Mendelian nightmares: The germline-restricted chromosome of songbirds

Germline-restricted chromosomes (GRCs) are accessory chromosomes that occur only in germ cells. They are eliminated from somatic cells through programmed DNA elimination during embryo development. GRCs have been observed in several unrelated animal taxa and show peculiar modes of non-Mendelian inheritance and within-individual elimination. Recent cytogenetic and phylogenomic evidence suggests that a GRC is present across the species-rich songbirds, but absent in non-passerine birds, implying that over half of all 10,500 bird species have extensive germline/soma genome differences. Here, we review recent insights gained from genomic, transcriptomic, and cytogenetic approaches with regard to the genetic content, phylogenetic distribution, and inheritance of the songbird GRC. While many questions remain unsolved in terms of GRC inheritance, elimination, and function, we discuss plausible scenarios and future directions for understanding this widespread form of programmed DNA elimination

Heterochiasmy and Sexual Dimorphism: The Case of the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica, Hirundinidae, Aves)

Heterochiasmy, a sex-based difference in recombination rate, has been detected in many species of animals and plants. Several hypotheses about evolutionary causes of heterochiasmy were proposed. However, there is a shortage of empirical data. In this paper, we compared recombination related traits in females and males of the barn swallow Hirundo rustica (Linnaeus, 1758), the species under strong sexual selection, with those in the pale martin Riparia diluta (Sharpe and Wyatt, 1893), a related and ecologically similar species with the same karyotype (2N = 78), but without obvious sexual dimorphism. Recombination traits were examined in pachytene chromosome spreads prepared from spermatocytes and oocytes. Synaptonemal complexes and mature recombination nodules were visualized with antibodies to SYCP3 and MLH1 proteins, correspondingly. Recombination rate was significantly higher (p = 0.0001) in barn swallow females (55.6 ± 6.3 recombination nodules per autosomal genome), caused by the higher number of nodules at the macrochromosomes, than in males (49.0 ± 4.5). They also showed more even distribution of recombination nodules along the macrochromosomes. At the same time, in the pale martin, sexual differences in recombination rate and distributions were rather small. We speculate that an elevated recombination rate in the female barn swallows might have evolved as a compensatory reaction to runaway sexual selection in males

Karyotypes and recombination patterns of the Common Swift (Apus apus Linnaeus, 1758) and Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo Linnaeus, 1758)

Abstract Background Meiotic recombination is an important source of genetic variability. Studies on mammals demonstrate a substantial interspecies variation in overall recombination rate, which is dependent mainly on chromosome (2n) and chromosome arm number (FN). Bird karyotypes are very conservative with 2n being about 78–82 and FN being 80–90 in most species. However, some families such as Apodidae (swifts) and Falconidae (falcons) show a substantial karyotypic variation. In this study, we describe the somatic and pachytene karyotypes of the male Common Swift (Apus apus) and the pachytene karyotype of the male Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo) and estimate the overall number and distribution of recombination events along the chromosomes of these species. Methods The somatic karyotype was examined in bone marrow cells. Pachytene chromosome spreads were prepared from spermatocytes of adult males. Synaptonemal complexes and mature recombination nodules were visualized with antibodies to SYCP3 and MLH1 proteins correspondingly. Results The karyotype of the Common Swift consists of three metacentric, three submetacentric and two telocentric macrochromosomes and 31 telocentric microchromosomes (2n = 78; FN = 90). It differs from the karyotypes of related Apodidae species described previously. The karyotype of the Eurasian Hobby contains one metacentric and 13 telocentric macrochromosomes and one metacentric and ten telocentric microchromosomes (2n = 50; FN = 54) and is similar to that described previously in 2n, but differs for macrochromosome morphology. Despite an about 40% difference in 2n and FN, these species have almost the same number of recombination nodules per genome: 51.4 ± 4.3 in the swift and 51.1 ± 6.7 in the hobby. The distribution of the recombination nodules along the macrochromosomes was extremely polarized in the Common Swift and was rather even in the Eurasian Hobby. Conclusions This study adds two more species to the short list of birds in which the number and distribution of recombination nodules have been examined. Our data confirm that recombination rate in birds is substantially higher than that in mammals, but shows rather a low interspecies variability. Even a substantial reduction in chromosome number does not lead to any substantial decrease in recombination rate. More data from different taxa are required to draw statistically supported conclusions about the evolution of recombination in birds

Establishment of the Primary Avian Gonadal Somatic Cell Lines for Cytogenetic Studies

The last decade was marked by a steep rise in avian studies at genomic and cellular levels. Cell lines are important tools for in vitro studies in cell biology and cytogenetics. We developed a simple method of primary somatic cell culture establishment from the ovaries of the great tits (Parus major) and testes of ten Passerine species, characterized the cellular composition of the ovary-derived lines using RT-PCR and immunolocalization of the tissue-specific markers and tested the efficiency of two methods of genetic transformation of the ovary-derived cell line. We found that the ovary-derived cell cultures of the great tit were composed of fibroblasts mainly, but also contained interstitial and granulosa cells. They were cultivated until the 10th passage without any noticeable decrease in their proliferative activity. The testis-derived cell cultures had lower proliferative potential. However, both ovary- and testis-derived cell cultures provided enough material for high quality mitotic metaphase chromosome preparations. The efficiency of its transduction with lentivirus containing a GFP reporter was very low, while electroporation with episomal vectors expressing GFP resulted in a high yield of GFP-positive cells. The proposed method could be used for the generation of high quality material for various cytogenetic and genomic studies

Sustaining Performance of Wheat–Rice Farms in Pakistan: The Effects of Financial Literacy and Financial Inclusion

The unceasingly augmenting emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) has contributed substantially to the degradation of the key environmental parameters and the deterioration of performance of the agricultural sector globally. The food insecurity problem has been aggravated consequently. Due to a variety of economic and social issues, many farmers in developing economies use low-efficient and environmentally unfriendly agricultural practices. Adopting innovative technologies and practices linked with sustainable farming remains a complex issue across the developing world. In particular, financial exclusion and low financial literacy are commonly cited as the critical obstacles to achieving sustainable development. To contribute to resolving this development problem, the study attempts to investigate the effects of financial inclusion and literacy on establishing a sustainable performance of farms. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from 220 farmers within the Central Punjab region of Pakistan. Small-scale farms demonstrated a potential to sustain their performance by improving financial inclusion and financial literacy. Trust in extension services for agriculture plays a significant role in moderating the impact of eight independent variables (knowledge, skills, attitude, behavior, access, usage, quantity, welfare) on sustainable farm performance. The study implies that increased trust in financial services is essential for improving sustainable performance in the agricultural sector. The effect imposed by financial actors is crucial for establishing trust in financial services linked to sustainability within the agricultural industry

Germline-restricted chromosome (GRC) in the sand martin and the pale martin (Hirundinidae, Aves): synapsis, recombination and copy number variation

All songbirds studied to date have an additional Germline Restricted Chromosome (GRC), which is no

Mendelian nightmares : the germline-restricted chromosome of songbirds

Germline-restricted chromosomes (GRCs) are accessory chromosomes that occur only in germ cells. They are eliminated from somatic cells through programmed DNA elimination during embryo development. GRCs have been observed in several unrelated animal taxa and show peculiar modes of non-Mendelian inheritance and within-individual elimination. Recent cytogenetic and phylogenomic evidence suggests that a GRC is present across the species-rich songbirds, but absent in non-passerine birds, implying that over half of all 10,500 bird species have extensive germline/soma genome differences. Here, we review recent insights gained from genomic, transcriptomic, and cytogenetic approaches with regard to the genetic content, phylogenetic distribution, and inheritance of the songbird GRC. While many questions remain unsolved in terms of GRC inheritance, elimination, and function, we discuss plausible scenarios and future directions for understanding this widespread form of programmed DNA elimination

Fourth Report on Chicken Genes and Chromosomes 2022

International audienc