title: Evolutionary story of a satellite DNA from Phodopus sungorus (Rodentia, Cricetidae).
abstract: With the goal to contribute for the understanding of satellite DNA evolution and its genomic involvement, in this work it was isolated and characterized the first satellite DNA (PSUcentSat) from Phodopus sungorus (Cricetidae). Physical mapping of this sequence in P. sungorus showed large PSUcentSat arrays located at the heterochromatic (peri)centromeric region of five autosomal pairs and Y-chromosome. The presence of orthologous PSUcentSat sequences in the genomes of other Cricetidae and Muridae rodents was also verified, presenting however, an interspersed chromosomal distribution. This distribution pattern suggests a PSUcentSat-scattered location in an ancestor of Muridae/Cricetidae families, that assumed afterwards, in the descendant genome of P. sungorus a restricted localization to few chromosomes in the (peri)centromeric region. We believe that after the divergence of the studied species, PSUcentSat was most probably highly amplified in the (peri)centromeric region of some chromosome pairs of this hamster by recombinational mechanisms. The bouquet chromosome configuration (prophase I) possibly displays an important role in this selective amplification, providing physical proximity of centromeric regions between chromosomes with similar size and/or morphology. This seems particularly evident for the acrocentric chromosomes of P. sungorus (including the Y-chromosome), all presenting large PSUcentSat arrays at the (peri)centromeric region. The conservation of this sequence in the studied genomes and its (peri)centromeric amplification in P. sungorus strongly suggests functional significance, possibly displaying this satellite family different functions in the different genomes. The verification of PSUcentSat transcriptional activity in normal proliferative cells suggests that its transcription is not stage-limited, as described for some other satellites.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Genomics and Biotechnology, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (IBB/CGBUTAD), Vila Real, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paço
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Genomics and Biotechnology, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (IBB/CGBUTAD), Vila Real, Portugal Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.
authors.forename: Filomena
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Adega
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Nevenka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Meštrović
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Plohl
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Genomics and Biotechnology, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (IBB/CGBUTAD), Vila Real, Portugal Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal rchaves@utad.pt.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chaves
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004276:DNA, Satellite / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D017111:Phodopus / Q000235:genetics*; D012377:Rodentia / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004276:DNA, Satellite
keywords: Phodopus sungorus; Rodentia; chromosomal distribution; copy number; satellite DNA; transcriptional activity