Characterization of the atlantic salmon sex-determining chromosome

I have integrated data from linkage mapping, physical mapping and karyotyping in order to characterize the sex chromosomes in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The primary genetic sex-determing signal, SEX, has been mapped to Atlantic salmon microsatellite linkage group 1 (ASLI). I have used probes designed from the flanking regions of these sex-linked microsatellite markers to screen a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library, representing an 11.7X coverage of the genome, which has been Hind Ill fingerprinted and assembled into contigs. BACs containing sex-linked microsatellites and their related contigs have been identified and representative BACs have been placed on Atlantic salmon chromosomes by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). This identified chromosome 2, as the sex-chromosome and allowed me to orient ASLI with respect to chromosome 2. The region containing SEXappears to lie on the long arm between marker Ssa202DU and a region of heterochromatin identified by DAPl staining.