Chromosomal polymorphism and comparative chromosome painting in the rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis).

Sandra Eloisa Bülau,Ricardo José Gunski,Rafael Kretschmer,Malcolm A Ferguson-Smith,Thales Renato Ochotorena De Freitas,Analía Del Valle Garnero,Edivaldo Herculano Correa De Oliveira,Patricia C M O’Brien

doi:10.1590/1678-4685-gmb-2017-0367

Abstract

Zonotrichia capensis is widely distributed in the Neotropics. Previous cytogenetic studies demonstrated the presence of polymorphisms in two chromosome pairs (ZCA2 and ZCA4). Here, we report results based on comparative chromosome painting, using probes derived from Gallus gallus and Leucopternis albicollis, focused on characterizing the chromosome organization of Z. capensis. Our results demonstrate the conservation of ancestral syntenies as observed previously in other species of passerine. Syntenies were rearranged by a series of inversions in the second chromosome as described in other Passeriformes, but in this species, by using probes derived from L. albicollis we observed an extra inversion in the second chromosome that had not previously been reported. We also report a paracentric inversion in pair 3; this chromosome corresponds to the second chromosome in Zonotrichia albicollis and may indicate the presence of ancestral inversions in the genus. The chromosomal inversions we found might be important for understanding the phenotypic variation that exists throughout the distribution of Z. capensis.

Highlights

The rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) is a common small Neotropical passerine
Ore et al, 2005; Cheviron et al, 2008 ). Even with this marked phenotypic variation, Z. capensis does not exhibit genetic structuring among its populations, they present a pattern of different mitochondrial lineages (Lougheed et al, 2013; Campagna et al, 2014)
The Z. capensis genome is organized into 80 chromosomes

Summary

Introduction

The rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) is a common small Neotropical passerine It occurs in open areas from Tierra del Fuego in Argentina to the province of Chiapas in Mexico and from sea level to 5,000 meters above sea level in the Andes Mountains (Sick, 1997; Rising and Jamarillo, 2011; Bird Life International, 2015). Pair 2 can be acrocentric or submetacentric (2A and 2Sm), while pair 4 can be acrocentric or metacentric (4A and 4M) (de Lucca and Rocha, 1985; Rocha et al, 1990) The presence of these two polymorphic pairs, with the occurrence of four chromosomal forms, allows the combination of nine different cytotypes. All possible cytotypes were found and analyzed, but a geographically structured karyotypic distribution was not found, there is an apparent positive correlation between the increase in frequency of the 4M form and high latitudes and low temperatures (Carvalho and Erdtmann, 1987; Souza and de Lucca, 1988, 1991; Rocha et al, 1990)

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Conclusion