Satellite DNA in Neotropical Deer Species

The taxonomy and phylogenetics of Neotropical deer have been mostly based on morphological criteria and needs a critical revision on the basis of new molecular and cytogenetic markers. In this study, we used the variation in the sequence, copy number, and chromosome localization of satellite I-IV DNA to evaluate evolutionary relationships among eight Neotropical deer species. Using FISH with satI-IV probes derived from , we proved the presence of satellite DNA blocks in peri/centromeric regions of all analyzed deer. Satellite DNA was also detected in the interstitial chromosome regions of species of the genus with highly reduced chromosome numbers. In contrast to , , and , species showed high abundance of satIV DNA by FISH. The phylogenetic analysis of the satellite DNA showed close relationships between and Furthermore, the Neotropical and Nearctic populations of formed a single clade. However, the satellite DNA phylogeny did not allow resolving the relationships within the genus . The high abundance of the satellite DNA in centromeres probably contributes to the formation of chromosomal rearrangements, thus leading to a fast and ongoing speciation in this genus, which has not yet been reflected in the satellite DNA sequence diversification.