Identification and minisatellite linkage analysis of SMXA recombinant inbred strains of mice by DNA fingerprinting.

SMXA recombinant inbred (RI) strains of mice were produced by systematic inbreeding from the F2 generation of a cross between two progenitor inbred strains, A/J and SM/J, which differ considerably with respect to many characteristics, and consists of 28 inbred strains. In this study, we investigated the applicability of DNA fingerprinting with M13 phage DNA to the identification of these closely related strains. DNA fingerprints of the SMXA RI strains and their progenitors, SM/J and A/J, showed strain-specific patterns, with the same banding patterns within each strain. Linkage analysis by using strain distribution patterns of minisatellite loci with 108 genetic markers containing microsatellites, biochemical and immunological marker genes allowed 23 minisatellite loci to be assigned to 11 chromosomes. The results suggested that DNA fingerprinting with M13 phage DNA is applicable not only for strain identification but also for genetic monitoring of RI strains on almost all chromosomes.