Texas A&M University researchers have produced the first detailed chromosome map of the aardwolf, revealing that its chromosomes remain remarkably similar to those of other hyenas and even domestic cats despite millions of years of separate evolution.
The study, published in the Journal of Heredity, was led by Dr. Terje Raudsepp, a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences’ Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, in collaboration with Twin Pine Conservation Institute (TPCI). The aardwolf, a termite-eating mammal native to Africa, is the least-studied member of the hyena family.
Prior to this research, the only known chromosome information was its count of 40, discovered in the 1960s.
To create the map, the team grew cells from a skin sample provided by TPCI and used a staining technique that highlights each chromosome with unique patterns. This allowed them to compare aardwolf chromosomes with those of spotted hyenas. The researchers found the structures nearly identical, with only three pairs showing differences.
The study also utilized chromosome-painting techniques to compare aardwolves with domestic cats. Although the species look different and diverged from a common ancestor roughly three times earlier than aardwolves and spotted hyenas did, their chromosomes showed significant similarity.
Mayra Mendoza, a doctoral student in Raudsepp’s lab and co-first author of the study, noted that while earlier studies had sequenced the aardwolf’s genome, the DNA remained divided among approximately 5,600 fragments. The new chromosome map provides a guide for organizing these pieces.
