A canine X chromosome painting probe applied to four canid species: close relationship of a heterochromatic-like sequence between the dog and the blue fox.
Microdissection of chromosomes is an invaluable tool to physically isolate single chromosomes, chromosome-arms or chromosome-bands and, subsequently generate painting probes with which numerical or structural aberrations of chromosomes can be studied. In addition, such painting probes can be used to compare karyotypic relationships among mammalian species. For the present study a canine whole X chromosome painting probe was prepared by means of conventional microdissection and degenerate-oligonucleotide-primed PCR. The application of this paint to the chromosomes of the domestic dog, red fox, blue fox and Chinese raccoon dog revealed hybridization to the entire X chromosome and the pseudo-autosomal region of the Y chromosome in all four species analysed. In the blue fox the same paint revealed additional strong hybridization signals on the heterochromatic arms after low-stringent posthybridization washes. The present study indicates the existence of an ancient canid heterochromatic-like DNA sequence, which survived in the proximal part of the X chromosome of all species studied and, in addition, was involved in the formation of heterochromatic arms in the blue fox.
Pienkowska-Schelling
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A
Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Agricultural University of Poznan, Poznan, Poland.
Zawada
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M
Schelling
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C
D000818:Animals; D046028:Canidae / Q000235:genetics*; D020223:Chromosome Painting / Q000379:methods*; D015342:DNA Probes; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000235:genetics*; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D013045:Species Specificity; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics*
D015342:DNA Probes; D006570:Heterochromatin