Abstract
Karyotypes were studied in the hooded and carrion crows, their naturally occurred hybrids, the jungle crow, the azure-winged magpie (2n= 80 in all aforementioned birds), and the magpie (2n= 82). Corvine birds of Primorskii Krai were karyotyped for the first time. In addition to the similarity in the diploid chromosome sets, corvine birds were shown to have a similar structure of karyotype: in all studied birds, 14 macrochromosomes (Mchs) classified into three groups according to their size were detected. By karyotype structure, birds belonging to the same genus are similar. Some intergeneric differences are due to a change in the position of centromeres of the largest and sex chromosomes. Karyotypes of interspecific hybrids of crows are remarkable for the presence of heteromorphic (t/st) chromosome pair 2 in some individuals, which apparently does not affect their fecundity. Using differential C-banding, the sex chromosome W in female magpies was identified. In addition, heteromorphism was detected in C-bands of homologs of Mch pair 4 in the hooded crow. In the jungle crow, the azure-winged magpie, and the magpie, bright QH-bands and numerous G-bands were detected on Mchs and on some microchromosomes only. Active Ag-NOR-bands were detected on one macrochromosome pair in the magpie. In all, the karyotype structure of corvine birds is comparable to the basic structural scheme of the karyotype in the order Passeriformes, which confirms the concept of conservatism of the avian karyotype.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Srb, V. and Půža V, Cytogenetica ptaků,Praha: Acad. nokladatelstvi Československé Akademie věd, 1986.
Bulatova, N.Sh., Structure and Evolution of Avian Chromosomes, Tsitogenetika gibridov, mutatsii i evolyutsiya kariotipa (Cytogenetics of Hybrids, Mutations, and Evolution of the Karyotype), Khvostov, V.V., Ed., Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1977, pp. 248-259.
Bulatova, N.Sh., Grafodatskii, A.S., and Smirenskii, S.M., Karyotypes and Systematics of Palearctic Passerine Birds (Families Paridae, Ploceidae, Corvidae), Tezisy dokladov XVIII Mezhdunarodnogo ornitologicheskogo kongressa (Proc. XVIII Int. Ornithological Congr.), Moscow: Nauka, 1982, pp. 91-92.
Shields, G.F., Comparative Avian Cytogenetics, Condor, 1982, vol. 84, no. 1, pp. 45-58.
Goodwin, D., Crows of the World, Washington: Univ. Washington Press, 1986.
Van Brink, J.M., L'expression morphologique de la digamétie chez les sauropsidés et les monotrémes, Chromosoma, 1959, vol. 10, pp. 1-72.
Hammar V. The Karyotypes of Nine Birds, Hereditas (Lund, Swed.), 1966, vol. 55, pp. 367-385.
Jovanovic, V. and Atkins, L., Karyotypes of Four Passerine Birds Belonging to the Families Turdidae, Mimidae, and Corvidae, Chromosoma (Berlin), 1969, vol. 26, pp. 388-394.
Bulatova, N.Sh., Panov, E.N., and Radzhabli, S.I., Description of the Karyotypes of Several Bird Species of the USSR Fauna, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1971, vol. 199, no. 6, pp. 1420-1423.
Bulatova, N.Sh., Panov, E.N., and Radzhabli, S.I., Khromosomnye nabory ptits (Avian Chromosome Sets), Novosibirsk, 1972.
Chromosome Atlas: Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, and Birds, Becak, M.L. et al., Eds., Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1973, vol. 2, Folio Av-17.
Ray-Chaudhuri, R., Cytotaxonomy and Chromosome Evolution in Birds, Cytotaxonomy and Vertebrate Evolution, Chiarelli, A.B. and Capanna, E., Eds., New York: Academic, 1973, pp. 425-484.
Bhunya, S.P. and Sultana, T., Somatic Chromosome Complements of Four Passerine Birds and Their Karyological Relationship, Caryologia, 1979, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 299-309.
Mittal, O.P. and Sakhuja, S., Bone Marrow Chromosomes in Corvus Species (Corvidae: Passeriformes: Aves), Cytobios, 1980, vol. 29, no. 114, pp. 81-89.
