ABSTRACT
The construction and use of genetic maps has been greatly facilitated in recent years by technical developments in molecular biology. As a result, mapping of the entire genomes of prokaryotes as well as higher organisms such as humans is underway. This chapter discusses the use of reference families in genome linkage mapping. The value of making use of a limited number of efficiently structured families is emphasized, as is their role in stimulating communication and collaboration between researchers an essential prerequisite for mapping animal genomes in a reasonable time span. This discussion is restricted to the use of reference families for general linkage mapping leading to the construction of genetic maps. The efficiency of reference families for general linkage mapping increases rapidly as the expected heterozygosity of parents increases. Although new techniques for producing linkage maps are being developed, it can be expected that reference families will play an important role over the next decade.
