Abstract
Marsupials occupy a phylogenetic middle ground that is very valuable in genome comparisons of mammal and other vertebrate species. For this reason, whole genome sequencing is being undertaken for two distantly related marsupial species, including the model kangaroo species Macropus eugenii (the tammar wallaby). As a first step towards the molecular characterization of the tammar genome, we present a detailed description of the tammar karyotype, report the development of a set of molecular anchor markers and summarize the comparative mapping data for this species.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersson L, Archibald A, Ashburner M et al. (1996) Comparative genome organization of vertebrates. The First International Workshop on Comparative Genome Organization. Mamm Genome 7(10): 717–734.
Arizona Genomics Institute (2005) Internet references. Retrieved from http://www.genome.arizona.edu/orders/ME_KBa_Clone.html 19/5/2005.
De Leo AA, Guedelha N, Toder R et al. (1999) Comparative chromosome painting between three Australian marsupials with the 2n = 14 putative ancestral marsupial karyotype. Chromosome Res 7: 509–517.
Edwards JH (1991) The Oxford grid. Annals Hum Genet 55: 17–31.
Graves JAM (1967) DNA synthesis in chromosomes of cultured leucocytes from two marsupial species. Exp Cell Res 46: 37–47.
Graves JAM, Dawson GW (1988) The relationship between position and expression of genes on the kangaroo X chromosome suggests a tissue-specific spread of inactivation from a single control site. Genet Res 51: 103–109.
Hayman DL (1990) Marsupial cytogenetics. Aust J Zool 37: 331–349.
Hayman DL, Martin PG (1974) Mammalia I: Monotremata and Marsupalia. In: John B, eds. Animal Cytogenetics. Vol. 4. Berlin Stuttgart: Gebrüder Borntraeger, pp 1–110.
ISCN (1995) An International System for Human Cytogenetic Nomenclature. Mitelman F, ed. Basel: S. Karger AG.
Kumar S, Hedges SB (1998) A molecular timescale for vertebrate evolution. Nature 392(6679): 917–920.
McKusick VA (1988) Mendelian Inheritance in Man. Catalogs of Human Genes and Genetic Disorders, 8th ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Murphy WJ, Eizirik E, O’Brien SJ et al. (2001) Resolution of the early placental mammal radiation using Bayesian phylogenetics. Science 294: 2348–2351.
National Human Genome Research Institute, 2005a. Internet references. Retrieved from http://www.genome.gov/10002154 19/5/2005.
National Human Genome Research Institute, 2005b. Internet references. Retrieved from http://www.genome.gov/12512285 19/5/2005.
National Human Genome Research Institute, 2005c. Internet references. Retrieved from http://www.genome.gov/12512299 19/5/2005.
O’Brien SJ, Menotti-Raymond M, Murphy WJ et al. (1999) The promise of comparative genomics in mammals. Science 286: 458–481.
Rens W, O’Brien PC, Fairclough H et al. (2003) Reversal and convergence in marsupial chromosome evolution. Cytogenet Genome Res 102(1–4): 282–290.
Robins AJ, Hayman DL, Wells JRE (1984) Ribosomal gene reiteration in a marsupial species with an X-linked nucleolar organizer. Aust J Biol Sci 37: 211–215.
Rofe R, Hayman D (1985) G-banding evidence for a conserved complement in the Marsupalia. Cytogenet Cell Genet 39: 40–50.
Sambrook J, Russel DW (2001) Preparation and analysis of eukaryotic genomic DNA. In: Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual 3rd ed. Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, pp 6.1–6.30.
Seabright M (1971) A rapid banding technique for human chromosomes. Lancet 298(7731): 971–972.
Sharman GB (1971) Late DNA replication in the paternally derived X chromosome of female kangaroos. Nature 230: 231–232.
Thomas JW, Touchman JW (2002) Vertebrate genome sequencing: building a backbone for comparative genomics. Trends Genet 18(2): 104–108.
Toder R, O’Neill RJ, Wienberg J, O’Brien PC, Voullaire L, Marshall-Graves JA (1997a) Comparative chromosome painting between two marsupials: origins of an XX/XY1Y2 sex chromosome system. Mamm Genome 8(6): 418–422.
Toder R, Wienberg J, Voullaire L, Maccarone P, Graves JAM (1997b) Shared DNA sequences between the X and Y chromosomes in the tammar wallaby – evidence for independent additions to eutherian and marsupial sex chromosomes. Chromosoma 106: 94–98.
Toder R, Wakefield M, Graves JAM (2000) The minimal mammalian Y chromosome – the marsupial Y as a model system. Cytogenet Cell Genet 91: 285–292.
Tyndale-Biscoe H (2005) Consummate kangaroos. In: Life of Marsupials. Collingwood, Australia: CSIRO Publishing, pp 287–364.
Wakefield MJ, Graves JAM (2003) The kangaroo genome: leaps and bounds in comparative genomics. EMBO Rep 4: 143–147.
Wakefield MJ, Keohane AM, Turner BM, Graves JAM (1997) Histone deacetylation is an ancient component of mammalian X chromosome inactivation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94: 9665–9668.
Woodburne MO, Rich TH, Springer MS (2003) The evolution of tribospheny and the antiquity of mammalian clades. Mol Phylogenet Evol 28(2): 360–385.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alsop, A.E., Miethke, P., Rofe, R. et al. Characterizing the chromosomes of the Australian model marsupial Macropus eugenii (tammar wallaby). Chromosome Res 13, 627–636 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-005-0989-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-005-0989-2