Karyotypic Reshuffling in the Genus Rhipidomys (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) Revealed by Zoo-FISH.

Introduction: Rhipidomys is the second most specious and the most widespread genus of the tribe Thomasomyini. Chromosomal data have been an important tool in the taxonomy of the group that presents low variability of diploid number (2n) and highly variable fundamental numbers (FNs). Despite such diversity, the genus has been studied mainly by classical and banding cytogenetic techniques.

Foraging mechanisms in excavate flagellates shed light on the functional ecology of early eukaryotes.

The phagotrophic flagellates described as "typical excavates" have been hypothesized to be morphologically similar to the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor and understanding the functional ecology of excavates may therefore help shed light on the ecology of these early eukaryotes. Typical excavates are characterized by a posterior flagellum equipped with a vane that beats in a ventral groove. Here, we combined flow visualization and observations of prey capture in representatives of the three clades of excavates with computational fluid dynamic modeling, to understand the functional significance of this cell architecture.

Contractile vacuoles: a rapidly expanding (and occasionally diminishing?) understanding.

Osmoregulation is the homeostatic mechanism essential for the survival of organisms in hypoosmotic and hyperosmotic conditions. In freshwater or soil dwelling protists this is frequently achieved through the action of an osmoregulatory organelle, the contractile vacuole. This endomembrane organelle responds to the osmotic challenges and compensates by collecting and expelling the excess water to maintain the cellular osmolarity.

Chromosomal rearrangements played an important role in the speciation of rice rats of genus Cerradomys (Rodentia, Sigmodontinae, Oryzomyini).

Rodents of the genus Cerradomys belong to tribe Oryzomyini, one of the most diverse and speciose groups in Sigmodontinae (Rodentia, Cricetidae). The speciation process in Cerradomys is associated with chromosomal rearrangements and biogeographic dynamics in South America during the Pleistocene era. As the morphological, molecular and karyotypic aspects of Myomorpha rodents do not evolve at the same rate, we strategically employed karyotypic characters for the construction of chromosomal phylogeny to investigate whether phylogenetic relationships using chromosomal data corroborate the radiation of Cerradomys taxa recovered by molecular phylogeny.

The function of the feeding groove of 'typical excavate' flagellates.

Phagotrophic flagellates are the main consumers of bacteria and picophytoplankton. Despite their ecological significance in the 'microbial loop', many of their predation mechanisms remain unclear. 'Typical excavates' bear a ventral groove, where prey is captured for ingestion.

Integration of fluorescence in situ hybridization and chromosome-length genome assemblies revealed synteny map for guinea pig, naked mole-rat, and human.

Descriptions of karyotypes of many animal species are currently available. In addition, there has been a significant increase in the number of sequenced genomes and an ever-improving quality of genome assembly. To close the gap between genomic and cytogenetic data we applied fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and Hi-C technology to make the first full chromosome-level genome comparison of the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), and human.

Comparative chromosome painting in three Pelecaniformes species (Aves): Exploring the role of macro and microchromosome fusions in karyotypic evolution.

Pelecaniformes is an order of waterbirds that exhibit diverse and distinct morphologies. Ibis, heron, pelican, hammerkop, and shoebill are included within the order. Despite their fascinating features, the phylogenetic relationships among the families within Pelecaniformes remain uncertain and pose challenges due to their complex evolutionary history.

Comparative analysis of mitochondrion-related organelles in anaerobic amoebozoans.

Archamoebae comprises free-living or endobiotic amoebiform protists that inhabit anaerobic or microaerophilic environments and possess mitochondrion-related organelles (MROs) adapted to function anaerobically. We compared reconstructed MRO proteomes of eight species (six genera) and found that the common ancestor of Archamoebae possessed very few typical components of the protein translocation machinery, electron transport chain and tricarboxylic acid cycle. On the other hand, it contained a sulphate activation pathway and bacterial iron-sulphur (Fe-S) assembly system of MIS-type.

Robertsonian fusion triggers recombination suppression on sex chromosomes in Coleonyx geckos.

The classical hypothesis proposes that the lack of recombination on sex chromosomes arises due to selection for linkage between a sex-determining locus and sexually antagonistic loci, primarily facilitated by inversions. However, cessation of recombination on sex chromosomes could be attributed also to neutral processes, connected with other chromosome rearrangements or can reflect sex-specific recombination patterns existing already before sex chromosome differentiation. Three Coleonyx gecko species share a complex XXXX/XXY system of sex chromosomes evolved via a fusion of the Y chromosome with an autosome.

Chromosome evolution in Iberolacerta, a genus that deviates from the standard karyotype formula of Lacertidae.

This paper describes the preparation of flow-sorted chromosome paints from the Iberian Rock lizard Iberolacerta monticola, exemplifying their subsequent use in cross-species comparisons of chromosome painting. We carried out comparative analyses of chromosome evolution in the congeneric species I. galani and I.

Characterization of repetitive DNA on the genome of the marsh rat Holochilus nanus (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae).

Repetitive DNA are sequences repeated hundreds or thousands of times and an abundant part of eukaryotic genomes. SatDNA represents the majority of the repetitive sequences, followed by transposable elements. The species Holochilus nanus (HNA) belongs to the rodent tribe Oryzomyini, the most taxonomically diverse of Sigmodontinae subfamily.

Cytotaxonomy and Molecular Analyses of (Ciconiidae: Ciconiiformes): Insights on Stork Phylogeny.

Although molecular information for the wood stork () has been well described, data concerning their karyotypical organization and phylogenetic relationships with other storks are still scarce. Thus, we aimed to analyze the chromosomal organization and diversification of , and provide evolutionary insights based on phylogenetic data of Ciconiidae. For this, we applied both classical and molecular cytogenetic techniques to define the pattern of distribution of heterochromatic blocks and their chromosomal homology with (GGA).

Characterisation and Cultivation of New Lineages of Colponemids, a Critical Assemblage for Inferring Alveolate Evolution.

There are several alveolate groups outside the well-studied trio - ciliates, dinoflagellates, and apicomplexans - that are crucial for understanding the evolution of this major taxon. One such assemblage is the "colponemids", which are eukaryotrophic biflagellates, usually with a ventral groove associated with the posterior flagellum. Previous phylogenetic studies show colponemids forming up to three distinct deep branches within alveolates (e.

Intracytoplasmic-membrane development in alphaproteobacteria involves the homolog of the mitochondrial crista-developing protein Mic60.

Mitochondrial cristae expand the surface area of respiratory membranes and ultimately allow for the evolutionary scaling of respiration with cell volume across eukaryotes. The discovery of Mic60 homologs among alphaproteobacteria, the closest extant relatives of mitochondria, suggested that cristae might have evolved from bacterial intracytoplasmic membranes (ICMs). Here, we investigated the predicted structure and function of alphaproteobacterial Mic60, and a protein encoded by an adjacent gene Orf52, in two distantly related purple alphaproteobacteria, Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Rhodopseudomonas palustris.

Maps of Constitutive-Heterochromatin Distribution for Four Species (Mustelidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) Show the Formative Role of Macrosatellite Repeats in Interspecific Variation of Chromosome Structure.

Constitutive-heterochromatin placement in the genome affects chromosome structure by occupying centromeric areas and forming large blocks. To investigate the basis for heterochromatin variation in the genome, we chose a group of species with a conserved euchromatin part: the genus [stone marten ( 2n = 38), sable (, 2n = 38, pine marten ( 2n = 38), and yellow-throated marten (, 2n = 40)]. We mined the stone marten genome for the most abundant tandem repeats and selected the top 11 macrosatellite repetitive sequences.

Conservation of Major Satellite DNAs in Snake Heterochromatin.

Repetitive DNA sequences constitute a sizeable portion of animal genomes, and tandemly organized satellite DNAs are a major part of them. They are usually located in constitutive heterochromatin clusters in or near the centromeres or telomeres, and less frequently in the interstitial parts of chromosome arms. They are also frequently accumulated in sex chromosomes.

Ancestral chromosomal signatures of Paenungulata (Afroteria) reveal the karyotype of Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis, Sirenia: Trichechidae) as the oldest among American manatees.

