Multi-directional chromosome painting maps homologies between species belonging to three genera of New World monkeys and humans

We mapped chromosomal homologies in two species of Chiropotes (Pitheciini, Saki Monkeys) and one species of Aotus (Aotinae, Owl Monkey) by multi-directional chromosome painting. Human chromosome probes were hybridized to Chiropotes utahicki, C. israelita and Aotus nancymae metaphases. Wooly Monkey chromosome paints were also hybridized to Owl Monkey metaphases. We established Owl Monkey chromosome paint probes by flow sorting and reciprocally hybridized them to human chromosomes. The karyotypes of the Bearded Saki Monkeys studied here are close to the hypothesized ancestral platyrrhine karytoype, while that of the Owl Monkey appears to be highly derived. The A. nancymae karyotype is highly shuffled and only three human syntenic groups were found conserved coexisting with 17 derived human homologous associations. A minimum of 14 fissions and 13 fusions would be required to derive the A. nancymae karyotype from that of the ancestral New World primate karyotype. An inversion between homologs to segments of human 10 and 16 suggests a link between Callicebus and Chiropotes, while the syntenic association of 10/11 found in Aotus and Callicebus suggests a link between these two genera. Future molecular cytogenetic work will be needed to determine whether these rearrangements represent synapomorphic chromosomal traits.