Extensive gross genomic rearrangements between chicken and Old World vultures (Falconiformes: Accipitridae)

Abstract

The karyotypes of most birds consist of a small number of macrochromosomes and numerous microchromosomes. Intriguingly, most accipitrids which include hawks, eagles, kites, and Old World vultures (Falconiformes) show a sharp contrast to this basic avian karyotype. They exhibit strikingly few microchromosomes and appear to have been drastically restructured during evolution. Chromosome paints specific to the chicken (GGA) macrochromosomes 1–10 were hybridized to metaphase spreads of three species of Old World vultures (Gyps rueppelli, Gyps fulvus, Gypaetus barbatus). Paints of GGA chromosomes 6–10 hybridize only to single chromosomes or large chromosome segments, illustrating the existence of high chromosome homology. In contrast, paints of the large macrochromosomes 1–5 show split hybridization signals on the chromosomes of the accipitrids, disclosing excessive chromosome rearrangements which is in clear contrast to the high degree of chromosome conservation substantiated from comparative chromosome painting in other birds. Furthermore, the GGA chromosome paint hybridization patterns reveal remarkable interchromosomal conservation among the two species of the genus Gyps.

The Chromosomal Polymorphism Linked to Variation in Social Behavior in the White-Throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) Is a Complex Rearrangement and Suppressor of Recombination

“…Comparative chromosome painting in the whitethroated sparrow: Studies focused on the evolution of avian karyotypes have been advanced by the development and utility of chicken (Gallus gallus) chromosome paints for comparative mapping (ZOO-FISH) in a diverse sampling of birds (Shetty et al 1999;Guttenbach et al 2003;Itoh and Arnold 2005;Nanda et al 2006;Nishida-Umehara et al 2007). Those efforts and other gene-based comparative mapping studies (Backstrom et al 2006;Itoh et al 2006) have demonstrated that conserved synteny among birds is quite extensive with many chicken chromosomes displaying a one-to-one orthologous relationship to chromosomes from other species, including passerines (Guttenbach et al 2003;Derjusheva et al 2004;Itoh and Arnold 2005), which diverged from the chicken lineage $100 million years ago (MYA) (van Tuinen and Hedges 2001).…”

Characterization of chromosome structures of Falconinae (Falconidae, Falconiformes, Aves) by chromosome painting and delineation of chromosome rearrangements during their differentiation

“…In contrast to the slow rate of chromosome rearrangements in most of bird species (Burt et al 1999), chromosomes have been drastically reconstructed in Accipitridae of the Falconiformes. Chromosome painting with chicken probes for four Accipitridae species, the Harpy eagle (Harpia harpia) (de Oliveria et al 2005) and three Old World vultures (Gyps ruppelli, Gyps fulvus and Gypaetus barbatus) (Nanda et al 2006), confirmed the dramatic reduction of microchromosomes by fusions and translocations of microchromosomes and the increase of bi-armed medium-and small-sized macrochromosomes by repeated fission and fusion events and many other types of rearrangements in macrochromosomes.…”

“…Lately, chromosome-specific DNA painting probes for chromosomes 1-9 and Z and fractions of microchromosomes have been developed in chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) , Habermann et al 2001, Masabanda et al 2004. To date, comparative chromosome painting with the chicken probes has been performed for a total of 40 species from 10 orders (Shetty et al 1999, Schmid et al 2000, Raudsepp et al 2002, Guttenbach et al 2003, Kasai et al 2003, Derjusheva et al 2004, Shibusawa et al 2004a, b, de Oliveria et al 2005, Itoh & Arnold 2005, Nanda et al 2006, Nishida-Umehara et al 2007). These results revealed that the avian karyotypes are highly conserved at the molecular level, and that the typical avian karyotype with a small number of macrochromosomes and a large number of microchromosomes is mostly conserved and hence representative of the ancestral state.…”

Comparison of the Chromosome Structures between the Chicken and Three Anserid Species, the Domestic Duck (<i>Anas platyrhynchos</i>), Muscovy Duck (<i>Cairina moschata</i>), and Chinese Goose (<i>Anser cygnoides</i>), and the Delineation of their Karyotype Evolution by Comparative Chromosome Mapping

“…The karyotypes of Anseriformes are characterized by high diploid chromosome numbers (2n＝78-84), consisting of a small number of macrochromosomes and numerous indistinguishable microchromosomes (Christidis, 1990). This typical avian karyotype is widely conserved in all palaeognathous and most neognathous bird species (Takagi and Sasaki, 1974;Belterman and de Boer, 1984;Nishida-Umehara et al, 2007); in contrast, the atypical karyotype, characterized by a lower diploid chromosome number, no large macrochromosomes, many medium-sized and small chromosomes, and only a few pairs of microchromosomes, are commonly found in accipitrid species (Amaral and Jorge, 2003;de Oliveira et al, 2005de Oliveira et al, , 2010Nanda et al, 2006;Nishida et al, 2008Nishida et al, , 2013.…”