceptional intra-t recombinants, tTu1 through tTu4. To map the positions of the genetic exchange in these four recombinants, we analyzed them with DNA probes specific for 16 loci distributed over the t complex. The analysis revealed that in three of the four recombinants, an equal crossing-over occurred in the short region between the two inversions, producing chromosomes carrying either the proximal inversion only (tTu1 and tTu4) or the distal inversion only (tTu2). In the fourth recombinant (tTu3), unequal crossing-over occurred within the proximal inversion between loci D17Leh119 and D17Leh66, producing a chromosome in which the region containing loci Tcp-1, T, and D17Tu5 has been duplicated. The duplication of the Brachyury locus leads to the suppression of the tail-shortening effect normally produced by the interaction of the dominant (T) and recessive (tct) alleles at this locus so that the T/tTu3 mice have normal tails.