Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Nov 30;43(4):e20200162.
doi: 10.1590/1678-4685-GMB-2020-0162. eCollection 2020.

Comparative chromosome painting in hummingbirds (Trochilidae)

Tiago Marafiga Degrandi  1 , Ivanete de Oliveira Furo  2   3 , Edivaldo Herculano Correia de Oliveira  4   5 , Alice Lemos Costa  6 , Malcolm A Ferguson-Smith  3 , Patrícia C M O'Brien  3 , Jorge C Pereira  7 , Analía Del Valle Garnero  6 , Ricardo José Gunski  6 , Roberto Ferreira Artoni  1
Affiliations

Comparative chromosome painting in hummingbirds (Trochilidae)

Tiago Marafiga Degrandi et al. Genet Mol Biol. .

Abstract

Hummingbirds (Trochilidae) are one of the most enigmatic avian groups, and also among the most diverse, with approximately 360 recognized species in 106 genera, of which 43 are monotypic. This fact has generated considerable interest in the evolutionary biology of the hummingbirds, which is reflected in a number of DNA-based studies. However, only a few of them explored chromosomal data. Given this, the present study provides an analysis of the karyotypes of three species of Neotropical hummingbirds, Anthracothorax nigricollis (ANI), Campylopterus largipennis (CLA), and Hylocharis chrysura (HCH), in order to analyze the chromosomal processes associated with the evolution of the Trochilidae. The diploid number of ANI is 2n=80 chromosomes, while CLA and HCH have identical karyotypes, with 2n=78. Chromosome painting with Gallus gallus probes (GGA1-12) shows that the hummingbirds have a karyotype close to the proposed ancestral bird karyotype. Despite this, an informative rearrangement was detected: an in-tandem fusion between GGA7 and GGA9 found in CLA and HCH, but absent in ANI. A comparative analysis with the tree of life of the hummingbirds indicated that this fusion must have arisen following the divergence of a number of hummingbird species.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interests: No conflict of interest that could be perceived as harmful to the impartiality of the reported research. The data access must be requested from the corresponding author.

Figures

Figure 1 -
Figure 1 -. Karyotypes of the three hummingbird species (family Trochilidae) analyzed in the present study. (A) Anthracothorax nigricollis 2n=80, (B) Campylopterus largipennis 2n=78, and (C) Hylocharis chrysura 2n=78.
Figure 2 -
Figure 2 -. Representative metaphases showing Fluorescence in situ Hybridization using Gallus gallus (GGA 1-GGA12) chromosomal probes in Anthracothorax nigricollis, ANI (metaphases A-H), and the GGA7 and GGA9 probes in Campylopterus largipennis, CLA (metaphases I and J) and Hylocharis chrysura, HCH (metaphases K and L).
Figure 3 -
Figure 3 -. Comparative ideograms showing the homologies among the macrochromosomes of the hummingbirds Anthracothorax nigricollis (A), Campylopterus largipennis (B), and Hylocharis chrysura (C). This scheme was obtained by Fluorescence in situ Hybridization using the Gallus gallus chromosomal probes (GGA 1-GGA12).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Beçak ML, Beçak W, Roberts FL, Shoffner RN, Volpe EP. Rhea americana (Rhea) 2n = 82. In: Beçak ML, Beçak W, Roberts FL, Shoffner RN, Volpe EP, editors. Chromosome atlas: Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles and Birds. Vol. 2. Springer; New York: 1973. pp. 129–207.
    1. Bleiweiss R, Kirsch JAW, Matheus JC. DNA hybridization evidence for the principal lineages of Hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae) Mol Biol Evol. 1997;14:325–343. - PubMed
    1. Bleiweiss R. Origin of Hummingbird faunas. Biol J Linn Soc Lond. 1998;65:77–97.
    1. Bochenski Z, Bochenski ZM. An Old World hummingbird from the Oligocene: a new fossil from Polish Carpathians. J Ornithol. 2008;149:211–216.
    1. Christidis L. Animal cytogenetics 4: Chordata 3 B: Aves. Gebrüder Borntraeger; Stuttgart: 1990. pp. 116–116.

Internet Resources

    1. Gill F, D Donsker. IOC World Bird List, 10.1. 2018. https://www.worldbirdnames.org/ioc-lists/crossref/