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Cross-species chromosome painting in bats from Madagascar: the contribution of Myzopodidae to revealing ancestral syntenies in Chiroptera

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Abstract

The chiropteran fauna of Madagascar comprises eight of the 19 recognized families of bats, including the endemic Myzopodidae. While recent systematic studies of Malagasy bats have contributed to our understanding of the morphological and genetic diversity of the island’s fauna, little is known about their cytosystematics. Here we investigate karyotypic relationships among four species, representing four families of Chiroptera endemic to the Malagasy region using cross-species chromosome painting with painting probes of Myotis myotis: Myzopodidae (Myzopoda aurita, 2n = 26), Molossidae (Mormopterus jugularis, 2n = 48), Miniopteridae (Miniopterus griveaudi, 2n = 46), and Vespertilionidae (Myotis goudoti, 2n = 44). This study represents the first time a member of the family Myzopodidae has been investigated using chromosome painting. Painting probes of M. myotis were used to delimit 29, 24, 23, and 22 homologous chromosomal segments in the genomes of M. aurita, M. jugularis, M. griveaudi, and M. goudoti, respectively. Comparison of GTG-banded homologous chromosomes/chromosomal segments among the four species revealed the genome of M. aurita has been structured through 14 fusions of chromosomes and chromosomal segments of M. myotis chromosomes leading to a karyotype consisting solely of bi-armed chromosomes. In addition, chromosome painting revealed a novel X-autosome translocation in M. aurita. Comparison of our results with published chromosome maps provided further evidence for karyotypic conservatism within the genera Mormopterus, Miniopterus, and Myotis. Mapping of chromosomal rearrangements onto a molecular consensus phylogeny revealed ancestral syntenies shared between Myzopoda and other bat species of the infraorders Pteropodiformes and Vespertilioniformes. Our study provides further evidence for the involvement of Robertsonian (Rb) translocations and fusions/fissions in chromosomal evolution within Chiroptera.

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Abbreviations

CBG-banding:

C-banding by treatment with barium hydroxide

GTG-banding:

G-banding by trypsin digestion

IHB:

Intercalary heterochromatic block

MAU:

Myzopoda aurita

MGO:

Myotis goudoti

MGR:

Miniopterus griveaudi

MJU:

Mormopterus jugularis

MMY:

Myotis myotis

Rb:

Robertsonian

X-A:

X-autosome translocation

Zoo-FISH:

Zoo-fluorescence in situ hybridization

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (to SMG), Volkswagen Foundation (to SMG, PJT and JML), South African National Research Foundation (to RVR, LRR), and the South African Biosystematics Initiative (to JML). FY is supported by the Wellcome Trust. We thank F. Ratrimomanarivo, C. Maminirina, and B. Ramasindrazana for their assistance with fieldwork and specimen collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, 4001, South Africa

    Leigh R. Richards, Jennifer M. Lamb & M. Corrie Schoeman

  2. DST-NRF Center of Excellence for Invasion Biology and Evolutionary Genomics Group, Department of Botany and Zoology, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa

    Ramugondo V. Rambau

  3. Durban Natural Science Museum, P.O. Box 4085, Durban, 4000, South Africa

    Peter J. Taylor

  4. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950, South Africa

    Peter J. Taylor

  5. The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK

    Fengtang Yang

  6. Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA

    Steven M. Goodman

  7. Vahatra, BP 3972, Antananarivo, 101, Madagascar

    Steven M. Goodman

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  1. Leigh R. Richards
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  2. Ramugondo V. Rambau
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Correspondence to Leigh R. Richards or Ramugondo V. Rambau.

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Richards, L.R., Rambau, R.V., Lamb, J.M. et al. Cross-species chromosome painting in bats from Madagascar: the contribution of Myzopodidae to revealing ancestral syntenies in Chiroptera. Chromosome Res 18, 635–653 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-010-9139-6

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