Haplotype analysis limits the position of the familial melanoma locus on 9p to the D9S169-D9S156 interval.

A gene for familial melanoma (MLM) has been mapped to 9p22-p13 by linkage analysis using simple tandem repeat polymorphisms (STRPs) at the IFNA and D9S126 loci. This localization is consistent with the finding of homozygous deletions of these markers in DNA from two melanoma cell lines, which suggest that the locus has the properties of a tumour suppressor gene. In an attempt to further define the position of the MLM locus we have typed 10 STRPs from the short arm of chromosome 9 in 15 Australian melanoma kindreds. Extended haplotype analysis of these markers and identification of recombinants in our pedigrees indicate that the MLM gene is flanked on the centromeric side by D9S169 and on the telomeric side by D9S156. These results limit the location of the MLM locus to an interval of about 16 centimorgans.