Patnaik, S.C. and Prasad, R., Comparative Karyological Studies in Some 12 Species of Indian Passerine Birds, Z. Zool. Syst. Evolut.-Forsch., 1980, vol. 18, pp. 297-309.
Bulatova, N.Š., A Comparative Karyological Study of Passerine Birds, Acta. Sci. Nat. Brno, 1981, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 1-44.
Ryttman, H. and Tegelström, H., Evolutionary Relationship as Chromosomes Revealed by G-band in Six Species of the Order Passeriformes (Aves), Uppsala: Univ. of Uppsala Press, 1981.
Belterman, R.H.R. and De Boer, L.E.M., A Karyological Study of 55 Species of Birds, Including Karyotypes of 39 Species New to Cytology, Genetica (The Hague), 1984, vol. 65, pp. 39-82.
Li, Q. and Bian, X., Studies on the Karyotypes of Birds: II. The 19 Species of 12 Families of Passerine Birds (Passeriformes, Aves), Zool. Res., 1988, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 321-326.
Grafodatskii, A.S., Cytogenetic Aspects of Mammalian Phylogeny, Doctoral (Biol.) Dissertation, Novosibirsk: Inst. Cytol. Genet., 1991.
Stepanyan, L.S., Konspekt ornitologicheskoi fauny SSSR (Notes on the Ornithological Fauna of the Soviet Union), Moscow: Nauka, 1990.
Ford, C.F. and Hamerton, J.L., A Colchicine Hypotonic Citrate Squash Preparation for Mammalian Chromosomes, Stain Technol., 1956, vol. 31, pp. 247-251.
Christidis, L., Extensive Chromosomal Repattering in Two Congeneric Species: Pytilia melba L. and Pytilia phoenicoptera Swainson (Estrildidae; Aves), Cytogenet. Cell Genet., 1983, vol. 36, pp. 641-648.
Christidis, L., A Rapid Procedure for Obtaining Chromosome Preparations from Birds, Auk, 1985, vol. 102, no. 10, pp. 892-893.
Lee, M.R. and Elder, F.F., Yeast Stimulation of Bone Marrow Mitosis for Cytogenetic Investigations, Cytogenet. Cell Genet., 1980, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 36-40.
Sumner, A.T., A Simple Technique for Demonstrating Centromeric Heterochromatin, Exp. Cell Res., 1972, vol. 75, pp. 304-306.
Bulatova, N.Sh. and Radzhabli, S.I., Chromosome Banding-A New Method of Comparative Cytological Studies in Birds, Zool. Zh., 1974, vol. 53, no. 11, pp. 116-117.
Wang, N. and Shoffner, R.N., Trypsin G-and C-Banding for Interchange Analysis and Sex Identification in the Chicken, Chromosoma, 1974, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 61-69.
Yoshida, M.C., Ikeuchi, T., and Sasaki, M., Differential Staining of Parental Chromosomes in Interspecific Cell Hybrids with a Combined Quinacrine and 33258 Hoechst Technique, Proc. Jpn. Acad., 1975, vol. 51, pp. 184-187.
Münke, M. and Schmiady, H., A Simple One-Step Procedure for Staining the Nucleolus Organizer Regions, Experientia, 1979, vol. 35, pp. 602-603.
Levan, A., Fredga, K., and Sandberg, A.A., Nomenclature for Centromeric Position on Chromosomes, Hereditas (Lund, Swed.), 1964, vol. 52, pp. 201-220.
Yakovlev, A.F. and Trofimova, L.V., Changes in Microchromosome Number during Spiralization of Macrochromosomes in Gallus domesticus, Genetika (Moscow), 1977, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 806-810.
Slizynski V. Cytological Observations on a Duck Hybrid, Anas clypeata × Anas penelope, Genet. Res., 1964, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 441-447.
Kryukov, A.P. and Blinov, V.N., Interactions between Hooded and Carrion Crow (Corvus cornix L., C. corone L.) in a Zone of Sympatry and Hybridization: Does Selection against Hybrids Occur?, Zh. Obshch. Biol., 1989, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 128-135.
