Abstract
The study of the chromosomes of birds is inherently problematic because a majority of species possesses large numbers of microchromosomes which are difficult to identify and count. Further, the development of methods of chromosome preparation and analysis specific to birds has lagged behind that for mammals. As a result, only about 5% of the 8900 extant species of birds have been karyotyped and most of these have not been done well. The study of the chromosomes of birds is presently in transition away from the use of conventional techniques toward the use of techniques which employ a variety of procedures each of which is designed to differentially stain chromosomes in a specific way. These differential procedures have been collectively referred to as chromosome banding techniques. I (Shields, 1982) have summarized our knowledge of conventionally stained material and in the present paper address the utility of the use of tissue culture and chromosome banding procedures together with some discussion of comparative results and suggestions for future study. The organization of the avian genome and its relation to chromosome form and function has recently been reviewed (Shields, 1983).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Baker, A. J., Parslow, M., and Chambers, D., 1981, Karyological studies of a female Variable Oyster Catcher (Haematopus unicoJor), Can. J. Genet. Cytol.23:611–619.
Biederman, B. M., Florence D., and Lin, C. C., 1979, Cytogenetic analysis of Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus), Cytogenet. Cell Genet. 28:79–86.
Bloom, S. E., and Goodpasture, C., 1976, An improved technique for selective silver staining of nucleolar organizer regions in human chromosomes, Hum. Genet. 34:199–206.
Breathnach, R., Benoist, C., O’Hare, K., Gannon, F., and Chambon, P., 1978, Ovalbumin gene: Evidence for a leader sequence in mRNA and DNA sequences at the exonintron boundaries, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 75:4853–4857.
Carlenius, C., Ryttman, H., Tegelstrom, H., and Jansson, H., 1981, R-, G-, and C-banded chromosomes in the Domestic Fowl (Gallus domesticus), Hereditas94:61–66.
Cochet, M., Gannon, F., Hen, R., Maroteaux, L., Perrin, F., and Chambon, P., 1979, Organization and sequence studies of the seventeen-piece chicken conalbumin gene, Nature282:567–574.
de Boer, L. E. M., 1976, The somatic chromosome complements of 16 species of Falconiformes (Aves) and the karyological relationships of the order, Genetica46:77–113.
Drets, M. E., and Shaw, M. W., 1971, Specific banding patterns of human chromosomes, Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA68:2073–2077.
Dutrillaux, B., and Lejeune, J., 1971, Sur une nouvelle technique d’analyse du caryotype humain, C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris 272:2638–2640.
Gannon, F., O’Hare, K., Perrin, F., LePennic, J. P., Benoist, C., Cochet, M., Breathnach, R., Royal, A., Garapin, A., Cami, B., and Chambon, P., 1979, Organization and sequences at the 51 end of a cloned complete ovalbumin gene, Nature278:428–434.
Hsu, T. C., 1979, Human and Mammalian Cytogenetics: An Historical Perspective, Springer-Verlag, New York.
Kaul, D., and Ansari, H. A., 1978, Chromosome studies in three species of Piciformes (Aves), Genetica48:193–196.
Lai, E. C., Stein, J. P., Catterall, J. F., Woo, S. L. C., Mace, M. L., Means, A. R., and O’Malley, B. W., 1979, Molecular structure and flanking nucleotide sequences of the natural chicken ovomucoid gene, Cell18:829–842.
Lu, M. R., 1969, A widely applicable technique for direct processing of bone marrow for chromosomes of vertebrates, Stain Tech. 44:155–158.
Patil, S. R., Merrick, S., and Lubs, H. A., 1971, Identification of each human chromosome with a modified Giemsa stain, Science173:821–822.
Patnaik, A. K., Samanta, M., and Prasad, R., 1981, Chromosome complement and banding patterns in a pelecaniform bird, Phalacrocorax niger, J. Hered.72:447–449.
Ryttman, H., Tegelstrom, H., and Jansson, H., 1979, G- and C-banding in four Larus species (Aves), Hereditas 91:143–148.
Shields, G. F., 1973, Chromosomal polymorphism common to several species of Junco (Aves), Can. J. Genet. Cytol.15:461–471.
Shields, G. F., 1976, Meiotic evidence for pericentric inversion polymorphism in Junco (Aves), Can. J. Genet. Cytol. 18:747–751.
Shields, G. F., 1982, Comparative avian cytogenetics: A review, Condor84:45–58.
Shields, G. F., 1983, Organization of the avian genome, in: Perspectives in Ornithology, Volume 1 (A. H. Brush and G. A. Clark, eds.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 271–290.
Shields, G. F., and Jarrell, G. H., 1982, Enlarged sex chromosomes of Woodpeckers (Piciformes), Auk99:767–771.
Shoffner, R. N., Krishan, A., Haiden, G. J., Bammi, R. K., and Otis, J. S., 1967, Avian chromosome methodology, Poult. Sci. 46:333–344.
Stock, A. D., Arrighi, F. E., and Stefos, K., 1974, Chromosome homology in birds: Banding patterns of the chromosomes of the domestic chicken, ring-necked dove, and domestic pigeon, Cytogenet. Cell Genet. 13:410–418.
Stock, A. D., and Mengden, G. A., 1975, Chromosome banding pattern conservatism in birds and nonhomology of chromosome banding patterns between birds, turtles, snakes and amphibians, Chromosoma (Berlin) 50:69–77.
Sumner, A. T., 1972, A simple technique for demonstrating centromeric heterochromatin, Exp. Cell Res.75:304–306.
Sumner, A. T., Evans, H. J., and Buckland, R. A., 1971, A new technique for distinguishing between human chromosomes, Nature New Biol. 232:31–32.
Stefos, K., and Arrighi, F. E., 1971, Heterochromatic nature of the W chromosome of birds, Exp. Cell Res.68:228–231.
Takagi, N., and Sasaki, M., 1974, A phylogenetic study of bird karyotypes, Chromosoma (Berlin) 46:91–120.
Thorneycroft, H. B., 1976, A cytogenetic study of the White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis (Gmelin), Evolution29:611–621.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Shields, G.F. (1983). Bird Chromosomes. In: Johnston, R.F. (eds) Current Ornithology. Current Ornithology, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6781-3_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6781-3_7
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-6783-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-6781-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive