title: Evolutionary history of chromosome 11 featuring four distinct centromere repositioning events in Catarrhini.
abstract: Panels of BAC clones used in FISH experiments allow a detailed definition of chromosomal marker arrangement and orientation during evolution. This approach has disclosed the centromere repositioning phenomenon, consisting in the activation of a novel, fully functional centromere in an ectopic location, concomitant with the inactivation of the old centromere. In this study, appropriate panels of BAC clones were used to track the chromosome 11 evolutionary history in primates and nonprimate boreoeutherian mammals. Chromosome 11 synteny was found to be highly conserved in both primate and boreoeutherian mammalian ancestors. Amazingly, we detected four centromere repositioning events in primates (in Old World monkeys, in gibbons, in orangutans, and in the Homo-Pan-Gorilla (H-P-G) clade ancestor), and one in Equidae. Both H-P-G and Lar gibbon novel centromeres were flanked by large duplicons with high sequence similarity. Outgroup species analysis revealed that this duplicon was absent in phylogenetically more distant primates. The chromosome 11 ancestral centromere was probably located near the HSA11q telomere. The domain of this inactivated centromere, in humans, is almost devoid of segmental duplications. An inversion occurred in chromosome 11 in the common ancestor of H-P-G. A large duplicon, again absent in outgroup species, was found located adjacent to the inversion breakpoints. In Hominoidea, almost all the five largest duplicons of this chromosome appeared involved in significant evolutionary architectural changes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Microbiology, University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Francesca
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Cardone
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lomiento
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Teti
authors.forename: Doriana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Misceo
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roberto
authors.forename: Oronzo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Capozzi
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: D'Addabbo
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rocchi
authors.forename: Nicoletta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Archidiacono
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D051079:Catarrhini / Q000235:genetics*; D002415:Cats; D002417:Cattle; D002460:Cell Line; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D002503:Centromere / Q000235:genetics*; D002880:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11 / Q000235:genetics*; D006071:Gorilla gorilla / Q000235:genetics; D015186:Hominidae / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D016674:Hylobatidae / Q000235:genetics; D007900:Lemur / Q000235:genetics