Zoo-fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of human and Indian muntjac karyotypes (Muntiacus muntjak vaginalis) reveals satellite DNA clusters at the margins of conserved syntenic segments.

Zoo-fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with human whole chromosome-specific paint probes revealed extensive homoeologies between Indian muntjac (2n=6, 7 female, male) and human karyotypes (2n=46). Forty-two conserved syntenic segments, corresponding to all human chromosomes except the Y chromosome, produced a near-complete coverage of the muntjac complement and revealed margins of interspecific segmental homoeology. To test the hypothesis that interstitial satellite DNA loci, illuminated by a Chinese muntjac C5-satellite probe in Indian muntjac chromosome arms, mark ancestral fusion points (Lin CC, Sasi R, Fan YS, Chen Z-Q (1991) New evidence for tandem chromosome fusions in the karyotypic evolution of the Asian muntjacs. Chromosoma 101: 19-24), we combined Zoo-FISH with C5 satellite mapping. Twenty-six interstitial satellite DNA loci were detected in the haploid Indian muntjac genome and were found to co-localize with the margins of conserved human/Indian muntjac syntenic segments. These results were confirmed by two-colour FISH and are in accordance with the tandem fusion hypothesis for Indian muntjac chromosomes. Furthermore, conserved syntenic segment combinations detected in pig, cattle and Indian muntjac Zoo-FISH maps reveal ancestral artiodactyl chromosomes.