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A Noninvasive Hair Sampling Technique to Obtain High Quality DNA from Elusive Small Mammals
Published on: March 13, 2011
Repetitive sequence families in Alces alces americana
R D Blake1, J Z Wang, L Beauregard
1Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Biology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5735, USA.
Journal of Molecular Evolution
|May 1, 1997
Summary
High-resolution DNA analysis reveals unique satellite DNA patterns in ruminants, enabling species differentiation. Moose (A. alces) exhibit an abundant, novel satellite DNA (Alces-I), crucial for evolutionary studies.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Molecular Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Ruminant DNA composition varies, particularly in high (G+C) content regions.
- Satellite DNA families, transcriptionally inert and tandemly repetitive, influence nuclear DNA content.
- Species-specific satellite band patterns offer potential for taxonomic discrimination.
Purpose of the Study:
- To detail local (G+C) content distributions in ruminant DNAs using high-resolution derivative melting.
- To identify and characterize novel satellite DNA sequences, such as Alces-I in moose.
- To investigate the evolutionary relationships among cervids based on satellite DNA sequence divergence.
Main Methods:
- High-resolution derivative melting analysis of ruminant DNAs.
- Flow cytometry for determining nuclear DNA content.
- DNA sequencing and in situ hybridization for satellite DNA characterization.
- Comparative sequence analysis of satellite DNA families across species.
Main Results:
- Congruent low (G+C) profiles across ruminants, primarily intergenic and intron sequences.
- Distinct high (G+C) satellite bands unique to each ruminant species.
- Identification of Alces-I, an abundant satellite DNA in moose (A. alces) with 52.6% (G+C) content.
- Alces-I sequence is orthologous to satellite-I in other cervids and bovids, aiding phylogenetic reconstruction.
Conclusions:
- Species-specific satellite DNA profiles are reliable markers for ruminant identification and evolutionary studies.
- Alces-I in moose represents a significant expansion of a conserved satellite family, impacting nuclear DNA content.
- Satellite DNA analysis provides a robust framework for understanding ruminant evolution and taxonomy.
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