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Characterisation of the chromosome fusions in Oreochromis karongae

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Abstract

Oreochromis karongae, one of the “chambo” tilapia species from Lake Malawi, has a karyotype of 2n = 38, making it one of the few species investigated to differ from the typical tilapia karyotype (2n = 44). The O. karongae karyotype consists of one large subtelocentric pair of chromosomes, four medium-sized pairs (three subtelocentric and one submetacentric) and 14 small pairs. The five largest pairs could be distinguished from each other on the basis of size, morphology and a series of fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) probes. The largest pair is easily distinguished on the basis of size and a chromosome 1 (linkage group 3) bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) FISH probe from Oreochromis niloticus. BAC clones from O. niloticus chromosome 2 (linkage group 7) hybridised to one of the medium-sized subtelocentric chromosome pairs (no. 5) of O. karongae, distinguishing the ancestral medium-sized pair from the three other medium-sized chromosome pairs (nos. 2, 3 and 4) that appear to have resulted from fusions. SATA repetitive DNA hybridised to the centromeres of all 19 chromosome pairs and also revealed the locations of the relic centromeres in the three fused pairs. Telomeric (TTAGGG)n repeats were identified in the telomeres of all chromosomes, and an interstitial telomeric site (ITS) was identified in three chromosomal pairs (no. 2, 3 and 4). Additionally, two ITS sites were identified in the largest chromosome pair (pair 1), confirming the origin of this chromosome from three ancestral chromosomes. SATA and ITS sites allowed the orientation of the fusions in pairs 2, 3 and 4, which all appear to have been in different orientations (q–q, p–q and p–p, respectively). One of these fusions (O. karongae chromosome pair no. 2) involves a small chromosome (equivalent to linkage group 1), which in O. niloticus carries the main sex-determining gene. 4′,6-Diamidino-2-phenyloindole staining of the synaptonemal complex in male O. karongae revealed the presumptive positions of the kinetochores, which correspond well to the centromeric positions observed in the mitotic karyotype.

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Abbreviations

BAC:

Bacterial artificial chromosome

BSA:

Bovine serum albumin

DAPI:

4′,6-Diamidino-2-phenyloindole

DIG:

Digoxygenin

DOP-PCR:

Degenerate oligonucleotide primed PCR

FISH:

Fluorescence in situ hybridisation

FITC:

Fluorescin isothiocyanate

ITS:

Interstitial telomeric site

LE:

Lateral element (of an SC bivalent)

LG:

Linkage group

MALDI-TOF:

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation–time of flight

PI:

Propidium iodide

SATA:

Satellite DNA isolated from the tilapia genome by EcoRI digestion and electrophoresis

SC:

Synaptonemal complex

SNP:

Single nucleotide polymorphism

SSC:

Saline-sodium citrate

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Acknowledgements

J.C. Mota-Velasco was supported by a PhD grant from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT), México. I.A. Ferreira and M.B. Cioffi were supported by PhD grants from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Brazil. K. Ocalewicz and R. Campos-Ramos were supported by a grant from the Research Council of Norway, and C. Martins was supported by FAPESP. A. Shirak and B.-Y. Lee were supported by research grant IS-3995-07 from the United States–Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development (BARD) Fund. We thank Prof Tom Kocher for assistance in several respects, including provision of DNA clones used as FISH probes.

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Author notes

  1. Jose C. Mota-Velasco

    Present address: Landcatch Natural Selection, The e.Centre, Cooperage Way Business Village, Alloa, FK10 3LP, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, UK

  2. Bo-Young Lee

    Present address: Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Population Genetics, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742, Republic of Korea

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK

    Jose C. Mota-Velasco, Konrad Ocalewicz, Rafael Campos-Ramos & David J. Penman

  2. Departamento de Morfologia, Instituto de Biociências, UNESP–Universidade Estadual Paulista, 18618-970, Botucatu, SP, Brazil

    Irani Alves Ferreira & Cesar Martins

  3. Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 13565-905, São Carlos, SP, Brazil

    Marcelo B. Cioffi

  4. Department of Ichthyology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland

    Konrad Ocalewicz

  5. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste S.C. (CIBNOR), La Paz, Mexico

    Rafael Campos-Ramos

  6. Institute of Animal Science, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel

    Andrey Shirak

  7. Department of Biology, University of Maryland, 2132 Biosciences Research Building, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Bo-Young Lee

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  1. Jose C. Mota-Velasco
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Correspondence to David J. Penman.

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Responsible Editor: Walther Traut.

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Mota-Velasco, J.C., Ferreira, I.A., Cioffi, M.B. et al. Characterisation of the chromosome fusions in Oreochromis karongae . Chromosome Res 18, 575–586 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-010-9141-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-010-9141-z

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