Abstract
Small apes (gibbons and siamangs) exhibit high complexity and large variation in the structure of their chromosomes due to the frequent occurrence of rearrangements. Constitutive heterochromatin (C-heterochromatin) is considered one of the significant factors that cause chromosomal rearrangements and is itself also affected greatly by chromosomal rearrangements. Analysis of chromosomal rearrangements was accelerated by the emergence of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and chromosome painting techniques. Recent developments in molecular biological methods have further facilitated detailed and quantitative analyses of C-heterochromatin, including accurate nucleotide sequences. This chapter addresses the current knowledge of chromosomal distribution and sequence properties of C-heterochromatin in small apes as revealed by the combination of cytogenetic and molecular biological techniques. Emphasis is placed on alpha satellite DNA, which consists of tandemly repeated sequences contained in the centromere. We first describe two events that have taken place in the small ape genome and are likely to have significance in the genome evolution. We then explore fine structures of small ape chromosomes as clarified by hybridization analyses using alpha satellite DNA as a probe. Each genus or species of small apes shows a unique localization pattern, and comparing these features among species or genera enabled us to trace the evolutionary changes that occurred in the chromosome structures of small apes. We also describe the application of alpha satellite DNA probes to the identification of genus, species, and even parents of hybrid offspring.
To the memory of my late friend, Alan R. Mootnick.
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Acknowledgments
For the use of samples in our original investigations, we are grateful to the staff members of the Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Japan, the Zoological Park Organization, Thailand, and the WildTeam Cosmos Center, Bangladesh. The original studies were supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (24370098 to AK; 22247037 and 24255009 to HH).
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Koga, A., Hirai, H. (2016). Unique Evolution of Heterochromatin and Alpha Satellite DNA in Small Apes. In: Reichard, U., Hirai, H., Barelli, C. (eds) Evolution of Gibbons and Siamang. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-5614-2_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-5614-2_6
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