Assignment of the pig apolipoprotein B locus (APOB) to chromosome region 3q24-qter

The locus for apolipoprotein-B (APOB) has been chromosomally assigned in swine by in situ hybridization of a genomic probe to metaphase chromosomes. As expected based on the observation of extensive linkage conservation and based on the previous assignment of the malate dehydrogenase locus (MDH1) in swine, APOB maps to chromosome 3, specifically to region 3q24-qter. Variations at APOB may represent both in humans and in swine risk factors for hypercholesterolaemia and atherosclerosis. Evidence presented here that the human and porcine APOB occupy evolutionarily conserved chromosome regions provides a basis for using the pig as an animal model to study the APOB associated atherosclerosis risk.