This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Recombination is a fundamental biological process about which we still know very little, especially in primates. Understanding the recombination process is of practical importance for the identification of disease genes in humans, as well as for evolutionary inference about humans and primates more generally. Large-scale recombination rates can be estimated by comparing physical and genetic maps, and while we now have a draft of the complete chimpanzee genome, nothing remains known about the genetic map for this species. In an effort to create a first genetic map for one chimpanzee chromosome and compare it to the physical map, we started a large scale collaborative program, involving scientists from the U.S. and Europe, and from the major chimpanzee holding facilities. We are addressing a number of topical questions, including: How do recombination rates vary along the chromosome and between males and females? How similar are rates between humans and chimpanzees? We are genotyping around 250 microsatellites (or STRs, short tandem repeats) covering the entire length of the chromosome 20 (human chromosome 19). Genotyping will be done at PreventionGenetics using the same microsatellite markers that have been used for the construction of the human genetic map. Most of the primers designed to amplify human STRs will likely work in chimpanzee as was the case for the construction of the baboon genetic map.
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