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The molecular basis of chromosome orthologies and sex chromosomal differentiation in palaeognathous birds

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Abstract

Palaeognathous birds (Struthioniformes and Tinamiformes) have morphologically conserved karyotypes and less differentiated ZW sex chromosomes. To delineate interspecific chromosome orthologies in palaeognathous birds we conducted comparative chromosome painting with chicken (Gallus gallus, GGA) chromosome 1–9 and Z chromosome paints (GGA1–9 and GGAZ) for emu, double-wattled cassowary, ostrich, greater rhea, lesser rhea and elegant crested tinamou. All six species showed the same painting patterns: each probe was hybridized to a single pair of chromosomes with the exception that the GGA4 was hybridized to the fourth largest chromosome and a single pair of microchromosomes. The GGAZ was also hybridized to the entire region of the W chromosome, indicating that extensive homology remains between the Z and W chromosomes on the molecular level. Comparative FISH mapping of four Z- and/or W-linked markers, the ACO1/IREBP, ZOV3 and CHD1 genes and the EE0.6 sequence, revealed the presence of a small deletion in the proximal region of the long arm of the W chromosome in greater rhea and lesser rhea. These results suggest that the karyotypes and sex chromosomes of palaeognathous birds are highly conserved not only morphologically, but also at the molecular level; moreover, palaeognathous birds appear to retain the ancestral lineage of avian karyotypes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Animal Cytogenetics, Division of Genome Dynamics, Creative Research Initiative “Sousei”, Hokkaido University, North 10 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Chizuko Nishida-Umehara, Junko Ishijima, Junko Ando & Yoichi Matsuda

  2. Laboratory of Cytogenetics, Division of Bioscience, Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Chizuko Nishida-Umehara, Yayoi Tsuda & Yoichi Matsuda

  3. Immunology Section, National Research Institute of Aquaculture, Fisheries Research Agency, Tamaki, Mie, 519-0423, Japan

    Atushi Fujiwara

  4. Department of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NJ, UK

    Darren K. Griffin

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  1. Chizuko Nishida-Umehara
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  2. Yayoi Tsuda
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  3. Junko Ishijima
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  4. Junko Ando
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  5. Atushi Fujiwara
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  6. Yoichi Matsuda
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  7. Darren K. Griffin
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Correspondence to Yoichi Matsuda.

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Nishida-Umehara, C., Tsuda, Y., Ishijima, J. et al. The molecular basis of chromosome orthologies and sex chromosomal differentiation in palaeognathous birds. Chromosome Res 15, 721–734 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-007-1157-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-007-1157-7

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