John Innes Project 13 00 12

Title COMPARATIVE GENOME ANALYSIS AND MAPPING IN CONIFERS

Leader: Pat Heslop-Harrison

Start August 1997
End June 2000

Sponsor: EU Framework IV

Research Team: Dr Nicolai Friesen - Post-doctoral researcher

OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the proposed research is to improve our basic understanding of genome organisation in conifers. This will be achieved by developing and utilising a series of innovative, generic enabling technologies that will be used to characterise conifer genomes at various tiers of organisational complexity. Emphasis will be given to the following objectives:
a. An examination of the content and distribution of repetitive DNA sequences to identify the location of such sequences within specific chromosomes and their conservation across species of the Pinaceae family.
b. Determine level of synteny or conservation of gene order between species within the Pinaceae family.

Integrating genetic maps and models. Fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) on metaphase chromosomes and on extended chromatin will be used to physically locate repetitive as well as single copy DNA sequences on conifer chromosomes and to integrate physical and genetic maps. Conifers are diploids which exhibit conservation of chromosome number (2n=2x=24). Initial studies with isozymes (1) indicate that pines exhibit conservation of gene order and this hypothesis will be examined further by the use of transcript based linkage maps.