A pericentric inversion in the cattle Y chromosome

Sixteen male Podolian cattle, two sires and their 14 male offspring, were investigated cytogenetically on the basis of a female-like phenotype found in one of them. Eleven male offspring, including the one with female traits, and one of the two sires were found to carry an abnormal Y chromosome which originated from a pericentric inversion of the proximal half of the Yq arm (Yq11-->q12.2), as demonstrated by both banding and FISH mapping techniques with Y-specific molecular markers.     

A new type of inversion of a human Y chromosome

Summary Using chromosome banding techniques, a phenotypically normal male was found to have an abnormal banding pattern of the Y chromosome. By the constitutive heterochromatin staining method, a darkly stained band was located on the short arm and the proximal region of the long arm. The quinacrine staining method also showed a similar abnormal banding pattern: a brightly fluorescing band was seen on the short arm and the proximal region of the long arm. By the conventional Giemsa staining method, however, no specific morphological abnormality was detected in the aberrant Y. On detailed karyotype analyses no recognizable abnormality of banding patterns of any other chromosome was found aside from the abnormal Y. The abnormality was determined to be a complex inversion of the Y chromosome, which is described as 46,X,inv(Y)(pterp11::q11q12::cen::q12qter).     

DA/DAPI-Fluorescent heteromorphism of human Y chromosome

Summary Variation of DA/DAPI intensity in the Yq12 band was observed in five amniotic cell specimens and one blood specimen from the father of one fetus. Three distinct classes of Yq heterochromatin were identified by distamycin A (DA) treatment of the cell cultures and various staining techniques. The heterochromatin in the Yq11.23 sub-band does not under-condense when exposed to DA, and shows pale fluorescence with quinacrine staining, positive C-banding, and bright fluorescence with DA/DAPI technique. This class of heterochromatin was consistently observed in all specimens studied. The other two classes of heterochromatin are in the Yq12 band. Both show undercondensation when exposed to DA, quinacrine-bright fluorescence, and positive C-banding; howover, one class of heterochromatin shows DA/DAPI-bright fluorescence and the other shows pale fluorescence. The size and banding intensity of the two classes of heterochromatin in Yq12 are variable. These results provide cytological evidence of heterogeneity within the Y heterochromatin region containing AT-rich DNA.     

A new type of inversion of a human Y chromosome.

Using chromosome banding techniques, a phenotypically normal male was found to have an abnormal banding pattern of the Y chromosome. By the constitutive heterochromatin staining method, a darkly stained band was located on the short arm and the proximal region of the long arm. The quinacrine staining method also showed a similar abnormal banding pattern: a brightly fluorescing band was seen on the short arm and the proximal region of the long arm. By the conventional Giemsa staining method, however, no specific morphological abnormality was detected in the aberrant Y. On detailed karyotype analyses no recognizable abnormality of banding patterns of any other chromosome was found aside from the abnormal Y. The abnormality was determined to be a complex inversion of the Y chromosome, which is described as 46,X,inv(Y)(pter leads to p11::q11 leads to q12::cen::q12 leads to qter).     

A large pericentric inversion of human chromosome 8.

A large pericentric inversion, inv(8) (p11q24), was ascertained in a male investigated because his wife had had repeated miscarriages. The inversion segregated in 3 generations of the family, and no chromosomally unbalanced offspring were detected. The miscarriage and the inversion could not be causally related.     

Correlation of the clinical phenotype with a pericentric inversion of chromosome 9]

Pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 is one of the most common structural balanced chromosomal aberrations. It is considered as a paraphysiological variant of a normal karyotype and it is possible to find it as occasional report in healthy subjects. In the last ten years different signals have appeared in literature, concerning carriers of pericentric inversion of chromosome 9, who showed different anomalies of the clinical condition. Today it is difficult, because of the rarity of the data to establish if a true correlation exists between phenotypical anomalies in the subjects studied and the pericentric inversion, or if they are only casual associations. We are trying to find possible correlations between the chromosomal rearrangements and eventual congenital defects. We describe 11 subjects with pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 examined for the presence of dysmorphic signs, mental retardation and repeated miscarriage.     

Balanced and unbalanced pericentric inversion of a chromosome 14

Summary Three males with a 46,XX karyotype are described. In two of them, evidence of a Y-containing line was found. In the first case, 1 of 500 lymphocyte metaphases was 47,XXY. In the second, 1 of 400 oral mucosa cells contained a Y body. The proportion of low-grade XX/XXY mosaics found among XX males now stands at about 17%.     

The significance of pericentric inversions of chromosome 2

Summary Thirteen new cases of a pericentric inversion 2 collected from different laboratories are reported. In addition 41 cases of a pericentric inversion 2 were reviewed from the literature. The pooled data were analysed using Weinberg's proband method to evaluate the risk of a carrier for either children with congenital anomalies or reproductive wastage. In the corrected sample of 166 lifeborn offspring of carriers of a pericentric inversion 2 there were five who showed phenotypic anomalies and two died a few hours after delivery. The reported anomalies are heterogeneous and probably reflect the basic risk of any couple for abnormal lifeborn offspring. There has been no observation of a lifeborn who inherited an unbalanced recombination of a parental pericentric inversion 2. A carrier of a pericentric inversion 2 obviously has an increased risk for reproductive wastage. This is indicated by (1) an increase of the rate of spontaneous abortions and (2) an increase of the rate of index patients ascertained because of previous miscarriages. The risk of a carrier of a pericentric inversion 2 for a spontaneous abortion or a stillbirth may be about twice the basic risk of the general population.     

