Characterization of a centromeric marker on mouse chromosome 11 and its introgression in a domesticus/musculus hybrid zone

It has been proposed that the distribution of Robertsonian chromosome fusions and the Chromosome 11 Nucleolar Organizer Region (NOR) in the Danish hybrid zone between M. m. musculus and M. m. domesticus stems from centromeric incompatibilities between the two subspecies. To test this hypothesis, we identified and characterized a diagnostic subspecific marker closely linked to the centromere on mouse Chromosome 11. Using an allele-specific PCR assay, we investigated the introgression pattern of this centromere in a large sample of mice from a North-South transect of the hybrid zone in Jutland. Domesticus alleles were found to introgress far away from the center of the zone on the musculus side. These results suggest there is no incompatibility between the domesticus centromere of Chromosome 11 in the musculus genomic background.