Cloning a gene based simply on knowing its position in the genome without any idea of the function of that gene. Because this is the reverse of how things have been traditionally done, it has also been called reverse genetics. ... (12 Dec 1998) ... 
A technique used to identify genes, usually those that are associated with diseases, based on their
Identification of a gene based on its location in the genome. Typically, this will result from linkage analysis based on a mutation in the target gene, followed by a chromosome walk from the nearest known sequence.
Type: Term Synonyms: reverse genetics
Positional cloning: Cloning a gene based simply on knowing its position in the genome without any idea of the function of that gene. Because this is the reverse of how things have been traditionally done, it has also been called reverse genetics.