Dense genetic maps of human, mouse, and rat genomes that are based on coding genes and on microsatellite and single-nucleotide polymorphism markers have been complemented by precise gene homolog alignment with moderate-resolution maps of livestock, companion animals, and additional mammal species. Comparative genetic assessment expands the utility of these maps in gene discovery, in functional genomics, and in tracking the evolutionary forces that sculpted the genome organization of modern mammalian species.

The homology between hylobatid chromosomes and other primates has long remained elusive. We used chromosomal in situ suppression hybridization of all human chromosome-specific DNA libraries to "paint" the chromosomes of primates and establish homologies between the human, great ape (chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan), and gibbon karyotypes (Hylobates lar species group, 2n = 44). The hybridization patterns unequivocally demonstrate the high degree of chromosomal homology and synteny of great ape and human chromosomes. Relative to human, no translocations were detected in great apes, except for the well-known fusion-origin of human chromosome 2 and a 5;17 translocation in the gorilla. In contrast, numerous translocations were detected that have led to the massive reorganization of the gibbon karyotype: the 22 autosomal human chromosomes have been divided into 51 elements to compose the 21 gibbon autosomes. Molecular cytogenetics promises to finally allow hylobatids to be integrated into the overall picture of chromosomal evolution in the primates.

A systematic fluorescence in situ hybridization comparison of macaque and human synteny organization disclosed five additional macaque evolutionary new centromeres (ENCs) for a total of nine ENCs. To understand the dynamics of ENC formation and progression, we compared the ENC of macaque chromosome 4 with the human orthologous region, at 6q24.3, that conserves the ancestral genomic organization. A 250-kilobase segment was extensively duplicated around the macaque centromere. These duplications were strictly intrachromosomal. Our results suggest that novel centromeres may trigger only local duplication activity and that the absence of genes in the seeding region may have been important in ENC maintenance and progression.

The past decade has witnessed an explosion of genome sequencing and mapping in evolutionary diverse species. While full genome sequencing of mammals is rapidly progressing, the ability to assemble and align orthologous whole chromosome regions from more than a few species is still not possible. The intense focus on building of comparative maps for companion (dog and cat), laboratory (mice and rat) and agricultural (cattle, pig, and horse) animals has traditionally been used as a means to understand the underlying basis of disease-related or economically important phenotypes. However, these maps also provide an unprecedented opportunity to use multispecies analysis as a tool for inferring karyotype evolution. Comparative chromosome painting and related techniques are now considered to be the most powerful approaches in comparative genome studies. Homologies can be identified with high accuracy using molecularly defined DNA probes for fluorescencein situhybridization (FISH) on chromosomes of different species. Chromosome painting data are now available for members of nearly all mammalian orders. In most orders, there are species with rates of chromosome evolution that can be considered as 'default' rates. The number of rearrangements that have become fixed in evolutionary history seems comparatively low, bearing in mind the 180 million years of the mammalian radiation. Comparative chromosome maps record the history of karyotype changes that have occurred during evolution. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of these recent advances in our endeavor to decipher the karyotype evolution of mammals by integrating the published results together with some of our latest unpublished results.