Conserved although very different karyotypes in Gliridae and Sciuridae and their contribution to chromosomal signatures in Glires

Rodents represent the largest order of living mammals. It comprises 5 sub-orders, among which Sciuromorpha (Sciuridae, Gliridae and Aplodontiidae) are assumed to occupy a basal position in rodent evolution. Banded karyotypes of some representatives of the Sciuridae family have been compared to each other, and comparisons with man were performed using chromosome paintings. Sciuridae karyotypes have conserved several eutherian ancestral syntenies. Like Sciuridae, Gliridae possess some chromosomes easily comparable with those of Primates. Comparisons of Gliridae and Sciuridae chromosomes with those of the presumed eutherian ancestor provide information about their chromosomal evolution and their position among Rodentia. Although both Sciuridae and Gliridae karyotypes are relatively conserved, they display many differences, indicating their early divergence. The reconstruction of their chromosomal evolution allowed us to propose the composition of their presumed ancestral karyotypes, with 2n = 48 and 2n = 38 for Gliridae and Sciuridae, respectively. Since rodent emergence, a single rearrangement is common to these 2 families. It formed a chromosome with fragments homologous to human chromosomes 4-8p-4-12-22, not detected in other rodents, and thus characteristic for the Sciuromorpha. This allowed us to reassess the chromosomal signatures of Rodentia. Finally, we show that the speed of chromosomal evolution in Gliridae is intermediate between that of Sciuridae (low) and Muridae (high).