Karyotypic relationships of horses and zebras: results of cross-species chromosome painting

Complete sets of chromosome-specific painting probes, derived from flow-sorted chromosomes of human (HSA), Equus caballus (ECA) and Equus burchelli (EBU) were used to delineate conserved chromosomal segments between human and Equits burchelli, and among four equid species, E. przewalskii (EPR), E. caballus, E. burchelli and E. zebra hartmannae (EZH) by cross-species chromosome painting. Genome-wide comparative maps between these species have been established. Twenty-two human autosomal probes revealed 48 conserved segments in E. burchelli. The adjacent segment combinations HSA3/21, 7/16p, 16q/19q, 14/15, 12/22 and 4/8, presumed ancestral syntenies for all eutherian mammals, were also found conserved in E. burchelli. The comparative maps of equids allow for the unequivocal characterization of chromosomal rearrangements that differentiate the karyotypes of these equid species. The karyotypes of E. przewalskii and E. caballus differ by one Robertsonian translocation (ECA5 = EPR23 + EPR24); numerous Robertsonian translocations and tandem fusions and several inversions account for the karyotypic differences between the horses and zebras. Our results shed new light on the karyotypic evolution of Equidae. Copyright (C) 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Karyotype relationships of six bat species (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from China revealed by chromosome painting and G-banding comparison

The Vespertilionidae is the largest family in the order Chiroptera and has a worldwide distribution in the temperate and tropical regions. In order to further clarify the karyotype relationships at the lower taxonomic level in Vespertilionidae, genome-wid

Phylogenetic relationships among two species of golden monkey and three species of leaf monkey inferred from rDNA variation

Restriction maps of rDNA repeats of five species of Colobinae and three outgroup taxa, Hylobates leucogenys, Macaca mulatta, and Macaca irus, were constructed using 15 restriction endonucleases and cloned 18S and 28S rRNA gene probes. The site variation between Rhinopithecus roxellana and Rhinopithecus bieti is comparable to that between Presbytis francoisi and Presbytis phayrei, implying that R. bieti is a valid species rather than a subspecies of R. roxellana. Phylogenetic analysis on the 47 informative sites supports the case for Rhinopithecus being an independent genus and closely related to Presbytis. Furthermore, branch lengths of the tree seem to support the hypothesis that the leaf monkeys share some ancestral traits as well as some automorphic characters.

Karyotypic evolution and phylogenetic relationships in the order Chiroptera as revealed by G-banding comparison and chromosome painting

Bats are a unique but enigmatic group of mammals and have a world-wide distribution. The phylogenetic relationships of extant bats are far from being resolved. Here, we investigated the karyotypic relationships of representative species from four families

PHYLOGENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS OF MACAQUES AS INFERRED FROM RESTRICTION-ENDONUCLEASE ANALYSIS OF MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA

Mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) purified from 25 samples of 6 species of macaques, Macaca mulatta, M. fascicularis, M. arctoides, M. nemestrina, M. assamensis and M. thibetana, were analyzed to study the phyletic relationships among the species. A total of 36-46 sites was observed in each sample. By combining the cleavage patterns for each of the endonucleases, the 25 samples were classified into 11 restriction types. When data on M. fuscata and M. cyclopis collected by other authors were added to our own, the resultant molecular phylogenetic trees indicated that the 8 species may be divided into 4 groups: (1) M. mulatta, M. fuscata, M. cyclopis and M. fascicularis; (2) M. arctoides, (3) M. nemestrina; (4) M. assamensis and M. thibetana. Our results suggest that within both the fascicularis and sinica groups genetic distances are small between members and that the status of the species within the groups may require further investigation.

Phylogenetic relationships of five pika species (genus Ochotona) based on mitochondrial DNA restriction maps

Restriction site mapping of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with 16 restriction endonucleases was used to examine the phylogenetic relationships of Ochotona cansus, O. huangensis, O. thibetana, O. curzoniae and O. erythrotis. A 1-kb length variation between O. erythrotis of subgenus Pika and other four species of subgenus Ochotona was observed, which may be a useful genetic marker for identifying the two subgenera. The phylogenetic tree constructed using PAUP based on 61 phylogenetically informative sites suggests that O. erythrotis diverged first, followed by O. cansus, while O. curzoniae and O. huangensis are sister taxa related to O. thibetana, The results indicate that both O. cansus and O. huangensis should be treated as independent species. If the base substitution rate of pikas mtDNA was 2% per million years, then the divergence time of the two subgenera, Pika and Ochotana, is about 8.8 Ma ago of late Miocence, middle Bao-dian of Chinese mammalian age, and the divergence of the four species in subgenus Ochotona would have occurred about 2.5 - 4.2 Ma ago, Yushean of Chinese mammalian age. This calculation appears to be substantiated by the fossil record.

