Mapping of C2, Bf, and C4 genes to the swine major histocompatibility complex (swine leukocyte antigen).

Three miniature swine lines, inbred for swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) haplotypes, a, c, and d, and a recombinant line, haplotype g, were analyzed for possible restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) by Southern blot hybridization with human C2, factor B (Bf), and C4 specific probes. The search for RFLP by using a human C2 probe failed to reveal any variants. However, a Taq I polymorphism was identified with the human Bf probe and Bam HI and Pvu II polymorphisms were identified with the human C4 probe. Overlapping restriction fragments were found with the C2 and Bf probes, which strongly suggests close linkage of C2 and Bf genes in swine. Segregation analyses of the Bf and C4 polymorphisms indicated that the polymorphic fragments followed a Mendelian pattern of inheritance. The recombinant haplotype g, which expresses class I genes of haplotype c and class II genes of haplotype d, was shown to produce an identical RFLP pattern, by using the Bf and C4 probes, as haplotype d, but different from that of haplotype c. This indicates that there is a close association of [C4-Bf-C2] and class II genes in miniature swine. Although these data do not show conclusively the location of the [C4-Bf-C2] genes, it is hypothesized that swine [C4-Bf-C2] genes are located between the class II and class I genes, as has been demonstrated in mouse and man.