Karyotypic relationships in Asiatic asses (kulan and kiang) as defined using XXXX chromosome arm-specific and region-specific probes.

@entity41479 @entity2915 @entity1641 @entity616
@entity2915 has been applied to most of the species making up the numerically small family Equidae. However, comparative mapping data were still lacking in Asiatic asses kulan ( @entity41479 kulan) and kiang (E. kiang). The set of @entity1641 arm-specific probes generated by laser microdissection was hybridized onto kulan ( @entity41479 kulan) and kiang (E. kiang) chromosomes in order to establish a genome-wide chromosomal correspondence between these Asiatic asses and the @entity1641 . Moreover, region-specific probes were generated to determine fusion configuration and orientation of conserved @entity616 . The kulan karyotype (2n = 54) was ascertained to be almost identical to the previously investigated karyotype of @entity41479 E. h. @entity41479 (2n = 56). The only difference is in fusion/fission of chromosomes homologous to @entity1641 2q/3q, which are involved in chromosome number polymorphism in many Equidae species. E. kiang karyotype differs from the karyotype of @entity41479 by two additional fusions 8q/15 and 7/25. Chromosomes equivalent to 2q and 3q are not fused in kiang individuals with 2n = 52. Several discrepancies in centromere positions among kulan, kiang and @entity1641 chromosomes have been described. Most of the chromosome fusions in Asiatic asses are of centromere-centromere type. Comparative chromosome painting in kiang completed the efforts to establish chromosomal homologies in all representatives of the family Equidae. Application of region-specific probes allows refinement comparative maps of Asiatic asses.
