Centromeric and pericentromeric chromosome regions are occupied by satellite DNA. Satellite DNAs play essential roles in chromosome segregation, and, thanks to their extensive sequence variability, to some extent, they can also be used as phylogenetic markers. In this paper, we isolated and sequenced satellite DNA I-IV in 11 species of Cervidae. The obtained satellite DNA sequences and their chromosomal distribution were compared among the analysed representatives of cervid subfamilies Cervinae and Capreolinae. Only satI and satII sequences are probably present in all analysed species with high abundance. On the other hand, fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) with satIII and satIV probes showed signals only in a part of the analysed species, indicating interspecies copy number variations. Several indices, including FISH patterns, the high guanine and cytosine (GC) content, and the presence of centromere protein B (CENP-B) binding motif, suggest that the satII DNA may represent the most important satellite DNA family that might be involved in the centromeric function in Cervidae. The absence or low intensity of satellite DNA FISH signals on biarmed chromosomes probably reflects the evolutionary reduction of heterochromatin following the formation of chromosome fusions. The phylogenetic trees constructed on the basis of the satellite I-IV DNA relationships generally support the present cervid taxonomy.

中文翻译：

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鹿科动物4个卫星DNA家族的序列分析和FISH定位

着丝粒和着丝粒周围染色体区域被卫星 DNA 占据。卫星 DNA 在染色体分离中发挥着重要作用，并且由于其广泛的序列可变性，在某种程度上，它们也可以用作系统发育标记。在本文中，我们分离并测序了 11 种鹿科动物的卫星 DNA I-IV。将获得的卫星 DNA 序列及其染色体分布在所分析的鹿科亚科 Cervinae 和 Capreolinae 的代表之间进行比较。只有 satI 和 satII 序列可能存在于所有分析的高丰度物种中。另一方面，使用 satIII 和 satIV 探针的荧光原位杂交 (FISH) 仅在部分分析物种中显示信号，表明种间拷贝数变化。几个指数，包括 FISH 模式，高鸟嘌呤和胞嘧啶 (GC) 含量以及着丝粒蛋白 B (CENP-B) 结合基序的存在表明，satII DNA 可能代表最重要的卫星 DNA 家族，可能参与鹿科动物的着丝粒功能。双臂染色体上卫星 DNA FISH 信号的缺失或低强度可能反映了染色体融合形成后异染色质的进化减少。基于卫星 I-IV DNA 关系构建的系统发育树通常支持目前的鹿科动物分类。双臂染色体上卫星 DNA FISH 信号的缺失或低强度可能反映了染色体融合形成后异染色质的进化减少。基于卫星 I-IV DNA 关系构建的系统发育树通常支持目前的鹿科动物分类学。双臂染色体上卫星 DNA FISH 信号的缺失或低强度可能反映了染色体融合形成后异染色质的进化减少。基于卫星 I-IV DNA 关系构建的系统发育树通常支持目前的鹿科动物分类。