CHROMOSOME PAINTING - A METHOD FOR TESTING CHROMOSOMAL CHANGES IN LEMUR EVOLUTION

Chromosome painting using commercially available human chromosome-spec ific DNA libraries was performed to elucidate chromosomal rearrangemen ts in lemur evolution. Human-specific probes for chromosomes 3, 14, 15 , and 21 were used to paint chromosomes of six species: Eulemur fulvus mayottensis, Varecia variegata, Lemur catta, Hapalemur simus, H. gris eus griseus, and H. aureus. All human chromosome libraries hybridized specifically to chromosome segments of varying length or to whole arms of Lemur chromosomes. The labeling was clearly visualized and permitt ed precise delineation of the hybridized Lemur chromosomal segments. T he use of commercial probes of human chromosomes for chromosome painti ng appears efficient enough to investigate homology in different speci es of Lemur. In general, the results obtained by chromosome painting i n this study confirm results previously obtained by the R-banding tech nique but modify the location of some chromosomal rearrangements on di fferent branches of the evolutionary tree of the Lemuridae and reveal some new rearrangements that were not detectable with banding techniqu es. These results show that chromosome painting with human chromosome- specific DNA libraries can provide useful information in comparative s tudies on karyotypes of distantly related mammalian species, providing a powerful tool for evolutionary studies, especially in phylogeny.