Robertsonian chromosomal variation in subalpine voles Microtus (Terricola), (Rodentia, Arvicolidae) from Greece

Giagia‐Athanasopoulou, Eva B.; Chondropoulos, B.P.; Fraguedakis-Tsolis, Stella

doi:10.4098/at.arch.95-15

Cited by 18 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…All the chromosomal rearrangements responsible for this variation involve autosomal chromosomes, with the exception of the ''atticus'' karyomorph, which had been considered to have derived from the ''thomasi'' karyomorph, through a pericentric inversion on the X chromosome. This remarkable chromosomal variation among Microtus thomasi natural populations of the SW Balkan Peninsula has been under elaborate investigation for more than 30 years (Giagia and Ondrias 1973;Giagia 1985;Giagia-Athanasopoulou et al 1995;Giagia-Athanasopoulou and Stamatopoulos 1997) and reinforces the belief that chromosomal rearrangements occur commonly in many mammalian species, especially rodents (Redi and Capanna 1988;Zima 2000;Zima 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

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First reports of XXY aneuploidy in natural populations of Thomas’ pine vole Microtus thomasi (Rodentia: Arvicolidae) from Greece

Rovatsos¹,

Mitsainas²,

Stamatopoulos³

et al. 2008

Mammalian Biology

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As part of an extensive cytological study in natural populations of Thomas' pine vole Microtus thomasi, two cases of XXY aneuploidy (2n ¼ 45, FN ¼ 47) from different localities of NW Peloponnesus, Greece were recently recorded. These constitute the first report of sex chromosome aneuploidy for this species, in a sample of 366 individuals from 89 localities of Greece. Both individuals appeared with a male phenotype and normal morphology; however, measurements and histological examination in the testes of one of the two individuals imply a severely impaired fertility. The above findings translate to a relatively high rate of sex chromosome aneuploidy (0.55%) (upper 95% CI 1.96%) for the natural populations of Microtus thomasi and possible reasons for this are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…The asterisk ''*'' refers to localities that were also sampled during previous works(Giagia & Ondrias 1973;Giagia 1985;Giagia-Athanasopoulou et al 1995;Giagia-Athanasopoulou and Stamatopoulos 1997;Kornilios et al 2005;Thanou et al 2005).…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

First reports of XXY aneuploidy in natural populations of Thomas’ pine vole Microtus thomasi (Rodentia: Arvicolidae) from Greece

Rovatsos¹,

Mitsainas²,

Stamatopoulos³

et al. 2008

Mammalian Biology

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“…Its geographical distribution in Greece is well documented, and it is thus known that the species occurs on large areas of the mainland as well as on Euboia island. The vole occupies mainly grass fields and crops from sea level to 2000 m a.s.l., spending its entire life in underground tunnels and feeding almost exclusively on roots and tubers (Giagia-Athanasopoulou et al, 1995, Giagia-Athanasopoulou andStamatopoulos, 1997;Rovatsos et al, 2008;Tryfonopoulos et al, 2008;Mitsainas et al, 2009). Considering the previous chromosomal studies on Greek populations, M. thomasi occurs with four different chromosomal races, namely ''thomasi'', ''atticus'', ''subalpine'' and ''Rb-subalpine'' (Giagia-Athanasopoulou et al, 1995;Giagia-Athanasopoulou and Stamatopoulos, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographical distribution and chromosomal study of the underground vole Microtus thomasi in Albania and Montenegro

et al. 2011

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a b s t r a c tIn order to better define the geographical distribution of the underground vole Microtus thomasi and the chromosomal variability, within its natural populations, we studied 77 individuals from 14 localities of Albania and Montenegro. Chromosomal preparations were obtained from bone marrow and testicular material, on which a karyological analysis, based on C-banding patterns was performed. The examined individuals belonged to the chromosomal races ''thomasi'' (2n =44, FN =44), ''subalpine'' (2n = 42, FN = 42) and ''Rb-subalpine'' (2n = 40, FN = 42), which are also distributed in Greece. However, the C-banding pattern revealed an extensive sex chromosome polymorphism, demonstrated by three different X and three different Y chromosomal variants. Taking under consideration all available chromosomal data for M. thomasi, it seems that the species could possess the highest chromosomal variability, within its genus. It is proposed that due to the limited mobility of the underground vole and the rough, mountainous terrain of the Balkan Peninsula, it is possible that several small populations were isolated, in which inbreeding and random genetic drift led to the fixation of different chromosomal mutations, giving rise to the extensive chromosomal variability, observed today.

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“…The five more extensively studied karyomorphs vary in diploid chromosome numbers (2n = 44 to 38) and fundamental numbers (FN = 46 to 40) (Giagia and Ondrias, 1973;Giagia, 1985;Giagia-Athanasopoulou et al, 1995;Giagia-Athanasopoulou and Stamatopoulos, 1997). The taxonomic relation between the karyotypic forms 'thomasi' and 'atticus' is not clearly established, in fact they have been classified by various authors as different species or alternatively as conspecific (Stamatopoulos and Ondrias, 1986;Tsekoura et al, 2002;Kornilios et al, 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

A new pericentromeric repeated DNA sequence in <i>Microtus thomasi</i>

Acosta

Marchal

Mitsainas

et al. 2009

Cytogenet Genome Res

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Several karyotypic forms have been previously described in populations of the vole species Microtus thomasi from Greece. In particular, the karyomorphs Microtus thomasi ‘thomasi’ and ‘atticus’ differ in X chromosome morphology, being acrocentric and subtelocentric, respectively. Furthermore, remarkable heterochromatin content variability has been described in sex chromosomes of both karyomorphs. Genomic DNA digestion with AluI allowed us to clone an 884 bp long repeated DNA sequence (Mth-Alu900) from the karyomorph M. thomasi ‘atticus’. This repeated DNA is AT rich and seems to be organized mainly as a dimer of the 884-bp unit, which presents three simple repeats (CAAAT, CAGAT and CAGAC) that constitute 80% of the total unit length. This repeated DNA is exclusive to M. thomasi, since it is absent from the genome of other studied Arvicolinae species. The chromosomal location of Mth-Alu900 was analyzed on M. thomasi ‘thomasi’ and M. thomasi ‘atticus’ karyomorphs, with different sex chromosome constitution. It was mainly located on the pericentromeric heterochromatin of most autosomes and X chromosomes on both karyomorphs. Results are also discussed in relation to karyotypic and sex chromosome variations in M. thomasi. To our knowledge, Mth-Alu900 constitutes a new – the third discovered so far – pericentromeric repeated DNA sequence described in Microtus species.

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Robertsonian chromosomal variation in subalpine voles Microtus (Terricola), (Rodentia, Arvicolidae) from Greece

Cited by 18 publications

References 2 publications

First reports of XXY aneuploidy in natural populations of Thomas’ pine vole Microtus thomasi (Rodentia: Arvicolidae) from Greece

First reports of XXY aneuploidy in natural populations of Thomas’ pine vole Microtus thomasi (Rodentia: Arvicolidae) from Greece

Geographical distribution and chromosomal study of the underground vole Microtus thomasi in Albania and Montenegro

A new pericentromeric repeated DNA sequence in <i>Microtus thomasi</i>

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