The human polymorphism in the hepatic enzyme N-acetyltransferase (NAT) affects the rate at which individuals acetylate, and in many cases detoxify, aromatic amine and hydrazine drugs and xenobiotics. Differences in NAT activity are known to affect individual susceptibility to drug toxicities and are thought to play a part in some spontaneous disorders. A mouse model for the human acetylation polymorphism has been previously characterized and involves the A/J (slow acetylator) and C57BL/6J (rapid acetylator) inbred strains. Strain distribution analysis of 40 A x B and B x A recombinant inbred (RI) strains indicated linkage between the N-acetyltransferase gene (Nat) and the esterase 1 (Es-1) gene, located on mouse chromosome 8. A double backcross involving 107 animals confirmed the recombination frequency between Nat and Es-1 to be 12 +/- 3% (mean +/- SE). The information obtained in the backcross and RI studies was combined, yielding a 13 +/- 2.8% (mean +/- SD) recombination frequency. The Es-1 genotype was determined in our newly developed congenic strains A.B6-Natr and B6.A-Nats. The B6.A-Nats strain has the Es-1 genotype of its inbred partner, the B6 strain, and the A.B6-Natr strain has the Es-1 genotype of the donor strain. These congenic strains will be important in determining the role of the NAT genotype in susceptibility to arylamine-induced cancer and other disorders.