A Genetic Linkage Map of Atlantic Halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.)

A genetic linkage map has been constructed for Atlantic halibut on the basis of 258 microsatellites and 346 AFLPs. Twenty-four linkage groups were identified, consistent with the 24 chromosomes seen in chromosome spreads. The total map distance is 1562.2 cM in the female and 1459.6 cM in the male with an average resolution of 4.3 and 3.5 cM, respectively. Using diploid gynogens, we estimated centromere locations in 19 of 24 linkage groups. Overall recombination in the female was approximately twice that of the male; however, this trend was not consistent along the linkage groups. In the centromeric regions, females had 11-17.5 times the recombination of the males, whereas this trend reversed toward the distal end with males having three times the recombination of the females. Correspondingly, in the male, markers clustered toward the centromeric region with 50% of markers within 20 cM of the putative centromere, whereas 35% of markers in the female were found between 60 and 80 cM from the putative centromere. Limited interspecies comparisons within Japanese flounder and Tetraodon nigroviridis revealed blocks of conservation in sequence and marker order, although regions of chromosomal rearrangement were also apparent.