Animal Probes and ZOO-FISH

The invention of cross-species chromosome painting (ZOO-FISH) represents the most significant technical breakthrough in animal cytogenetics since the introduction of chromosomal banding techniques in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It has made it possible to compare the karyotypes of virtually any two vertebrate species that diverged up to 100 million years ago. With the availability of paint probes for more and more vertebrate species, the impact of ZOO-FISH on animal comparative cytogenetics is becoming far-reaching, leading to the great progress in cytogenetics and cytogenomics. Two detailed protocols for cross-species chromosome painting are provided here.