Blinov, V.N., Blinova, T.K., and Kryukov, A.P., Interactions between Hooded and Carrion Crow (Corvus cornix L., C. corone L.) in a Zone of Sympatry and Hybridization: Structure of the Zone and Possible Isolation Factors, Gibridizatsiya i problema vida u pozvonochnykh (Hybridization and the Problem of Species in Vertebrates), Rossolimo, O.L., Ed., Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1993, pp. 97-117.
Saino, N. and Villa, S., Pair Composition and Reproductive Success across a Hybrid Zone of Carrion Crows and Hooded Crows, Auk, 1992, vol. 109, no. 3, pp. 543-555.
Schmutz, S.M. and Oliphanf, L.W., Chromosome Study of Peregrine, Prairie, and Gyr Falcons with Implications for Hybrids, J. Hered., 1987, vol. 78, pp. 388-390.
Thorneycroft, H.B., A Cytogenetic Study of the White-Throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis (Gmelin), Evolution, 1975, vol. 29, pp. 611-621.
Rising, J.D. and Shields, G.F., Chromosomal and Morphological Correlates in Two New World Sparrows (Emberizidae), Evolution, 1980, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 654-662.
Rocha, G.T., De Lucca, E.J., and De Souza, E.B., Chromosome Polymorphism Due to Pericentric Inversion in Zonotrichia capensis (Emberizidae—Passeriformes—Aves), Genetica (The Hague), 1990, vol. 80, pp. 201-207.
Shields, G.F., Bird Chromosomes, Current Ornithology, Johnston, R.F., Ed., 1983, vol. 1, pp. 189-209.
Aquino, R. and Ferrary, I., Chromosome Study of Amazona amazonica and A. aestiva (Aves: Psittaciformes): Determination of Chromosome Number and Identification of Sex Chromosomes by C-Banding Methods, Genetica (The Hague), 1990, vol. 81, pp. 1-3.
Stock, A.D., Arrighi, F.E., and Stefos, K., Chromosome Homology in Birds: Banding Patterns of the Chromosomes of the Domestic Chicken, Ring-Necked Dove, and Domestic Pigeon, Cytogenet. Cell Genet., 1974, vol. 13, pp. 410-418.
Sasaki, M. and Nishida, C., Nucleolar Chromosomes of the Domestic Chicken and the Japanese Quail, Chrom. Inf. Serv., 1981, vol. 30, pp. 25-27.
Ansari, H.A., Takagi, N., and Sasaki, M., Interordinal Conservatism of Chromosome Banding Patterns in Gallus domesticus (Galliformes) and Melopsittacus undulatus (Psittaciformes), Cytogenet. Cell Genet., 1986, vol. 43, pp. 6-9.
Schmid, M., Enderle, E., Schindler, D., and Schempp, W., Chromosome Banding and DNA Replication Patterns in Bird Karyotypes, Cytogenet. Cell Genet., 1989, vol. 52, pp. 139-146.
Ansari, H.A., Takagi, N., and Sasaki, M., Morphological Differentiation of Sex Chromosomes in Three Species of Ratite Birds, Cytogenet. Cell Genet., 1988, vol. 47, pp. 185-188.
De la Sena, C.A., Fechheimer, N.S., and Nestor, K.E., Variability of C-Banding Patterns in Japanese Quail Chromosomes, Genome, 1991, vol. 34, no. 6, pp. 993-997.
Stock, A.D. and Mengden, G.A., Chromosome Banding Pattern Conservatism in Birds and Nonhomology of Chromosome Banding Patterns between Birds, Turtles, Snakes, and Amphibians, Chromosoma, 1975, vol. 50, pp. 69-77.
Rodionov, A.V., Micro vs. Macro: Structural and Functional Organization of Avian Micro-and Macrochromosomes, Genetika (Moscow), 1996, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 597-608.
Schmid, M. and Guttenbach, M., Evolutionary Diversity of Reverse (R) Fluorescent Chromosome Bands in Vertebrates), Chromosoma (Berlin), 1988, vol. 97, pp. 101-114.
Padilla, J.A., Martinez-Trancon, M., Rabasco, A., and Fernandez-Garcia, J.L., The Karyotype of the Iberian Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti) Analyzed by Classical and DNA Replication Banding, Cytogenet. Cell Genet., 1999, vol. 84, nos. 1–2, pp. 61-66.
