A probe generated by chromosome microdissection, useful for analyzing Y chromosome evolution in Old World monkeys.

We isolated a DNA probe, designated MMDYZ1, using a chromosome microdissection technique from the Y chromosome of the Rhesus monkey. The probe obtained from eight whole Y chromosomes shows higher specificity for the Y short arm of the Rhesus monkey, which consists totally of constitutive heterochromatin. Two microclones (MMY#3 and MMY#4) were constructed from the Y-specific primary PCR products. Sequence analysis of these two microclones revealed that both were essentially identical to each other and the sizes were 870 and 686 bp, respectively. From alignment analysis using the Genbank database of primates, the alphoid DNA has the highest affinity with the probe. However, the total composition of this probe has extremely high homology with the Y short arm of the Rhesus monkey, as demonstrated by fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH). Comparative FISH-mapping disclosed that this DNA-sequence cluster was located at extremely different sites on the Y chromosome in several species of the Old World monkey. Accordingly, this probe seems to be a high-quality tool, now established for the first time, for investigating Y chromosome evolution of the Old World monkey.