Characterization of constitutive heterochromatin in Cebus apella (Cebidae, Primates) and Pan troglodytes (Hominidae, Primates): comparison to human chromosomes.
Using G bands, some homologies between the chromosomes of Cebus apella (CAP) and human chromosomes are difficult to establish. To solve this problem, we analyzed these homologies by fluorescence in situ hybridization using human whole chromosome probes (ZOO-FISH). The results indicated that 1) the human probe for chromosome 2 partially hybridizes with CAP chromosomes 13 and 5, 2) the human probe for chromosome 3 partially hybridizes with CAP chromosomes 18 and 20, 3) the human probe for chromosome 9 partially hybridizes with CAP chromosome 19, and 4) the human probe for chromosome 14 hybridizes with the p-terminal and q-terminal regions of CAP chromosome 6. However, none of the human probes employed hybridized with the heterochromatic regions of CAP chromosomes. For this reason, we characterized the heterochromatic regions of CAP chromosomes and of the chromosomes of Pan troglodytes (PTR), to allow comparison between CAP, PTR, and human chromosomes using in situ digestion of fixed chromosomes with the restriction enzymes AluI, HaeIII, and RsaI and by fluorescent staining with DA/DAPI. The results show that 1) centromeric heterochromatin is heterogeneous in the three species studied and 2) noncentromeric heterochromatin is homogeneous within each of the three species, but is different for each species. Thus, centromeric heterochromatin undergoes a higher degree of variability than noncentromeric heterochromatin.
García
F
F
Departament de Biologia Cellular i Fisiologia, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
Nogués
C
C
Garcia
M
M
Egozcue
J
J
Ponsà
M
M
D000818:Animals; D002428:Cebus / Q000235:genetics*; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000737:chemistry*; D002877:Chromosomes, Human; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007211:Indoles; D007621:Karyotyping; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000235:genetics*; D015183:Restriction Mapping
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006570:Heterochromatin; D007211:Indoles; C007293:DAPI