The gene encoding L1, a neural adhesion molecule of the immunoglobulin family, is located on the X chromosome in mouse and man.

The murine and human genes for the L1 neural adhesion molecule were shown to lie on conserved regions of the X chromosome to which genes responsible for several neuromuscular diseases have been mapped and which are adjacent to the fragile site (FRAXA) associated with mental retardation. By pulsed-field gel mapping we have demonstrated physical linkage between the L1 gene and other genes located in Xq28: L1 lies between the eye pigment RCP, GCP locus and the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) gene. This location is compatible with the implication of the L1 molecule in one of the X-linked neuromuscular diseases mapped to this region.