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Characterization of ancestral chromosome fusion points in the Indian muntjac deer

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Abstract

Tandem fusion, a rare evolutionary chromosome rearrangement, has occurred extensively in muntjac karyotypic evolution, leading to an extreme fusion karyotype of 6/7 (female/male) chromosomes in the Indian muntjac. These fusion chromosomes contain numerous ancestral chromosomal break and fusion points. Here, we designed a composite polymerase chain reaction (PCR) strategy which recovered DNA fragments that contained telomere and muntjac satellite DNA sequence repeats. Nested PCR confirmed the specificity of the products. Two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with the repetitive sequences obtained and T2AG3 telomere probes showed co-localization of satellite and telomere sequences in Indian muntjac chromosomes. Adjacent telomere and muntjac satellite sequences were also seen by fiber FISH. These data lend support to the involvement of telomere and GC-rich satellite DNA sequences during muntjac chromosome fusions.

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Acknowledgements

We thank H.H. Ropers, MPI-MG Berlin, for support. We declare that the experiments conducted comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Genetik, Ihnestrasse 73, 14195 Berlin, Germany

    Nils Hartmann & Harry Scherthan

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  1. Nils Hartmann
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  2. Harry Scherthan
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Correspondence to Harry Scherthan.

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Communicated by E.A. Nigg

Accession numbers: AY322158, AY322159, AY322160

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Hartmann, N., Scherthan, H. Characterization of ancestral chromosome fusion points in the Indian muntjac deer. Chromosoma 112, 213–220 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-003-0262-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-003-0262-4

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