Comparative cytogenetics in felids (Carnivora: Felidae): Leopardus wiedii, Panthera onca, Puma concolor and Felis catus

Abstract

This study aims to conduct a cytogenetic analysis on four South American feline species: the jaguar (Panthera onca), the puma (Puma concolor), the ocelot (Leopardus wiedii), and the domestic cat (Felis catus). We discovered that the jaguar and the puma mainly differ in their fundamental number of chromosomes. Furthermore, we observed a morphological difference in a pair of chromosomes between the jaguar and the domestic cat. This suggests that, over the course of evolution, there was a pericentric inversion in a pair of B4 group chromosomes, leading them to become part of the A group in the jaguar. When analyzing the puma, we noticed the presence of a fourth pair of chromosomes in the E group, along with a deletion in the F group. Additionally, we observed the presence of an additional pair of chromosomes in the C group in the ocelot. Another interesting aspect of the study was the location of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) on the chromosomes. To elucidate the origin of other chromosome pairs, we employed chromosomal banding techniques, allowing us to better understand the evolution of the C3 pair in the Leopardus genus and the E4 pair in the Puma genus.