Background: Chromosomal painting in manatees has clarified questions about the rapid evolution of sirenians within the Paenungulata clade. Further cytogenetic studies in Afrotherian species may provide information about their evolutionary dynamics, revealing important insights into the ancestral karyotype in the clade representatives. The karyotype of Trichechus inunguis (TIN, Amazonian manatee) was investigated by chromosome painting, using probes from Trichechus manatus latirostris (TML, Florida manatee) to analyze the homeologies between these sirenians.

Identification of Iguania Ancestral Syntenic Blocks and Putative Sex Chromosomes in the Veiled Chameleon (, Chamaeleonidae, Iguania).

The veiled chameleon () is a typical member of the family Chamaeleonidae and a promising object for comparative cytogenetics and genomics. The karyotype of differs from the putative ancestral chameleon karyotype (2n = 36) due to a smaller chromosome number (2n = 24) resulting from multiple chromosome fusions. The homomorphic sex chromosomes of an XX/XY system were described recently using male-specific RADseq markers.

The health-related quality of life of lung cancer patients with EGFR-TKI-related skin adverse drug reactions and its relationship with coping style and self-management.

Purpose: The status and associated factors of the health-related quality of life of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients under targeted anti-cancer therapy have not been investigated. Self-management and coping style have been proven to be closely related to patients' health-related quality of life. Based on these observations, this study was designed to firstly assess the status of health-related quality of life, and then explore the relationships among coping styles, self-management, and health-related quality of life of NSCLC patients with skin adverse drug reactions under targeted therapy.

Chromosome painting and phylogenetic analysis suggest that the genus Lophostoma (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) is paraphyletic.

The subfamily Phyllostominae (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) comprises 10 genera of Microchiroptera bats from the Neotropics. The taxonomy of this group is controversial due to incongruities in the phylogenetic relationships evident from different datasets. The genus Lophostoma currently includes eight species whose phylogenetic relationships have not been resolved.

Observations on chromosome-specific sequencing for the construction of cross-species chromosome homology maps and its resolution of human:alpaca homology.

Background: The history of comparative chromosome mapping is briefly reviewed, with discussion about the problem that occurs in chromosome painting when size heteromorphisms between homologues cause contamination in chromosomes sorted by flow cytometry that are used in the preparation of chromosome-specific DNA probes.

Main Body: As an example, we show in the alpaca (Vicagna pacos) that sequencing of contaminated chromosome sorts can reveal chromosome homologies from alignment with human and mouse genome reference sequences. The procedure identifies syntenic blocks of DNA separated in the human karyotype that are associated in the closely related alpaca and dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) karyotypes.

Chromosomal painting in Charadrius collaris Vieillot, 1818 and Vanellus chilensis Molina, 1782 and an analysis of chromosomal signatures in Charadriiformes.

Charadriiformes represent one of the largest orders of birds; members of this order are diverse in morphology, behavior and reproduction, making them an excellent model for studying evolution. It is accepted that the avian putative ancestral karyotype, with 2n = 80, remains conserved for about 100 million years. So far, only a few species of Charadriiformes have been studied using molecular cytogenetics.

The emergence of a new sex-system (XX/XYY) suggests a species complex in the "monotypic" rodent Oecomys auyantepui (Rodentia, Sigmodontinae).

X-autosome translocation (XYY) has been reported in distinct groups of vertebrates suggesting that the rise of a multiple sex system within a species may act as a reproductive barrier and lead to speciation. The viability of this system has been linked with repetitive sequences located between sex and autosomal portions of the translocation. Herein, we investigate Oecomys auyantepui, using chromosome banding and Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization with telomeric and Hylaeamys megacephalus whole-chromosome probes, and phylogenetic reconstruction using mtDNA and nuDNA sequences.

Chromosome Painting in "Catalão" (Gymnotiformes, Teleostei): Dynamics of Chromosomal Rearrangements in Cryptic Species.

The genus is a large monophyletic group of freshwater weakly-electric fishes, with wide distribution in Central and South America. It has 46 valid species divided into six subgenera (, , , , and ) with large chromosome plasticity and diploid numbers (2n) ranging from 34 to 54. Within this rich diversity, there is controversy about whether () species is a single widespread species or a complex of cryptic species.