Distribution and characterization of microsatellites in the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) genome.
This study generates data concerning the genome of a flightless species of bird, the emu. We examined and ultimately rejected the following hypotheses:
- Microsatellites are randomly distributed throughout the emu genome.
- The relative order of abundance of dinucleotides will be constant across genomes.
- Interspersion distances for a given dinucleotide will be equal across vertebrate genomes.
- In all genomes, a dinucleotide will be more frequent than any trinucleotide.
- The percentage of single-copy DNA will remain the same in emus as in other volant birds.
A cosmid library representing 4.48% of the emu genome was probed with 23 microsatellites. Hybridizations were scored on a scale of 0-3. The average insert size, approximately 40 kb, was used to determine frequency and interspersion. The cosmid library was probed with genomic DNA to determine the percent single copy. Co-occurrence frequencies and confidence intervals were compared to expected using chi-squared. The genome is estimated to contain a microsatellite repeat every 48 kb. Of 1632 clones probed for single-copy DNA, 643 displayed maximal hybridization, 220 displayed moderate hybridization, and 202 had minimal hybridization. After 3 days, 567 showed no hybridization.
PMID: 12140269 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
J Hered. 2002 Mar-Apr;93(2):100-6.
Founded in 1989, The American Emu Association is a non-profit trade association representing breeders, producers and marketers of emu meat, oil and other emu co-products. The emu industry is an alternative agricultural industry, dominated by the small farmer, who is devoted to humane and environmentally positive practices that will produce beneficial products for society. For more information about the American Emu Association (AEA) or the emu industry visit https://aea-emu.org