The ky mouse mutant, kyphoscoliosis, exhibits a degenerative muscle disease resulting in chronic deformation of the spinal column. Using an interspecific backcross segregating the ky mutation, we have mapped the ky locus to a small region of mouse chromosome 9. ky is nonrecombinant with the microsatellites D9Mit24 and D9Mit169 and lies in a conserved linkage group that encompasses human chromosome 3. s-Laminin (LAMS) and the gene for dystrophin-associated glycoprotein 1 (DAG1), which map to human chromosome 3, are both recombinant with ky, ruling them out as candidates.