Genes, Vol. 14, Pages 397: Tandem Repeat DNA Provides Many Cytological Markers for Hybrid Zone Analysis in Two Subspecies of the Grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus

Genes, Vol. 14, Pages 397: Tandem Repeat DNA Provides Many Cytological Markers for Hybrid Zone Analysis in Two Subspecies of the Grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus Genes doi: 10.3390/genes14020397 Authors: Beatriz Navarro-Domínguez Josefa Cabrero María Dolores López-León Francisco J. Ruiz-Ruano Miguel Pita José L. Bella Juan Pedro M. Camacho Recent advances in next generation sequencing (NGS) have greatly increased our understanding of non-coding tandem repeat (TR) DNA. Here we show how TR DNA can be useful for the study of hybrid zones (HZ), as it serves as a marker to identify introgression in areas where two biological entities come in contact. We used Illumina libraries to analyse two subspecies of the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus, which currently form a HZ in the Pyrenees. We retrieved a total of 152 TR sequences, and used fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to map 77 families in purebred individuals from both subspecies. Our analysis revealed 50 TR families that could serve as markers for analysis of this HZ, using FISH. Differential TR bands were unevenly distributed between chromosomes and subspecies. Some of these TR families yielded FISH bands in only one of the subspecies, suggesting the amplification of these TR families after the geographic separation of the subspecies in the Pleistocene. Our cytological analysis of two TR markers along a transect of the Pyrenean hybrid zone showed asymmetrical introgression of one subspecies i...
Source: Genes - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research