SATELLITE DNA-SEQUENCES IN THE NEW-WORLD PRIMATE CEBUS-APELLA (PLATYRRHINI, PRIMATES)

Two satellite DNAs, designated CapA and CapB, were isolated from the n eotropical primate, Cebus apella. The satellites exhibit nonoverlappin g distributions on C. apella chromosomes. CapA is a major component of interstitial regions of constitutive heterochromatin, a very large bl ock of heterochromatin comprising most of the long arm of chromosome 1 1, and some telomeres. The CapA monomer has a length of about 1500 bp and appears recently to have undergone an amplification episode in the C. apella genome. CapA-like sequences are probably present in members of the family Cebidae (to which C. apella belongs), but not in member s of the family Callitrichidae (marmosets). CapB sequences can be dete cted at the centromeres of many C. apella chromosomes, and similar seq uences are present in all neotropical primates. The 342 bp CapB monome r shares 60%-64% sequence identity with several alpha satellite sequen ces of human origin. Because of its structure, sequence, and location, it appears that CapB is the New World primate homolog of Old World pr imate alpha satellite DNA.