Mapping of five genes from human chromosome 17 to chromosome hn of the common shrew Sorex araneus

Comparative mapping shows that the syntenic gene group which is located on human chromosome 17 (HSA17) is preserved in most mammalian species. Insectivores (including shrews) appear to be closer to the ancestral eutherians than other mammalian orders. That is why common shrews are of special interest for the study of mammalian genome evolution. A set of human, mouse and bovine PCR primers previously used for mapping the bovine homologue of HSA17 was applied to the mapping effort in shrews. Three of 21 primer pairs tested yielded a single PCR product of expected size. Additionally, we have developed consensus PCR primers for GLUT4 based on human, mouse and porcine sequences, and for THRA1 using human and porcine sequences. As a result, genes for NF1, MYL4, THRA1, GLUT4 and MPO were assigned to shrew chromosome hn (SARhn) using a set of shrew-mouse somatic hybrids. PCR products of shrew THRA1 and MPO were partially sequenced and showed 45% homology to sheep THRA1 and 91% homology to human MPO sequences respectively with the NCBI BLAST program. The data obtained confirm the homology between HSA17 and SARhn revealed by zoo-FISH analysis. It is suggested this syntenic group was present in the ancestral mammalian founder karyotype.