International Mammalian Genome Society

17th International Mouse Genome Conference

9-12 November 2003, Braunschweig, Germany

Plenary Presentations * Oral Presentations *
Poster Presentations: Behavioural Genetics and Genomics * Development and Stem Cells * Functional Genome Analysis * Mouse Models of Human Disease * Mouse System Biology Bioinformatics * Multigenic and Multifactorial Trait Analysis * Nutrition and Metabolic Disease * Phenotyping Methods Imaging * The Genetics and Genomics of Infectious Disease *
Verne Chapman Memorial Lecture * Table of Contents * Sponsor/Exhibitor List * Awards * Photographs

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POSTER 130 - A S MALL DELETION HOTSPOTIN THE TYPE II KERATIN GENE mK6irs1/Krt2-6g ON MOUSE CHROMOSOME 15, A CANDIDATE FOR CAUSING THE WAVY HAIR OF THE Caracul (Ca) MUTATION

Yonekawa H
The Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science (Rinshoken)

Co-Authors: 1) Kikkawa Y, 1,2) Oyama A, 1) Ishii R, 1) Miura I, 2) Amano T, 3)Ishii Y, 3) YoshikawaY, 4) MasuyaH, 4) WakanaS, 4) ShiroishiT, 1) TayaC
Institutions: 1) The Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science (Rinshoken), 2) Tokyo University of Agriculture 3) The University of Tokyo 4)RIKEN Genome Science Center

A new mutation has arisen in a colony of mice transgenic for human alpha-galactosidase. The mutation is independent of the transgenic insertion, is autosomal dominant and morphologically very similar to the classical wavy coat mutation, caracul (Ca), on chromosome 15. Therefore, we designated this locus the caracul Rinshoken (Ca^Rin). Applying a positional cloning approach, we identified the mK6irs1/Krt2-6g gene as a strong candidate for Ca^Rin because among five Ca alleles examined mutations always occurred in the highly conserved positions of the alpha -helical rod domain (1A and 2B subdomain) of this gene. The most striking finding is that four independently discovered alleles, the three preexistent alleles such as Ca^J, Ca^9J, Ca^10J and our allele Ca^Rin, all share one identical amino acid deletion (N 140 del) and the fifth, Ca^medJ, has an amino acid substitution (A 431 D). These findings indicate that a mutation hotspot exists in the Ca locus. Additionally, we describe a Ca mutant allele induced by ENU-mutagenesis, which also possesses an amino acid substitution (L 424 W) in the mK6irs1/Krt2-6g gene. The identification of the Ca candidate gene enables us to further define the nature of the genetic pathway required for hair formation and provides an important new candidate that may be implicated in human hair and skin diseases.