Accepted_test
Tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus) is a part of the deer family (Cervidae) and is the only member of genus Elaphodus. The phylogenetic position of the species is still a matter of debate, however, according to recent studies, the genus Elaphodus is considered to be a sister genus to Muntiacus, and belongs to the same monophyletic group with muntjacs (Muntiacini). The tribe Muntiacini is one of the most interesting for cytogenetics due to numerous chromosome fusions in the karyotypes of these species. Despite the close attention of researchers to muntjacs and a large number of cytogenetic and genomic studies, the tufted deer, a species recognized as endangered, has been studied relatively superficially to other representatives of its tribe. The aim of our work was to obtain the most complete data possible on the organization of tufted deer karyotype. 75 BAC clones corresponding to 29 cattle autosomes and 29 BAC clones from the cattle X chromosome were localized on the tufted deer chromosomes. The first comparative chromosome map of a tufted deer with cattle BAC clones was obtained. The order of the cattle BAC clones showed that the tufted deer karyotype was formed by tandem fusions. FISH results showed one fusion, one fission and an inversion compared to ancestral karyotype. During the evolution of the X chromosome in tufted deer, an autosomal translocation and accumulation of a large block of heterochromatin occurred, but the X chromosome retains the order of conservative segments characteristic of Cervinae subfamily.