Caryologia

International Journal of Cytology, Cytosystematics and Cytogenetics

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G- and R-banded prometaphase karyotypes in

goat (Capra hircus L.)

Leopoldo Iannuzzi, Giulia Pia Di Meo & Angela Perucatti

To cite this article: Leopoldo Iannuzzi, Giulia Pia Di Meo & Angela Perucatti (1996) G- and R-
banded prometaphase karyotypes in goat (Capra�hircus L.), Caryologia, 49:3-4, 267-277, DOI:
10.1080/00087114.1996.10797371

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00087114.1996.10797371

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CARYOLOGIA Vol. 49, n. 3-4:267-277, 1996

G- and R-banded prometaphase karyotypes in goat

(Capra hircus L.)
LEOPOLDO IANNUZZI, GIULIA PIA DIMEO and ANGELA PERUCATTI
National Research Council (CNR), I.A.B.B.A.M., Naples, Italy

SUMMARY- Peripheral blood cultures from 16 goats (Capra hircus, 2n=60) were
set up to arrange GTG-, GBG-, RBA-, and RBG-banded karyotypes at the prometa-
phase state according to the goat REA-standard karyotype. Only the position of
chromosomes 4 and 6, as well as that of chromosomes 25 and 29, were inverted
according to the cattle standard and to cattle rob (1;29) p-arms. G-and R-banded
ideogrammatic representations of goat chromosomes are also repoted using only one
common banding nomenclature.

INTRODUCTION

Goat autosomes are all acrocentric and hence their identification is often
obvious, especially in contracted chromosome preparations.
The only available G-banded standard karyotype in goat is that published
in the Proceedings of the READING CoNFERENCE (1980). However, because of
chromosome contraction, several chromosomes were difficult to distinguish
clearly in the above standard which has been used as a point of reference when
other studies subsequently attempted to improve goat chromosome banding
resolution.
D1 BERARDINO et al. (1987) proposed an REA-banded prometaphase
karyotype which was later adopted as standard in the ISCNDA (1989). Also an
REG-banded standard karyotype was reported in this new nomenclature but
the banding resolution was not good enough to distinguish all chromosomes
clearly. Only later was high resolution REG-banding pattern performed in goat
(HAYES eta/. 1991).
Improved characterization of goat chromosomes (CHI) was obtained by
direct comparison of G- and R-banding (IANNUZZI et al. 1994) and, more
recently, goat G- and R-banding pattern chromosomes were compared with

Request reprints: Dr. L. Iannuzzi, CNR-IABBAM, Via Argine 1085, 80147 - Naples -
Ponticelli, Italy.
Fig. 1. - Representative goat GTG-banded karyotype.
Fig. 2. - Representative goat GBG-banded karyotype.
Fig. 3. -Representative goat RBA-banded karyotype.
Fig. 4.- Representative goat REG-banded karyotype.
272 IANNUZZI, DIMEO and PERUCATTI

11 11
12 13
13 21
1I
1• 22
21
23
22 24
21
31 28
32 27
33 31
34
31 32
31 33
37 34
38
31
31

3 4 5 6
2

11 11
12
13 13
14
1I 21
21 22
22
23 23
24
31 24
33 31
34 32
31 34
38 31
38
37
38 38

10 11 12
9
7 8

Fig. 5. - G- (left) and R- (right) banded ideograms of goat chromosomes.

those of cattle and sheep to make further conclusions about the evolution of
these three species and to better clarify issues of nomenclature problems arising
among the species concerned (IANNUZZI and DiMEo 1995).
G-banded standard karyotypes at the prometaphase level as well as
standard G- and R-banded ideograms are still lacking in goat. The present
study, by showing four G- and R-banded karyotypes at the 500 band level as
well as G- and R-banded ideograms, is our contribution for the construction of
conclusive G- and R-banded standard karyotypes for this important species.
 G- AND R-BANDED KARYOTYPES IN CAPRA HIRCUS 273

1 1 1 1 1 1 11
1 2 12
1 2 1 3 13
14 13
1 3 1 4
1
1
4
5
2 1 18
2 1
u
21
22
18 22 22
24 23
17 23
25 24
21 21
28
27 27 25
22 28 21
23 21
17 18
14 15 16
13

~~l~ ~!!i
11 1 1
12 13
13 1 I
14
15 1 7
21 18
22 1I
23 21
24 22
25 23

19 20 21 22 23 24

i~a"' ee!l ~ ~"~ ~j~~ ~lii

!.. '!!<~

1 2
13
14
1 5
21
22
23

25 26 27 28 29

• Positive G (left) and R (right) Bands

D Negative G (left) and R (right) Bands y X
Q Centromeric Regions
274 IANNUZZI, D1 MEO and PERUCATTI

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Peripheral blood cultures, GTG-, GBG-, RBA- and RBG-banding techniques

were performed as previously reported (IANNUZZI et al. 1994). A total of 55 G- and R-
banded karyotypes from 16 animals were arranged according to the RBA-standard
karyotype (ISCNDA 1989). Only the position of chromosomes 4 and 6, as well as that
of chromosomes 25 and 29 were inverted using as points of reference both the READING
CoNFERENCE (1980) standard and the assignment of casein genes to cattle chromosome
6 (TEXAS NoMENCLATURE 1995) for CHI 6, and G- and R-banded cattle rob (1; 29) p-
arms (IANNUZZI 1990) for CHI 29. The four G- and R-banded representative karyo-
types we arranged were primarily drawn from single cells. Only a few chromosomes
were drawn from other and clear karyotypes.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figures 1 to 4 show goat karyotypes at about 500 band level treated

