The Standard Karyotype of the Asiatic Jackal, Canis aureus (Carnivora, Canidae) from Thailand

Abstract

This study conducted karyological analysis and detection of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) in the Asiatic jackal (Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758) from Khao Suan Kwang Zoo, Khon Kaen Province, Thailand. Blood samples were taken from two male and two female jackals. After standard whole blood lymphocytes had been cultured at 37°C for 72 h in the presence of colchicine, metaphase spreads were performed on microscopic slides and air-dried. Giemsa's staining, GTG-banding, high-resolution banding and Ag-NOR banding techniques were used to stain chromosomes. The results showed that the diploid chromosome number of C. aureus was 2n=78 and the fundamental numbers (NF) of both sexes were 80. The types of autosomes were 18 large telocentric, 18 medium telocentric and 40 small telocentric chromosomes. The X chromosome was the largest metacentric chromosome and the Y chromosome was the smallest acrocentric chromosome. In addition, the long arm near the centromere of chromosome pair 7 and the long arm near the telomere of chromosome pairs 10 and 28 contained NORs. From the GTG-banding and high-resolution banding techniques, the numbers of bands were 205 and 269, respectively, and each chromosome pair could be clearly differentiated. The karyotype formula for C. aureus is: 2n (diploid) 78=L₁₈^t+M₁₈^t+S₄₀^t+sex chromosomes.