The B chromosomes of the African cichlid fish Haplochromis obliquidens harbour 18S rRNA gene copies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Diverse plant and animal species have B chromosomes, also known as accessory, extra or supernumerary chromosomes. Despite being widely distributed among different taxa, the genomic nature and genetic behavior of B chromosomes are still poorly understood.

Results

In this study we describe the occurrence of B chromosomes in the African cichlid fish Haplochromis obliquidens. One or two large B chromosome(s) occurring in 39.6% of the analyzed individuals (both male and female) were identified. To better characterize the karyotype and assess the nature of the B chromosomes, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed using probes for telomeric DNA repeats, 18S and 5S rRNA genes, SATA centromeric satellites, and bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) enrich

SUBMITTER: Poletto AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2806386 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature