Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026

Isolation and Expansion of Adult Canine Hippocampal Neural Precursors
Published on: November 29, 2016
Chromosomal evolution of the Canidae. II. Divergence from the primitive carnivore karyotype
Abstract:
The Giemsa-banding patterns of chromosomes from the arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), the kit fox (Vulpes macrotis), and the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) are compared. Despite their traditional placement in different genera, the arctic fox and the kit fox have an identical chromosome morphology and G-banding pattern. The red fox has extensive chromosome arm homoeology with these two species, but has only two entire chromosomes in common. All three species share some chromosomes with the raccoon dog, as does the high diploid-numbered grey wolf (Canis lupus, 2n = 78). Moreover, some chromosomes of the raccoon dog show partial or complete homoeology with metacentric feline chromosomes which suggests that these are primitive canid chromosomes. We present the history of chromosomal rearrangements within the Canidae family based on the assumption that a metacentric-dominated karyotype is primitive for the group.
Related Concept Videos
The Evidence for Evolution
Convergent Evolution
Incomplete Dominance
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Synteny and Evolution
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral chromosome underwent...
Gene Duplication and Divergence
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are characterized.

