Comparing to its sister-family (Rhinolophidae), Hipposideridae was less studied by cytogenetic approaches. Only a few high-resolution G-banded karyotypes have been reported so far, and most of the conclusions on the karyotypic evolution in Hipposideridae were based on conventional Giemsa-staining. In this study, we applied comparative chromosome painting, a method of choice for genome-wide comparison at the molecular level, and G- and C-banding to establish comparative map between five hipposiderid species from China, using a whole set of chromosome-specific painting probes from one of them (Aselliscus stoliczkanus). G-band and C-band comparisons between homologous segments defined by chromosome painting revealed that Robertsonian translocations, paracentric inversions and heterochromatin addition could be the main mechanism of chromosome evolution in Hipposideridae. Comparative analysis of the conserved chromosomal segments among five hipposiderid species and outgroup species suggests that bi-armed chromosomes should be included into the ancestral karyotype of Hipposideridae, which was previously believed to be exclusively composed of acrocentric chromosomes.
Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Some lung cancer patients correlate with a gas of radon besides smoking. To search for common chromosomal aberrations in lung cancer cell lines established from patients induced by different factors, a combined approach of chromosome sorting, forward and reverse chromosome painting was used to characterize karyotypes of two lung adenocarcinoma cell lines: A549 and GLC-82 with the latter line derived from a patient who has suffered long-term exposure to environmental radon gas pollution. The chromosome painting results revealed that complex chromosomal rearrangements occurred in these two lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Thirteen and twenty-four abnormal chromosomes were identified An A549 and GLC-82 cell lines, respectively. Almost half of abnormal chromosomes in these two cell lines were formed by non-reciprocal translocations, the others were derived from deletions and duplication/or amplification in some chromosomal regions. Furthermore, two apparently common breakpoints, HSA8q24 and 12q14 were found in these two lung cancer cell lines.