Multilocus analysis for gene-centromere mapping using first polar bodies and secondary oocytes

Polar body and oocyte typing is a new technique for gene-centromere mapping and for generating female linkage maps. A maximum likelihood approach is presented for ordering multiple markers relative to the centromere and for estimating recombination frequencies between markers and between the centromere and marker loci. Three marker-centromere orders are possible for each pair of markers: two orders when the centromere flanks the two markers and one order when the centromere is flanked by the two markers. For each possible order, the likelihood was expressed as a function of recombination frequencies for two adjacent intervals. LOD score for recombination frequency between markers or between the centromere and a marker locus was derived based on the likelihood for each gene-centromere order. The methods developed herein provide a general solution to the problem of multilocus gene- centromere mapping that involves all theoretical crossover possibilities, including four-strand double crossovers.