Genome size of Medakafish

The size is one-half of the zebrafish genome,
and two times of the pufferfish genome.

Medaka genome size
Uwa and Iwata (1981) reported medaka (Oryzias latipes) karyotype shows 48 chromosomes (2n = 48) consisting of one pair of subtelocentrics and 23 pairs of acrocentrics. They further showed that the amount of DNA per nucleus is recalculated to be 1.7 pg (= 0.8 pg/haploid DNA) when carp erythrocyte nucleus was used as a standard (Uwa and Iwata, 1981), though in 1972, Hinegardner and Rosen obtained the value as 2.2 pg (= 1.1 pg/haploid DNA). Based on this result, Tanaka (1995) estimated the entire length of the medaka genome to be 680-850 Mb.

The haploid genome of zebrafish contains 1.8 pg/haploid DNA ( Hinegardner and Rosen,1972). Using this value, Postlethwait et al. (1994) estimated the length of the zebrafish genome to be about 1,700 Mb.

Thus, the genome size of medakafish corresponds to one-fourth to one-fifth of the entire human genome, one-half of the zebrafish genome, and two times of the pufferfish ("fugu" in Jpn) genome (ca. 400 Mb ).

Recently, Lamatsch et al. (2000) re-estimated the genome size of medakafish, zebrafish and pufferfish. They showed that Oryzias latipes (Medaka) exhibits a nuclear DNA content of 2.2 pg, Danio rerio (zebrafish) 4.6 pg, Tetraodon fluviatilis (freshwater fugu) 0.70 pg. All values except zebrafish are in good agreement with the literature.

Lamatsch DK, Steinlein C, Schmid M, Schartl M
Noninvasive determination of genome size and ploidy level in fishes by flow cytometry: detection of triploid Poecilia formosa.
Cytometry. 2000 Feb;39(2):91-95.
Tanaka, M. 1995.
Minoru Tanaka
Characteristics of medaka genes and their promoter regions.
Fish Biol. J. Medaka 7 : 11-14 (1995).
Postlethwait JH,1994.
Postlethwait JH, Johnson SL, Midson CN, Talbot WS, Gates M, Ballinger EW, Africa D, Andrews R, Carl T, Eisen JS, Horne S, Kimmel CB, Hutchinson M, Johnson M, Rodrigues A
A genetic linkage map of the zebrafish.
Science 126: 699-703 (1994).
Uwa, H. 1981
Uwa H, Iwata A
Karyotype and cellular DNA content of Oryzias javanicus (Oryziatidae, Pisces)
Chromosome Inform. Service 31, 24-26 (1981)

Hinegardner R 1972
Hinegardner R. and Rosen D.E.
Cellular DNA content and the evolution of teleostean fishes.
Amer. Nat. 106: 621-644 (1972).

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