Locational diversity of alpha satellite DNA and intergeneric hybridization aspects in the Nomascus and Hylobates genera of small apesSudarath Baicharoen, Takako Miyabe-Nishiwaki, Visit Arsaithamkul, Yuriko Hirai, Kwanruen Duangsa-ard, Boripat Siriaroonrat, Hiroshi Domae, Kornsorn Srikulnath, Akihiko Koga and Hirohisa Hirai Recently, we discovered that alpha satellite DNA has unique and genus-specific localizations on the chromosomes of small apes. This study describes the details of alpha satellite localization in the genera Nomascus and Hylobates and explores their usefulness in distinguishing parental genome sets in hybrids between these genera. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to establish diagnostic criteria of alpha satellite DNA markers in discriminating small ape genomes. In particular we established the genus specificity of alpha satellite distribution in three species of light-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys, N. siki, and N. gabriellae) in comparison to that of Hylobates lar. Then we determined the localization of alpha satellite DNA in a hybrid individual which resulted from a cross between these two genera. In Nomascus the alpha satellite DNA blocks were located at the centromere, telomere, and four interstitial regions. In Hylobates detectable amounts of alpha satellite DNA were seen only at centromeric regions. The differences in alpha satellite DNA locations between Nomascus and Hylobates allowed us to easily distinguish the parental chromosomal sets in the genome of intergeneric hybrid individuals found in Thai and Japanese zoos. Our study illustrates how molecular cytogenetic markers can serve as diagnostic tools to identify the origin of individuals. These molecular tools can aid zoos, captive breeding programs and conservation efforts in managing small apes species. Discovering more information on alpha satellite distribution is also an opportunity to examine phylogenetic and evolutionary questions that are still controversial in small apes. PLOS ONE October 07, 2014
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0109151 http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0109151 OCT/8/2014
Copyright(C) 2014 PRI ().
All rights reserved. |