First constitutive heterochromatin characterization and Karyotype of white stork Ciconia ciconia (Aves: Ciconiidae)

The karyotype and constitutive heterochromatin pattern of the white stork Ciconia ciconia samples obtained from Manzala lake, Dimiaat, Egypt was described. Somatic cells of Ciconia ciconia samples have diploid number 2n= 68 chromosomes. Out of 68 chromosomes, 11 pairs including sex chromosomes were macrochromosomes and the remaining pairs were microchromosomes. Of the 11 macrochromosome pairs, no.1, 2, 4 and 5 were submetacentric and pairs no. 6, 7 and 8 were described as metacentric. In addition, the autosome pair no.3 was subtelocentric, while autosome pair no.9 was acrocentric. Also, the sex chromosome Z represents the fourth one in size and it was classified as submetacentric while, W chromosome appeared as medium size and was acrocentric. Furthermore, C-banding pattern (constitutive heterochromatin) revealed variation in their sizes and occurrence between macrochromosomes. Pairs no. 7 and 8 of autosomes exhibited unusual distribution of heterochromatin, where they appeared as entirely heterochromatic. This may be related to the origin of sex chromosomes Z and W. However, there is no sufficient evidence illustrate the appearance of entirely heterochromatic autosomes. Therefore, there is no available cytogenetic literature that describes the C-banding and karyotype of Ciconia Ciconia, so the results herein are important and may assist in cytogenetic study and evolutionary pattern of Ciconiiformes.

Sex chromosome evolution via two genes

The origin of sex chromosomes has been hypothesized to involve the linkage of factors with antagonistic effects on male and female function. Garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is an ideal species to test this hypothesis, as the X and Y chromosomes are cytologically homomorphic and recently evolved from an ancestral autosome pair in association with a shift from hermaphroditism to dioecy. Mutagenesis screens paired with single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH) directly implicate Y-specific genes that respectively suppress female organ development and are necessary for male gametophyte development. Comparison of contiguous X and Y chromosome shows that loss of recombination between the genes suppressing female function (SUPPRESSOR OF FEMALE FUNCTION, SOFF) and promoting male function (TAPETAL DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION 1, aspTDF1) is due to hemizygosity. We also experimentally demonstrate the function of aspTDF1. These finding provide direct evidence that sex chromosomes can evolve from autosomes via two sex determination genes: a dominant suppressor of femaleness and a promoter of maleness.

From brain determination to testis determination: evolution of the mammalian sex-determining gene

In mammals, sex is determined by an XY male:XX female sex chromosome system in which a male-dominant gene on the Y chromosome (SRY) determines testis formation. Sex chromosomes evolved from an ordinary autosome pair as the Y chromosome was progressively degraded. The Y chromosome has lost nearly all of its 1500 original genes, and those that survived did so because they evolved a critical role in male determination or differentiation. SRY is typical of Y-borne genes. Comparative gene mapping and sequencing shows that SRY arose quite recently as a degraded version of the SOX3 gene on the X chromosome. SOX3 is expressed predominantly in brain, and so is more likely to be a brain-determining than a testis-determining gene. The male-dominant action of SRY may be an illusion, as its structure suggests that it works by interfering with the action of a related gene, which in turn inhibits testis development. This hypothesis can give a good account of how a brain-determining gene acquired a role in testis determination via differential dosage of SOX3. SRY has no central role in sex determination and it can be replaced as a trigger and lost, as have many other Y-borne genes in recent evolutionary history. The absence of SRY in two species of the mole vole (Ellobius) suggests that its useful life is already running out.

Chromosome comparison between two species of Phyllostomus (Chiroptera - Phyllostomidae) from Eastern Amazonia, with some phylogenetic insights

The karyotypes of Phyllostomus discolor and P. hastatus from Eastern Amazonia were studied by G-, C-, G/C sequential and Ag-NOR techniques. Both species presented 2n = 32, with the autosome complement composed of 30 bi-armed in P. discolor and 28 bi-armed plus 1 acrocentric in P. hastatus. In both species, the X chromosome is medium submetacentric while the Y is minute acrocentric. The present study found only one difference between the karyotypes of P. discolor and P. hastatus: the smallest autosome (pair 15) is bi-armed in discolor and acrocentric in hastatus, a result best explained by pericentric inversion. The C-banding revealed constitutive heterochromatin only at the centromeric regions of all chromosomes, with the NOR site located at the distal region of short arm of pair 15, in both species. The taxon P. discolor is considered primitive for genus Phyllostomus and the bi-armed form of pair 15 is the assumed primitive condition which, rearranged by a pericentric inversion originated the acrocentric from found in P. hastatus.

Sex-dependent frequency and type of autosomal univalency at the first meiotic metaphase in mouse germ cells

Univalents at the first meiotic metaphase in mouse spermatocytes occur mainly in the XY pair, making it difficult to compare the amounts of univalency in males and females. In this study, the amounts of autosomal univalency in male and female meiosis were compared using the model strain CBA-T6, in which univalency of the small marker autosome pair T6 has been shown to occur very frequently in spermatocytes. Mice from inbred CBA and DBA strains were also analysed. The total frequencies of univalency (sex chromosomes plus autosomes) in metaphase I spermatocytes were 45.6% in CBA, 36.9% in CBA-T6, and 37.3% in DBA males. The aneuploidy in metaphase II spermatocytes ranged from 1.4 to 3% in these strains, which was in agreement with previous findings that most primary spermatocytes with abnormal chromosome configurations are arrested in their development before metaphase II. In the CBA-T6 strain, autosomal univalency at metaphase I mostly involved chromosome pair T6; however, its frequency differed significantly between the sexes, amounting to 18.9% in spermatocytes and 4.3% in oocytes. In the CBA strain, autosomal univalents at metaphase I were seen in 7.7% of the spermatocytes and 1.4% of the oocytes and, in DBA mice, in 4.9% of the spermatocytes and 3.8% of the oocytes. However, in DBA oocytes, when univalency occurred it usually concerned a greater number of bivalents in one cell (range: 2-19 disjoined bivalents), a phenomenon very rare in males of this strain. This study shows that univalent formation differs between the male and female types of meiosis.