Identification of Centromere-Specific Repeats in the Zebra Finch Genome

Tandem repetitive sequences represent a significant part of many genomes but remain poorly characterized due to various methodological difficulties. Here, we describe the tandem repeat composition in the genome of zebra finch,Taeniopygia guttata, a species that has long served as an animal model, primarily in neurobiology and comparative genomics. Using available genome sequencing raw read datasets, we bioinformatically reconstructed consensus sequences of several tandem repeats and proved that the most abundant ones,Tgut191A andTgut716A, are centromere-associated in chromosomes. Each centromeric region can have a different number of copies of each repeat, withTgut716A enrichment in almost all microchromosomes and sex chromosomes. Sequences similar toTgut191A andTgut716A found in other Estrildidae and Viduidae species can be considered as candidate centromeric sequences, but this requires further cytogenetic verification.Cytogenet Genome Res

Source: Cytogenetic and Genome Research - March 11, 2022 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research