GENETIC ORGANIZATION IN CAENORHABDITIS-ELEGANS - FINE-STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF THE UNC-22 GENE

Fine-structure analysis of the unc-22 gene of C. elegans revealed a number of sites that are separable by recombination. Eight new ethyl methanesulfonate-induced recessive mutations of the unc-22 gene were isolated. Using these new alleles, as well as e66, a number of separable sites were identified and positioned relative to one another. The map distances obtained were comparable to those associated with intragenic recombination in Drosophila melanogaster, indicating that genetic fine-structure analysis is feasible in C. elegans. Evidence of possible gene conversion is presented. A preliminary estimate of the unc-22 gene size is 2.4 .times. 10-2 map units.