Chromosome mapping of the large elaenia (Elaenia spectabilis): evidence for a cytogenetic signature for passeriform birds? RAFAEL KRETSCHMER 1 *, EDIVALDO HERCULANO CORREA DE OLIVEIRA 2,5 , MICHELLY S. DOS SANTOS 2,3 , IVANETE DE OLIVEIRA FURO 2,3 , PATRICIA C. M. O’BRIEN 4 , MALCOLM A. FERGUSON-SMITH 4 , ANALÍA DEL VALLE GARNERO 1 and RICARDO JOSÉ GUNSKI 1 1 Programa de Pós graduação em Ciências Biológicas, PPGCB, Universidade Federal do Pampa, São Gabriel, 97300-000 Rio Grande do Sul, RS, Brazil 2 Laboratório de Cultura de Tecidos e Citogenética, SAMAM, Instituto Evandro Chagas, BR 316 KM 7 s/n Levilândia, 67020-000 Ananindeua, PA, Brazil 3 Programa de Pós-Graduação de Genética e Biologia Molecular, PPGBM, Universidade Federal do Pará, Campus Universitário do Guamá, 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil 4 Cambridge Resource Centre for Comparative Genomics, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK 5 Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, Campus Universitário do Guamá, 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil Received 24 November 2014; revised 24 January 2015; accepted for publication 25 January 2015 Among birds, Tyrannidae comprises one of the most diverse and species-rich families. Although cytogenetic data have shown interesting results in this family, such as variations in the macrochromosome morphology and diploid number, only a few species have had their karyotypes described. In the present study, we report the characteri- zation of the karyotype of Elaenia spectabilis (Passeriformes, Tyrannidae) by means of classical and molecular cytogenetics. The results show that syntenic groups of Gallus gallus (GGA) were conserved, except GGA1 and GGA4, which were divided into two different pairs each. However, the results obtained with Leucopternis albicollis probes revealed the occurrence of inversions in segments homologous to GGA1q, similar to those observed in other Passerifomes (Turdus), and one inversion in GGA1p. These results suggest that the centric fission in GGA1, as well as the inversions observed in segments homologous to GGA1q, appeared in the early history of Passeriformes because they could be detected in Oscine and Suboscine species. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 115, 391–398. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: avian chromosomes – chicken – chromosome paints – Leucopternis albicollis – Tyrannidae. INTRODUCTION Typical avian karyotypes are composed of a high number of chromosomes (almost 80), of which a few pairs are considered macrochromosomes and many pairs are considered microchromosomes. This pattern of genome organization is found in all the Paleognathae and in most species of Neognathae (Nishida-Umehara et al., 2007; Nanda et al., 2011). This is also the case of Passeriformes, the most diverse order, with the bimodal karyotypical organi- zation and diploid numbers close to 80, except in the family Tyrannidae (Passeriformes, Suboscines), with diploid numbers as low as 60 in Platyrinchus mystaceus (Gunski et al., 2000). Tyrannidae is the largest family of birds in the Neotropical region, comprising approximately 370 *Corresponding author. E-mail: rafa.kretschmer@hotmail.com Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 115, 391–398. With 7 figures © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 115, 391–398 391 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/115/2/391/2236001 by guest on 20 June 2022