R-banding chromosomal studies of 21 species of Lemuriformes allowed us to reconstruct the presumed ancestral karyotype of all the Lemuriformes except for Daubentoniidae and permitted the construction of their phylogenetic tree. Chromosome painting with fluorescently labeled heterologous DNA probes permitted comparative chromosome maps to be established. The Zoo-FISH method was used to reassess the karyotypes of 22 species or subspecies. While our results largely confirm the previous reconstruction of the ancestral karyotype, they resulted in a modification of the previously established phylogenetic tree. The Daubentoniidae emerged first followed by the divergence of the families Cheirogaleidae, Indriidae, Lepilemuridae and Lemuridae. Eight chromosome rearrangements occurred in all Lemuriformes except for Daubentoniidae in the common trunk. The present findings do not allow us to propose the occurrence of any rearrangement common to Daubentoniidae and other Lemuriformes, and probably other Prosimii. Conserved syntenies previously described in various mammalian orders were also conserved, while others were specific to the Lemuriformes.

The Malagasy primate family Indriidae comprises three genera with up to 19 species. Cytogenetic and molecular phylogenies of the Indriidae have been performed with special attention to the genus Propithecus. Comparative R-banding and FISH with human paints were applied to karyotypes of representatives of all three genera and confirmed most of the earlier R-banding results. However, additional chromosomal rearrangements were detected. A reticulated and a cladistic phylogeny, the latter including hemiplasies, have been performed. Cladistic analysis of cytogenetic data resulted in a phylogenetic tree revealing (1) monophyly of the family Indriidae, (2) monophyly of the genus Avahi, (3) sister–group relationships between Propithecus diadema and Propithecus edwardsi, and (4) the grouping of the latter with Indri indri, Propithecus verreauxi, and Propithecus tattersalli, and thus suggesting paraphyly of the genus Propithecus. A molecular phylogeny based on complete mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences of 16 species indicated some identical relationships, such as the monophyly of Avahi and the sister–group relationships of the eastern (P. diadema and P. edwardsi) to the western Propithecus species (P. verreauxi, Propithecus coquereli, and P. tattersalli). However, the main difference between the molecular and cytogenetic phylogenies consists in an early divergence of Indri in the molecular phylogeny while in the chromosomal phylogeny it is nested within Propithecus. The similarities and differences between molecular and cytogenetic phylogenies in relation to data on the species’ geographic distributions and mating systems allow us to propose a scenario of the evolution of Indriidae. Chromosomal and molecular processes alone or in combination created a reproductive barrier that was then followed by further speciation processes.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10577-011-9188-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

We have isolated the prosimian lemur homologues for STS and SRY. FISH unambiguously co-localized STS with SHOX, IL3RA, ANT3 and PRK into the meiotic X-Y pairing region (PAR) of lemurs. In contrast to the close proximity of SRY to the pseudoautosomal boundary (PAB) on the Y chromosome in simian primates, SRY maps distant from the PAR in lemurs. Most interestingly, we were able to determine a DNA sequence divergence of 12.5% between the human and lemur SRY HMG box. This divergence directs to a 52 million year period of separate evolution of human and lemur SRY genes. Phylogenetically, this time period falls in between the times that prosimians and New World monkeys branched from the human lineage. Thus, we conclude that approximately 52 million years ago a transposition of SRY into the ancestral eutherian PAR distal to STS and PRK defined a new PAB in a simian progenitor. By this event, STS and PRK, amongst other genes, were excluded from the X-Y crossover process and thus became susceptible to rearrangements and/or deterioration on the Y chromosome in simian primates.

Cytogenetic investigations performed on 30 specimens of Lepilemur septentrionalis confirmed the existence of 4 karyotypes differing from each other by 1–2 chromosomal rearrangements. These data, pooled with those obtained in earlier studies, showed that out of 60 animals karyotyped only two kinds of hybrids were detected, allowing us to characterise two chromosomally polymorphic populations. No natural hybrids could be found between these two populations, which could thus be considered as two separate species. The possible role of the chromosomal rearrangements in the process of reproductive isolation between these two populations is discussed.

The R-banded karyotypes of the different subspecies of Propithecus diadema and P. verreauxi are compared to each other and to that of P. tattersalli, as well as those previously reported of Indri indri and Avahi laniger. This comparison shows that the different subspecies of P. verreauxi possess the same karyotype and that, among P. diadema, P. d. diadema and P. d. perrieri share the same karyotype differing from that of P. d. edwardsi by one Robertsonian translocation. The karyotype of P. tattersalli differs at least through 17 and 9 rearrangements from those of P. diadema and P. verreauxi, respectively. This provides strong arguments in favor of its specific status. The phylogenetic diagram proposed confirms the early separation of Avahi and the relatively late divergence of the four other species. A populational evolution has occurred between these four species, P. tattersalli and P. verreauxi sharing the largest number of rearrangements (six), while the numbers of rearrangements shared by the other species are two for Indri and P. verreauxi, three for P. tattersalli and Indri, and three for P. tattersalli and P. diadema. No branch is common to two species of Propithecus.