McQueen, H.A., Siriaco, G., and Bird, A.P., Chicken Microchromosomes Are Hyperacetylated, Early Replicating, and Gene Rich, Genome Res., 1998, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 621-630.
Bloom, S.E. and Bacon, L.D., Linkage of the Major Histocompatibility (B) Complex and the Nucleolar Organizer in the Chicken: Assignment to a Microchromosome, J. Hered., 1985, vol. 76, no. 3, pp. 146-154.
Miller, M.M., Goto, R.M., Taylor, R.L., et al., Assignment of Rfp-Y to the Chicken Major Histocompatibility Complex/NOR Microchromosome and Evidence for High-Frequency Recombination Associated with the Nucleolar Organizer Region, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1996, vol. 93, no. 9, pp. 3958-3962.
Sasaki, M., Nishida-Umehara, C., and Tsuchiya, K., Interspecific Variations in Centromeric C-Band of the Z Chromosome and Silver-Stained Nucleolus Organizer Regions (Ag-NORs) among Ten Species of Owls (Strigiformes), Chrom. Inf. Serv., 1994, no. 56, pp. 19-21.
Saitoh, Y., Ogawa, A., Hori, T., et al., Identification and Localization of Two Genes on the Chicken Z Chromosome: Implication of Evolutionary Conservatism of the Z Chromosome among Avian Species, Chromosome Res., 1993, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 239-251.
Nanda, I., Sick, C., Munster, U., et al., Sex Chromosome Linkage of Chicken and Duck Type I Interferon Genes: Further Evidence of Evolutionary Conservatism of the Z Chromosome in Birds, Chromosoma, 1998, vol. 107, no. 3, pp. 204-210.
Panov, E.N. and Bulatova, N.Sh., Comparative Karyotypic Analysis in 18 Species of the Family Turdidae (Aves), Zool. Zh., 1972, vol. 51, no. 9, pp. 1371-1380.
Fridolfsson, A.-K., Cheng, H., Copeland, N.G., et al., Evolution of the Avian Sex Chromosomes from an Ancestral Pair of Autosomes, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1998, vol. 95, pp. 8147-8152.
Griffiths, R., Double, M.C., Orr, K., and Dawson, R.J., DNA Test to Sex Most Birds, Mol. Ecol., 1998, vol. 7, no. 8, pp. 1071-1075.
Shetty, S., Griffin, D.K., and Graves, J.A., Comparative Painting Reveals Strong Chromosome Homology over 80 Million Years of Bird Evolution, Chromosome Res., 1999, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 289-295.
Madsen, C.S., de Kloet, D.H., Brooks, J.E., and de Kloet, S.R., Highly Repeated DNA Sequences in Birds: The Structure and Evolution of an Abundant, Tandemly Repeated 190-bp DNA Fragment in Parrots, Genomics, 1992, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 462-469.
Madsen, S.S., Brooks, J.E., de Kloet, E., and de Kloet, S.R., Sequence Conservation of an Avian Centromeric Repeated DNA Component, Genome, 1994, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 351-355.
Takagi, N. and Sasaki, M., A Phylogenetic Study of Bird Karyotypes, Chromosoma (Berlin), 1974, vol. 46, pp. 91-120.
Bulatova, N.Sh., Comparative Karyology of Birds (Cytotaxonomic and Evolutionary Aspects), Abstracts of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Novosibirsk: Inst. Cytol. Genet., 1975.
Prager, E.M. and Wilson, A.C., Slow Evolutionary Loss of the Potential for Interspecific Hybridization in Birds: A Manifestation of Slow Regulatory Evolution, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1975, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 200-204.
Tegelström, H., Ebenhard, T., and Ryttman, H., Rate of Karyotype Evolution and Speciation in Birds, Hereditas (Lund, Swed.), 1983, vol. 98, pp. 235-239.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Roslik, G.V., Kryukov, A.P. A Karyological Study of Some Corvine Birds (Corvidae, Aves). Russian Journal of Genetics 37, 796–806 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016703127516
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016703127516