Different Fusion Configurations of Evolutionarily Conserved Segments in Karyotypes of <i>Potamochoerus porcus</i> and <i>Phacochoerus africanus</i>

Abstract

The karyotype of the red river hog Potamochoerus porcus (2n = 34) differs from that of the domestic pig by the presence of 2 fusion chromosomes homologous to pig chromosomes 13/16 and 15/17. Moreover, chromosomes corresponding to pig chromosomes 13/16 and 1 are both acrocentric. Hybridization with region-specific painting probes confirmed tandem fusion of pig chromosomes 13 and 16, and a pericentric inversion of the pig chromosome 1p equivalent in P. porcus. The chromosome complement of the wart hog Phacochoerus africanus (2n = 34) differs from the pig karyotype in 2 centric fusions, 13/16 and 15/17. Karyotypic relationships among different Suidae species are discussed in the article. Besides fusions 13/16 and 15/17, which are common to several suids, another fusion of pig chromosomes 14 and 18 is suggested to exist in the karyotype of Sus cebifrons.

The Visayan Warty Pig (Sus cebifrons) Genome Provides Insight Into Chromosome Evolution and Sensory Adaptation in Pigs

“…Our Visayan warty pig assembly reveals a high degree of colinearity with the Duroc pig assembly which is based on PacBio sequencing. Besides the strong overall collinear relationship between the two genomes, previously described chromosomal rearrangements between the two species were confirmed ( O’Brien et al 2007 ; Musilova et al 2010 ) ( supplementary fig. 13, Supplementary Material online).…”

“…21, Supplementary Material online). In the ancestral linages, Babyrousa and Sub-Saharan Suids ( Melander and Hansen-Melander 1980 ; Bosma et al 1996 ; Thomsen et al 1996 ; Musilova et al 2010 ), SSC13/SSC16 are fused. After the diversification of Suinae species in Eurasia, Pygmy hog ( Porcula salvania ) and other Sus species are all carrying separated SSC13/SSC16 homologous chromosome ( Bosma et al 1983 ; Bosma et al 1991 ; Rothschild and Ruvinsky 2011 ).…”

“…Notably, chromosome fusion/fission seems to happen quite frequently among the Suidae linage. For example, the karyotype of Sub-Saharan suids (2 n = 34) differs from that of the domestic pig by the presence of two fusion chromosomes homologous to SSC13/16 and SSC15/17 ( Musilova et al 2010 ), and some wild boars living in Western Europe carry a single Robertsonian translocation (centric fusion) between SSC15 and SSC17 ( Raudsepp and Chowdhary 2011 ). It is known that recent Robertsonian translocations do not impede producing fertile offspring, for example, in the case of the European wild boar ( McFee et al 1966 ).…”

Comparative Molecular Cytogenetics in Cetartiodactyla

“…The chromosomal complement of P. africanus (2n = 34) differs from that of the domestic pig in 2 centric fusions SSC13/16 and 15/17. Orientation of the segments involved in fusions was determined by comparative painting with region-specific painting probes [Musilova et al, 2010]. G-banded karyotype of P. aethiopicus published previously by Bosma [1978] is apparently identical to that of P. aethiopicus.…”

“…Comparative painting with region-specific painting probes revealed that the karyotype of Potamochoerus porcus (2n = 34) differs from that of the domestic pig by the presence of pericentric inversion of a chromosome arm homologous to SSC1p, centric fusion SSC15/17 and tandem fusion of the telomeric part SSC16 with a centromeric part of SSC13 [Musilova et al, 2010]. The G-banded karyotype of P. larvatus was published in the Atlas of Mammalian Chromosomes [O'Brien et al, 2006] and appears to be identical to that of P. porcus .…”