Sperm chromosome analysis of a man heterozygous for a pericentric inversion of chromosome 20

Summary The sperm chromosomes of a man heterozygous for inv(20)(p13q11.2) were analyzed. Twenty-six sperm chromosome complements were examined, of which fourteen contained the normal chromosome, and twelve the inverted chromosome. None of the sperm complements contained a recombinant chromosome 20. The frequency of structural chromosomal aberrations unrelated to the inversion was 11.5% (3/26). Numerical aberrations were not observed. The percentages of X- and Y-bearing sperm were 56% and 44%, respectively, which was similar to the expected 11 ratio.     

Sperm chromosome analysis of a man heterozygous for a pericentric inversion of chromosome 3

Using a procedure in which human sperm were allowed to fertilize zona-free golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) eggs in vitro, the sperm chromosomes of a man heterozygous for inv(3) (p11q11) were analyzed. When the chromosomes were Q-banded, the inverted chromosome had the bright centromeric band on the short arm rather than on the long arm, as was seen in the normal No. 3. One hundred and eleven sperm chromosome spreads were examined, of which 64 contained the normal chromosome and 47 the inverted one. This was not significantly different from the expected 1:1 ratio. No sperm containing a chromosome imbalance caused by a crossover within the inversion were seen. Ten (8.1%) of the sperm contained chromosome abnormalities unrelated to the inversion. The ratio of X- to Y-bearing sperm was 55:45.     

Structure of the pericentric long arm region of the human Y chromosome.

We have analysed the sequence organization of the DNA in the pericentric region of the long arm of the human Y chromosome. The structures of one cosmid and three yeast artificial chromosome clones were determined. The region consists of a mosaic of the known 5, 48 and 68 base-pair tandemly repeated sequences and at least five novel repeated sequence families. A long range-map of approximately 3.5 x 10(6) base-pairs of genomic DNA was constructed that placed the clones between about 500 x 10(3) and 850 x 10(3) base-pairs from the long arm edge of the centromeric alphoid DNA array.     

Molecular characterization of the pericentric inversion that causes differences between chimpanzee chromosome 19 and human chromosome 17

A comparison of the human genome with that of the chimpanzee is an attractive approach to attempts to understand the specificity of a certain phenotype's development. The two karyotypes differ by one chromosome fusion, nine pericentric inversions, and various additions of heterochromatin to chromosomal telomeres. Only the fusion, which gave rise to human chromosome 2, has been characterized at the sequence level. During the present study, we investigated the pericentric inversion by which chimpanzee chromosome 19 differs from human chromosome 17. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to identify breakpoint-spanning bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) and plasmid artificial chromosomes (PACs). By sequencing the junction fragments, we localized breakpoints in intergenic regions rich in repetitive elements. Our findings suggest that repeat-mediated nonhomologous recombination has facilitated inversion formation. No addition or deletion of any sequence element was detected at the breakpoints or in the surrounding sequences. Next to the break, at a distance of 10.2-39.1 kb, the following genes were found: NGFR and NXPH3 (on human chromosome 17q21.3) and GUC2D and ALOX15B (on human chromosome 17p13). The inversion affects neither the genomic structure nor the gene-activity state with regard to replication timing of these genes.     

Analysis of sperm chromosome complements from a man heterozygous for a pericentric inversion of chromosome 1

Human sperm chromosomes were studied in a man heterozygous for a pericentric inversion of chromosome (1)(p31q12). Q-banded pronuclear chromosomes were analyzed after in vitro penetration of golden hamster oocytes. A total of 159 sperm were examined: 54% bearing the inverted chromosome 1 and 46% the normal chromosome 1. These frequencies are not significantly different from the theoretical 11 ratio. There were no recombinant sperm with duplications or deficiencies, suggesting that a pairing loop failed to form or that crossing-over was suppressed. The frequency of abnormalities unrelated to the inversion was 5% for numerical, 8.8% for structural, 2.5% for numerical and structural, values not significantly different from control donors studied in our lab. The frequencies of X- and Y-bearing sperm were 46% and 54%, respectively, not significantly different from the expected value of 50%. This is the fifth pericentric inversion studied by human sperm chromosome analysis; recombinant chromosomes have been observed in two of the five cases. Some of the factors associated with an increased risk of recombinant sperm appear to be inversion size greater than 30% of the chromosome and chromosome breakpoints in G-light bands.     

Familial pericentric inversion of chromosome 1 with a note on reproductive risks

Summary An inversion of chromosome 1 was found in three normal members of a two generation family. G- and C-banding studies revealed inv(1)(p13q23). The problems encountered in counseling such normal carriers are discussed.     

Characterization of the human lineage-specific pericentric inversion that distinguishes human chromosome 1 from the homologous chromosomes of the great apes

The human and chimpanzee genomes are distinguishable in terms of ten gross karyotypic differences including nine pericentric inversions and a chromosomal fusion. Seven of these large pericentric inversions are chimpanzee-specific whereas two of them, involving human chromosomes 1 and 18, were fixed in the human lineage after the divergence of humans and chimpanzees. We have performed detailed molecular and computational characterization of the breakpoint regions of the human-specific inversion of chromosome 1. FISH analysis and sequence comparisons together revealed that the pericentromeric region of HSA 1 contains numerous segmental duplications that display a high degree of sequence similarity between both chromosomal arms. Detailed analysis of these regions has allowed us to refine the p-arm breakpoint region to a 154.2 kb interval at 1p11.2 and the q-arm breakpoint region to a 562.6 kb interval at 1q21.1. Both breakpoint regions contain human-specific segmental duplications arranged in inverted orientation. We therefore propose that the pericentric inversion of HSA 1 was mediated by intra-chromosomal non-homologous recombination between these highly homologous segmental duplications that had themselves arisen only recently in the human lineage by duplicative transposition.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available to authorised users in the online version of this article at .Justyna M. Szamalek and Violaine Goidts are contributed equally to the paper.