Glyoxalase I polymorphism in the mouse: a new genetic marker linked to H-2

Two electrophoretically distinct variants of glyoxalase I (Glo-I) are present in mouse (Mus musculus). The two forms are controlled by two codominant alleles Glo-1a (common) and Glo-1b (rare) at an autosomal locus. A linkage study showed that Glo-1 maps at approximately 3 centimorgans from the Ss locus of the H-2 histocompatibility region. A similar linkage relationship exists in man between GLO and HLA, the human homolog of the H-2 gene complex. Thus, the chromosomal segment evolutionarily preserved in the two species is longer than previously suspected, and it includes genes with no obvious functional relation to the other components of the major histocompatibility complex. Several features of the Glo-1 polymorphism in the mouse recommend it as a marker of choice for the H-2 region.