Population cytogenetics in the Ridge-tailed goannas

The aim of this project was to characterise chromosome polymorphisms within and between populations of Ridge-tailed goannas (Varanus acanthurus complex). We used Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) for genome wide SNP analysis and integrated this data with cytogenetic observation. The SNP analysis revealed fixed allele differences between individuals with different karyotypes. These data were then aligned to a reference genome (BioProjectID PRJNA737594) and determined to be in linkage disequilibrium and found on a single scaffold. We then designed a FISH probe from the scaffold of interest and validated the fixed allele differences were correlated with the rearrangement on chromosome 6.

本研究旨在表征脊尾巨蜥（Varanus acanthurus复合群）种群内部及种群间的染色体多态性。本研究采用多样性阵列技术（Diversity Arrays Technology, DArT）开展全基因组单核苷酸多态性（Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, SNP）分析，并将所得数据与细胞遗传学观测结果进行整合。SNP分析揭示了不同核型个体间存在固定等位基因差异。随后将这些数据比对至参考基因组（BioProject编号PRJNA737594），分析发现其处于连锁不平衡状态，且均位于单个基因组支架（scaffold）上。研究团队从目标基因组支架中设计了荧光原位杂交（Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization, FISH）探针，并验证了该固定等位基因差异与6号染色体的重排存在相关性。