Linkage relationships between DXS105, DXS98, and other polymorphic DNA markers flanking the fragile X locus

We report on linkage data between DXS105, DXS98, the locus for the fragile X syndrome (FRAXA), and 3 other polymorphic loci that flank the FRAXA locus. An analysis was undertaken to determine the relative positions of DXS105 and DXS98 and to test the assignment of DXS105 to a location proximal and closely linked to FRAXA. In this study of fragile X fra(X) syndrome families, the DXS105 locus was calculated to be proximal to FRAXA with a maximum lod score of 10.36 at Θ = 0.08. DXS105 was also shown to be closely linked to the gene for factor IX (F9)(Z = 11.84 at Θ = 0.08) and to DXS98 (Z = 4.91 at Θ = 0.04). The order of the loci proximal to FRAXA is most likely centromere-factor IX-DXS105-DXS98-FRAXA-telomere. The use of DXS105 and DXS98 in clinical investigations should significantly increase the accuracy of risk assessment in informative fragile X families.