Karyological characterization of the common chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) provides insights on the evolution and diversification of sex chromosomes in Chamaeleonidae.

Chameleons display high karyological diversity in chromosome number (from 2n = 20 to 62), morphology, heterochromatin distribution and location of specific chromosomal markers, making them unique study models in evolutionary cytogenetics. However, most available cytogenetic data are limited to the description of the chromosome number and morphology. Concerning sex chromosomes, our knowledge is limited to ZZ/ZW and Z1Z1Z2Z2/Z1Z2W systems in the genus Furcifer and the isolation of sex-linked, male-specific, sequences in Chamaeleo calyptratus, but the putative XY chromosomes have still to be identified in Chamaeleo and the conservation of male heterogamety in the genus needs confirmation from other species. In this study we performed a molecular and a cytogenetic analysis on C. chamaeleon, using standard, banding methods and molecular cytogenetics to provide a throughout karyological characterization of the species and to identify and locate the putative XY chromosomes. We confirm that the chromosome formula of the species is 2n = 24, with 12 metacentric macrochromosomes, 12 microchromosomes and NORs on the second chromosome pair. Heterochromatin was detected as weak C-bands on centromeric regions, differently from what was previously reported for C. calyptratus. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) showed the occurrence of interspersed telomeric signals on most macrochromosomes, suggesting that ancient chromosome fusions may have led to a reduction of the chromosome number. Using a combination of molecular and FISH analyses, we proved that male specific Restriction site-Associated DNA sequences (RADseq) isolated in C. calyptratus are conserved in C. chamaeleon and located the putative XY chromosomes on the second chromosome pair. We also identified different transposable elements in the focal taxa, which are highly interspersed on most chromosome pairs.