Genomic Organization of Repetitive DNA Elements and Extensive Karyotype Diversity of Silurid Catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes): A Comparative Cytogenetic Approach.

The catfish family Siluridae contains 107 described species distributed in Asia, but with some distributed in Europe. In this study, karyotypes and other chromosomal characteristics of 15 species from eight genera were examined using conventional and molecular cytogenetic protocols. Our results showed the diploid number (2) to be highly divergent among species, ranging from 2 = 40 to 92, with the modal frequency comprising 56 to 64 chromosomes.

Karyotype and chromosomal characteristics of rDNA of Karaman, 1955 (Teleostei, Cobitidae) from Lake Volvi, Greece.

The karyotype of Greek cobitid fish Karaman, 1955, from Lake Volvi, Greece, a representative of one of its two major intraspecific phylogenetic lineages, was analysed by means of sequential Giemsa-staining, C-banding, silver-staining, CMA fluorescence banding and also by hybridization (FISH) with rDNA probe. The diploid chromosome number was 2n = 50, karyotype composed of 10 pairs of metacentric to submetacentric and 15 pairs of subtelocentric to acrocentric chromosomes. The nucleolus organizer regions (NORs) as revealed by Ag- and CMA staining and FISH were situated in the telomeric region of the fourth submetacentric chromosome pair.

Genetic analyses of brown hare (Lepus europaeus) support limited migration and translocation of Greek populations.

Numerous studies have shown that the phylogeography of many species, including European brown hare, has been affected by the climatic oscillations of the Pleistocene. During this period the Balkans acted as a major refugium offering habitable conditions for many species. However, few studies have focused on the specific role of the Greek peninsula in the phylogeographic history of species in this southernmost margin of Balkans.

No evidence from genome-wide data of a Khazar origin for the Ashkenazi Jews.

The origin and history of the Ashkenazi Jewish population have long been of great interest, and advances in high-throughput genetic analysis have recently provided a new approach for investigating these topics. We and others have argued on the basis of genome-wide data that the Ashkenazi Jewish population derives its ancestry from a combination of sources tracing to both Europe and the Middle East. It has been claimed, however, through a reanalysis of some of our data, that a large part of the ancestry of the Ashkenazi population originates with the Khazars, a Turkic-speaking group that lived to the north of the Caucasus region ~1,000 years ago.

Greece: a Balkan subrefuge for a remnant red deer (cervus elaphus) population.

A number of phylogeographic studies have revealed the existence of multiple ice age refugia within the Balkan Peninsula, marking it as a biodiversity hotspot. Greece has been reported to harbor genetically differentiated lineages from the rest of Balkans for a number of mammal species. We therefore searched for distinct red deer lineages in Greece, by analyzing 78 samples originating from its last population in Parnitha Mountain (Central Greece).

The coming of the Greeks to Provence and Corsica: Y-chromosome models of archaic Greek colonization of the western Mediterranean.

Background: The process of Greek colonization of the central and western Mediterranean during the Archaic and Classical Eras has been understudied from the perspective of population genetics. To investigate the Y chromosomal demography of Greek colonization in the western Mediterranean, Y-chromosome data consisting of 29 YSNPs and 37 YSTRs were compared from 51 subjects from Provence, 58 subjects from Smyrna and 31 subjects whose paternal ancestry derives from Asia Minor Phokaia, the ancestral embarkation port to the 6th century BCE Greek colonies of Massalia (Marseilles) and Alalie (Aleria, Corsica).

Results: 19% of the Phokaian and 12% of the Smyrnian representatives were derived for haplogroup E-V13, characteristic of the Greek and Balkan mainland, while 4% of the Provencal, 4.

The ACE I/D polymorphism in elite Greek track and field athletes.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine genetic differences among 101 elite Greek track and field athletes and a representative random control group of 181 Greek individuals, by analyzing the I/D polymorphism in exon 16 of the ACE gene.

Methods: Athletes were defined as elite and included in the sample if they had been chosen to represent Greece at the international level. Amplification of DNA was carried out by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Microsatellite variability of wild and farmed populations of Sparus aurata.

The genetic diversity of Greek wild and farmed populations of Sparus aurata was investigated using seven microsatellite markers. Selective breeding programmes and founder effects have altered the composition of farmed populations leading to significant population differentiation between wild and cultured populations and lower allelic richness in farmed populations.

Differential Y-chromosome Anatolian influences on the Greek and Cretan Neolithic.

The earliest Neolithic sites of Europe are located in Crete and mainland Greece. A debate persists concerning whether these farmers originated in neighboring Anatolia and the role of maritime colonization. To address these issues 171 samples were collected from areas near three known early Neolithic settlements in Greece together with 193 samples from Crete.

The ACTN3 gene in elite Greek track and field athletes.

The study of genetic influence in the making of an Olympic champion is still in its nascence, but recent work has provided findings regarding the association of the ACTN3 gene on athletic performance. The aim of this study was to examine genetic differences among elite Greek track and field athletes by analysing a mononucleotide polymorphism in exon 15 of the ACTN3 gene. Results showed that ACTN3 genotype and allele frequencies in the top power-oriented athletes were statistically significantly different from those in a representative random sample of the Greek population: the frequency of the RR ACTN3 genotype in power-oriented athletes vs.

Forensic evaluation of 13 STR loci in the Roma population (Gypsies) of Greece.

Allele frequencies have been calculated in 13 STR loci in a Roma (Gypsy) population sample from Greece. The data can be used in forensic cases. The comparison of the allele frequencies between the Roma and the Greeks showed significant differences for the majority of the loci.

Y-chromosomal STR haplotypes in a population sample from continental Greece, and the islands of Crete and Chios.

Eight Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs)--DYS19, DYS389-I, DYS389-II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, and DYS385--were typed in a population sample (n = 113) of unrelated males from seven different regions of Greece (Macedonia, Thessaly, Epirus, Central Greece, Peloponnese, Crete Island, and Chios Island).

Origin, diffusion, and differentiation of Y-chromosome haplogroups E and J: inferences on the neolithization of Europe and later migratory events in the Mediterranean area.

The phylogeography of Y-chromosome haplogroups E (Hg E) and J (Hg J) was investigated in >2400 subjects from 29 populations, mainly from Europe and the Mediterranean area but also from Africa and Asia. The observed 501 Hg E and 445 Hg J samples were subtyped using 36 binary markers and eight microsatellite loci. Spatial patterns reveal that (1).

RFLP analysis of mitochondrial DNA to evaluate genetic variation in striped red mullet (Mullus surmuletus L.) and red mullet (Mullus barbatus L.) populations.

The genetic differentiation of striped red mullet (Mullus surmuletus) and red mullet (Mullus barbatus) was investigated in 6 Mediterranean populations of each species by means of restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of mitochondrial DNA. Three segments amplified by polymerase chain reaction (control region, COI, and 12S-16S ribosomal RNA) were digested with 20 restriction endonucleases, revealing 71 haplotypes for M. surmuletus and 30 for M.

Genetic identification and phylogeny of three species of the genus Trachurus based on mitochondrial DNA analysis.

The genetic identification and the phylogenetic relationships of 3 European species of the genus Trachurus (T. trachurus, T. mediterraneus, and T.

Development of mitochondrial DNA primers for use with homarid lobsters.

DNA primer sets were developed for the amplification of complete mitochondrial genomes for both European and American lobsters in 4 suitable-sized segments. Optimal conditions for polymerase chain reaction routine screening were established. The 4 segments were screened with 24 restriction endonucleases in a test population sample, covering the whole distribution of the European lobster, and restriction patterns of each enzyme were revealed.

Discrimination of three trachurus species using both mitochondrial- and nuclear-based DNA approaches.

A double-DNA approach was developed to discriminate the three Trachurus species that abide in European waters: T. trachurus, T. mediterraneus, and T.

Genetic structure and phylogeography of European catfish (Silurus glanis) populations.

The genetic structure of Silurus glanis (Europe's largest freshwater fish species) across most of its natural distribution was investigated using 10 microsatellite loci. The revealed levels of genetic diversity were much higher than previous allozyme and restriction fragment length polymorphism mitochondrial DNA analyses had shown; relative levels of variability among populations were however, in good agreement with the previous studies. Populations from large basins (Volga and Danube rivers) were the most polymorphic, while samples from the smaller Greek rivers, which are more prone to genetic bottleneck, exhibited the lowest levels of genetic diversity.

Forensic evaluation of 10 STRs and two minisatellite loci in the Greek population.

Allele frequencies for 10 STRs and two minisatellite loci have been typed in a large sample of unrelated Greeks. The resulting database could be used for medico-legal cases.

Phylogenetic relationships among four species of Mullidae (Perciformes) inferred from DNA sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome b and 16S rRNA genes.

DNA sequence comparisons of two mitochondrial DNA genes were used to infer phylogenetic relationships among four species of mullids. Approximately 238bp of the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and 261bp of the cytochrome b (cytb) genes were sequenced from representatives of three mullid genera (Mullus, Upeneus, Pseudopeneus), present in the Mediterranean Sea. Trees were constructed using three methods: maximum likelihood (ML), neighbor joining (NJ) and parsimony (MP).

Tracing European founder lineages in the Near Eastern mtDNA pool.

Founder analysis is a method for analysis of nonrecombining DNA sequence data, with the aim of identification and dating of migrations into new territory. The method picks out founder sequence types in potential source populations and dates lineage clusters deriving from them in the settlement zone of interest. Here, using mtDNA, we apply the approach to the colonization of Europe, to estimate the proportion of modern lineages whose ancestors arrived during each major phase of settlement.

Novel intragenic polymorphisms in the tuberous sclerosis 2 (TSC2) gene. Mutations in brief no. 184. Online.

Twenty-three unrelated patients with tuberous sclerosis have been screened for the presence of mutations in six regions of the TSC2 gene. Eight novel intragenic polymorphisms have been found, one in intron 36 and seven in intron 4, with the use of SSCP analysis. Four of these polymorphisms alter the recognition sequence of specific restriction enzymes and can be detected as RFLPs.

Intraspecific genetic variation of striped red mullet (Mullus surmuletus L.) in the mediterranean sea assessed by allozyme and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis.

Allozyme analysis on 20 putative enzyme-coding loci and RAPD analysis on 154 markers, amplified by eight decamer random primers, were used to assess the genetic variation of striped red mullet, Mullus surmuletus L., collected from six locations in the Mediterranean Sea. Both methods were able to detect a high degree of genetic polymorphism.