A panel of VNTR markers in pigs

By cloning tandemly repeated sequences from the pig genome by use of non-porcine minisatellite probes for library screening, five novel polymorphic VNTR loci were isolated: three minisatellites and two satellite-like loci. Four of them could be mapped onto chromosomes by linkage analysis and/or in situ hybridization. They were assigned to Chromosomes (Chrs) 5, 6, 14, and 16. Physical mapping on both presumed satellites and on one of the minisatellites revealed that the former resided near or at the centromere and the latter towards the chromosome ends. The location of the minisatellite is of particular interest since, together with data on three other minisatellites previously isolated, it supports the idea that, as in humans, minisatellites may preferentially be subtelomeric also in pigs.