Genetic mapping of the 5S rRNA gene cluster of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

We have identified a restriction fragment length difference (RFLD) affecting the genomic sequences immediately flanking the 5S rRNA gene cluster in the Bristol and Bergerac strains of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We have used this RFLD as a molecular marker to follow the segregation of the 5S rRNA gene cluster through a series of two- and three-factor interstrain crosses. Our results show that the 5S rRNA gene cluster maps between unc-76 and dpy-21 on the right arm of linkage group V. This genetic localization provides a linkage group V "landmark" with which to localize other cloned sequences by in situ hybridization.