High-resolution chromosome painting reveals the first genetic signature for the chiropteran suborder Pteropodiformes (Mammalia: Chiroptera).

Up to now, the composition of synteny-conserved segments in chiropteran karyotypes was studied by cross-species chromosome painting with probes derived from whole human (HSA) or chiropteran chromosomes only. Here, painting probes from the vespertilionid bat Myotis myotis were hybridized, for the first time, onto human metaphase chromosomes. The segmental composition of bat karyotypes was further refined by cross-species painting with probes derived from flow-sorted chromosomes of Tupaia belangeri and Eulemur macaco--two species with highly rearranged karyotypes. The use of such probes has led to the generation of higher resolution maps between human chromosomes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11 and 15 and their counterparts in Vespertilionidae and the pteropodid species Eonycteris spelaea. Interestingly, the order of four sub-regions within the largest homologous segment delimited by human chromosome 4 painting probe in Eonyceris was found to be different from that found in vespertilionids. A subsequent survey across all major chiropteran families demonstrated that a paracentric inversion within this HSA 4 homologous segment could represent a synapomorphic character for the suborder Pteropodiformes.