Conservation of aphidicolin-induced fragile sites in Papionini (Primates) species and humans

Fragile sites are considered structural features of mammalian chromosomes and a commonly repeated hypothesis is that they are evolutionarily conserved. We tested this hypothesis by establishing the subchromosomal homology of regions harbouring fragile sites in the chromosomes of humans, Macaca fascicularis (MFA) and Mandrillus sphinx (MSP). We delineated the interspecific homology of chromosome bands expressing aphidicolin-induced fragile sites of homologues to human chromosomes 1, 3, 5, 7, 18 and X by the comparative FISH of human BAC and YAC clones. Notably, two YAC clones known to span human chromosome regions containing fragile sites were shown to also span fragile sites in macaques and mandrills. The present comparative BAC/YAC mapping data represent, up to now, the most precise evidence of fragile site conservation during primate evolution.