Phylogenetic relationships within mammalian order Carnivora indicated by sequences of two nuclear DNA genes

Phylogenetic relationships among 37 living species of order Carnivora spanning a relatively broad range of divergence times and taxonomic levels were examined using nuclear sequence data from exon1 of the IRBP gene (approximate to1.3 kb) and first intron

Phylogenetic relationships of 12 Penaeoidea shrimp species deduced from mitochondrial DNA sequences

DNA sequences of an 847 bp fragment of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and a 514 bp fragment of 16s rRNA gene were determined to examine the phylogenetic relationships of 12 Penaeoidea shrimp species (Penaeus chinensis, Penaeus japon

Phylogenetic relationships of Drosophila melanogaster species group deduced from spacer regions of histone gene H2A-H2B

Nucleotide sequences of the spacer region of the histone gene H2A-H2B from 36 species of Drosophila melanogaster species group were determined. The phylogenetic trees were reconstructed with maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods by u

Phylogenetic relationships of the macaques (Cercopithecidae : Macaca), inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences

To study the phylogenetic relationships of the macaques, five gene fragments were sequenced from 40 individuals of eight species: Macaca mulatta, M. cyclopis, M. fascicularis, M. arctoides, M. assamensis, M. thibetana, M. silenus, and M. leonina. In addition, sequences of M. sylvanus were obtained from Genbank. A baboon was used as the outgroup. The phylogenetic trees were constructed using maximum-parsimony and Bayesian methods. Because five gene fragments were from the mitochondrial genome and were inherited as a single entity without recombination, we combined the five genes into a single analysis. The parsimony bootstrap proportions we obtained were higher than those from earlier studies based on the combined mtDNA dataset. Excluding M. arctoides, our results are generally consistent with the classification of Delson (1980). Our phylogenetic analyses agree with earlier studies suggesting that the mitochondrial lineages of M. arctoides share a close evolutionary relationship with the mitochondrial lineages of the fascicularis group of macaques (and M. fascicularis, specifically). M. mulatta (with respect to M. cyclopis), M. assamensis assamensis (with respect to M. thibetana), and M. leonina (with respect to M. silenus) are paraphyletic based on our analysis of mitochondrial genes.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the Petaurista philippensis complex (Rodentia : Sciuridae), inter- and intraspecific relationships inferred from molecular and morphometric analysis

With modified DNA extraction and Purification protocols, the complete cytochrome b gene sequences (1140 bp) were determined from degraded museum specimens. Molecular analysis and morphological examination of cranial characteristics of the giant flying squirrels of Petaurista philippensis complex (P. grandis, P. hainana, and P. yunanensis) and other Petaurista species yielded new insights into long-standing controversies in the Petaurista systematics. Patterns of genetic variations and morphological differences observed in this study indicate that P. hainana, P. albiventer, and P. yunanensis can be recognized as distinct species, and P. grandis and P. petaurista are conspecific populations. Phylogenetic relationships reconstructed by using parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian methods reveal that, with P. leucogenys as the basal branch, all Petaurista groups formed two distinct clades. Petaurista philippensis, P. hainana, P. yunanensis, and P. albiventer are clustered in the same clade, while P. grandis shows a close relationship to P. petaurista. Deduced divergence times based on Bayesian analysis and the transversional substitution at the third codon suggest that the retreating of glaciers and upheavals or movements of tectonic plates in the Pliocene-Pleistocene were the major factors responsible for the present geographical distributions of Petaurista groups. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Phylogenetic relationships of the Chinese brown frogs (Genus rana) inferred from partial mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA gene sequences

Based on partial sequences of the 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA genes, we estimated phylogenetic relationships among brown frogs of the Rana temporaria group from China. From the phylogenetic trees obtained, we propose to include Rana zhengi in the brown frog

Ribosomal DNA gene and phylogenetic relationships of Diplura and lower Hexapods

The monophyly of Diplura and its phylogenetic relationship with other hexapods are important for understanding the phylogeny of Hexapoda. The complete 18SrRNA gene and partial 28SrRNA gene (D3-D5 region) from 2 dipluran species (Campodeidae and Japygidae), 2 proturan species, 3 collembolan species, and 1 locust species were sequenced. Combining related sequences in GenBank, phylogenetic trees of Hexapoda were constructed by MP method using a crustacean Artemia salina as an outgroup. The results indicated that: (i) the integrated data of 18SrDNA and 28SrDNA could provide better phylogenetic information, which well supported the monophyly of Diplura; (ii) Diplura had a close phylogenetic relationship to Protura with high bootstrap support.

Phylogenetic relationships in genus Niviventer (Rodentia : Muridae) in China inferred from complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene

Chinese species of the genus Niviventer, predominantly distributed in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau and in Taiwan, are a diverse group and have not yet received a thorough molecular phylogenetic analysis. Here, we reconstructed the phylogenetic relatio