according to GTG-, GEG-, REA- and REG-banding, respectively. The band-
ing resolution is essentially the same as that achieved in the REA-standard
karyotype (ISCNDA 1989). However, the use of four different banded karyo-
types with similar banding resolution allowed easy construction of both R-and
G-banded karyotypes. All chromosomes are easily identifiable and all the G-
banding pattern chromosomes agree with the corresponding R-banded ones.
This is very important in order to avoid confusion when G- and R-banded
karyotypes are separately arranged in bovid species. In fact, the transposition
of chromosomes 4 and 6, as well as that of chromosomes 27 and 28, is well
documented in cattle standard karyotypes (GALLAGHER et al. 1994; IANNUZZI et
al. 1996; IANNUZZI and DIMEo 1995). Furthermore, cattle G-banding pattern
chromosomes 25 and 29 do not agree with the corresponding R-banded ones in
the ISCNDA (1989), as recently demonstrated (IANNUZZI and DIMEo 1995).
Table 1 reports the goat chromosome numbering systems according to the
present study, GTG-standard (READING CoNFERENCE 1980), REA-standard
(ISCNDA 1989) and river buffalo standard karyotype (COMMITTEE FOR STAN-
DARDIZED KARYOTYPE OF BUBALUS BUBALIS 1994). Question marks in the
GTG-standard (READING CoNFERENCE 1980) accompany the chromosomes (25,
27, 28 and 29) which were impossible to dinstinguish clearly in the original
standard karyotype. However, with the exception of CHI 27 and 29, the
present system is in agreement with the READING CoNFERENCE (1980) standard.
It is also in agreement with the REA-standard karyotype (ISCNDA) with the
only exception of CHI 4 and 6 (among the largest) and CHI 25 and 29 (among
the smallest) which occupy an inverted position in the two systems for the
reason reported above.
Indirect comparison with river buffalo biarmed pairs and with cattle rob
(1; 29) p-arms was very important to check the G- and R-banding patterns of
G- AND R-BANDED KARYOTYPES IN CAPRA HIRCUS 275
TABLE 1 - Goat chromosome numbering system according to the present study. READING (1980)
GTG-standard, ISCNDA (1989) RBA-banded standard karyotype and river buffalo
standard ..

ISCNDA (1989)
Present study Reading (1980) River buffalo
RBA

1 1 1q
2* 2 * 2* 2q
3* 3 * 3* 6*
4* 4 * 6* 8
5* 5 * 5* 4q
6 6 4 7
7
8 8
z 7
8
9
3q
9 9 9 10
10 10 10 11
11 11 11 12
12 12 12 13
13 13 13 14
14 14 14 15
15 15 15 16
16 16 16 5q
17 17 17 17
18 18 18 18
19 19 19 3p *
20 20 20 19
21 21 21 20
22 22 22 21 *
23 23 23 2p
24 24 24 22
25 25? 29 1p
26 26 26 23 *
27 29? 27 * 24 *
28 * 28 *? 28 * 4p
29 27? 25 5p

* Nucleolus organizer chromosomes.

some small goat chromosomes. In fact, CHI 25, 28 and 29 as reported in this
study, are homologous to BBU 1p, 4p and 5p, respectively (IANNUZZI et al.
1994; IANNUZZI and DI MEa 1995). Cattle rob (1; 29) p-arms (IANNUZZI 1990)
are also homologous in G- and R-banding patterns with CHI 29 (IANNUZZI et al.
1994; IANNUZZI and DI MEa 1995). The present goat nomenclature is also in
agreement with that recently proposed for cattle where direct G- and R-band
comparisons between cattle acrocentric and disputed chromosomes were made
with marker chromosomes (biarmed and NO-chromosomes) (IANNUZZI 1996).
The detailed description of G- and R-banding of small and disputed goat
276 IANNUZZI, DIMEO and PERUCATTI

chromosomes has previously been reported (IANNUZZI et al. 1994). According to

the present study, CHI 2, 3, 4, 5 and 28 are NOR-bearing chromosomes in
goat, slightly different from those reported earlier (DIMEo et al. 1993) which
were found according to the REA-standard karyotype (ISCNDA 1989).
Figure 5 shows the G- and R-banded ideograms of goat chromosomes. As
in human (ISCN 1985) and river buffalo (COMMITTEE FoR STANDARDIZED
KARYOTYPE of BUBALUS BuBALIS 1994) standards, only one common G- and R-
banded nomenclature is reported. This will be very useful when G- and R-
banding techniques applied in clinical, evolutionary and molecular cytogenetics
are separately used in goat chromosomes.

Acknowledgements. - We are grateful to Mr. D. Incarnato for excellent technical assistance

and to Mrs L. Keller (CNR, Istituto di Cibernetica, Napoli) for the computerized ideograms.
Supported in part by «I. N.C. Biologia e Produzione Agraria del CNR, Progetto Speciale sulla Biologia e
Produzione Agraria per una Agricoltura sostenibile>>.

REFERENCES

COMMITTE FoR STANDARDIZED KARYOTYPE OF BUBALUS BUBALIS, 1994. -Standard karyotype of the
river buffalo (Bubalus bubalis L., 2n =50). Report of the committee for the standardization of
banded karyotypes of the river buffalo (Iannuzzi L., coordinator). Cytogenet. Cell Genet., 67: 102-
113.
DI BERARDINO D., RoNNE M., BuRGUETE 1., L101 M. B., TAIBI L. and MATASSINO D., 1987. - R-
banding pattern of the prometaphase chromosomes of the goat.]. Hered. 78: 225-230.
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GALLAGHER D.S., SCHELLING C.P., GROENEN M.M.A. and WoMACK J.E., 1994. - Confirmation that
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Received 27 September 1996; accepted 29 October 1996