Chromosome Evolution and Genome Reconstruction in Falcon Species
Falcons and falconry have become an essential part of life in the Middle East since ancient times. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE) itself, the number of trained falcons ranges from 8,000 to 10,000. Over the last five years, falcon racing, a traditional sport, has gained momentum in the UAE where c...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2017
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| Online Access: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/65667/ https://kar.kent.ac.uk/65667/1/84S.JOSEPH%20Thesis.pdf |
| Summary: | Falcons and falconry have become an essential part of life in the Middle East since ancient times. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE) itself, the number of trained falcons ranges from 8,000 to 10,000. Over the last five years, falcon racing, a traditional sport, has gained momentum in the UAE where captive falcons are competing for huge prizemoney. A proportion of the UAE economy goes into their care and conservation e.g. through establishing falcon hospitals with modern facilities for disease treatment and breeding as well as centers for diagnosis and research. Being the national bird of the UAE, any research on falcons is of significant interest for the country. Most of the world's falcon species are in decline. Moreover, Saker falcons are classified as 'endangered' according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. From the chromosomal perspective falcons are very interesting, as they represent birds that have undergone significant genome rearrangement compared to the "norm" of 2n=~80. 'Molecular cytogenomics' in birds includes karyotyping, cross species comparisons, nuclear organization, BAC mapping, physical mapping and telomeric DNA profiling. This thesis makes use of the above approaches to define chromosome evolution and genome organization in falcon species with the following results: Firstly, successful conventional characterization of the Saker, Peregrine and Gyr falcon karyotypes (2n=50-52) was achieved producing improved karyotypes and ideograms than those previously published. Comparative genomic analyses among these three species using molecular cytogenetic approaches revealed differences between Peregrine and the other two species, but none between Saker falcon and Gyrfalcon. Also, this study has supported upgrading the fragmented Saker genome assembly to chromosome level using a novel approach hitherto only published for the Peregrine falcon (and pigeon). Secondly, a comparison of genome-wide BAC-based studies and bioinformatic analysis Multiple Genomes Rearrangement Algorithm 2 (MGRA2) ... |
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