The karyotype of <i>Alouatta</i><i>pigra</i> (Primates: Platyrrhini): mitotic and meiotic analyses

Abstract

We describe for the first time the karyotype of the black howler monkey, Alouatta pigra. Conventional staining, G- and C-banding, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) pantelomeric probe were performed. Eight free ranging adult individuals, four males and four females, within the natural distribution of the species presented a diploid karyotype with 2n = 58. Mitotic analyses showed an autosomal complement composed of 6 submetacentric, 3 metacentric, and 19 acrocentric chromosome pairs for females, and 6 submetacentric, 3 metacentric, and 18 acrocentric pairs for males. Meiotic analyses in males revealed 27 autosomal bivalents and a quadrivalent composed of a submetacentric X₁ and acrocentric X₂, Y₁, and Y₂. The G-banded karyotype allowed us to identify pair #17 as the autosomal pair involved in the rearrangement and the morphology of the quadrivalent components. C-banding technique in metaphase I corroborated the structure of the quadrivalent showing four C+ centromeres. FISH analysis showed telomeric signals at the terminal regions of all chromosomes. No interstitial signals were detected. DNA sequence data were in accordance with those previously published for this species.

Chromosome Painting in Two Genera of South American Monkeys: Species Identification, Conservation, and Management

“…Genomics can now be considered as an essential complement to morphological traits traditionally used for classification [Steinberg et al, 2008]. We believe that the present report shows indeed how useful karyological studies can be.…”

“…Diploid numbers range from 2n = 43 to 58 [Chu and Bender, 1961;Egozcue and de Egozcue, 1966;Seuánez, 1989, 1991;Mudry et al, 1998Mudry et al, , 2001Solari and Rahn, 2005;Steinberg et al, 2008]. Further attention was drawn to Alouatta because it is characterized by translocations of the Y chromosome to autosomes generating multiple sex chromosome systems X 1 X 2 Y 1 Y 2 /X 1 X 1 X 2 X 2 , [Ma et al, 1976a;Seuánez, 1989, 1991;Stanyon et al, 1995;Mudry et al, 1998Mudry et al, , 2001Steinberg et al, 2007] and X 1 X 2 Y/X 1 X 1 X 2 X 2 [Armada et al, 1987;Solari and Rahn, 2005], as well as the presence of microchromosomes in some species of the genus [Ma et al, 1975;Stanyon et al, 1995;Torres and Leibovici, 2003].…”

Mammalian Diversity and Matses Ethnomammalogy in Amazonian Peru Part 1: Primates

“…Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequence data (Cortés-Ortiz et al, 2003) support the recognition of just two trans-Andean howler species: Alouatta palliata (Gray, 1849), the mantled howler of Mesoamerica and northwestern South America, and A. pigra Lawrence, 1933, the black howler of Guatemala and southeastern Mexico. 4 The distinctness of these species, which was first clearly indicated by conspicuous cranial and pelage differences that are maintained in sympatry (Smith, 1970), is additionally supported by karyotypic data (Steinberg et al, 2008) and by patterns of allelic variation at eight microsatellite loci (Ellsworth and Hoelzer, 2006). By contrast, the nominal taxon coibensis Thomas, 1902 (from the Azuero Peninsula and Coiba Island, Panama), which was recognized as a valid species by Groves (2001Groves ( , 2005, seems to be genetically indistinguishable from A. palliata (see Cortés-Ortiz et al, 2003).…”

Neotropical primate evolution and phylogenetic reconstruction using chromosomal data

“…The classical cytogenetic studies allowed researchers to highlight in this genus a large variation in the diploid number, from 2n = 44 to 2n = 58, and two unusual features: a system of multiple sex chromosomes involving a translocation between Y chromosomes and an autosome Armada et al 1987;Mudry et al 1998Mudry et al , 2001Steinberg et al 2008), and the presence of various microchromosomes (Lima & Seuánez 1991), probably composed of repetitive DNA. In the Alouatta genus, Alouatta sara and A. seniculus arctoidea were the first New World monkey species to be analyzed through chromosome painting (Consigliere et al 1996).…”