Specific Organization of Ribosomal DNA Arrays in Squamata

A first report on structural organization of ribosomal DNA arrays in some members of the order Squamata is presented. The data obtained point to unusually small (for vertebrates) size of the rDNA repetitive unit (approximately, 10 to 15 kb) in the lizard species examined. Analysis of BAC library of Uta stansburiana (Iguania) showed that haploid genome of this lizard contained a single cluster, consisting of about ten rDNA repeats. Determination of the extent of rDNA unit repetition in some other representatives of the order Squamata, using the method of comparative real-time PCR, showed that the number of rDNA units varied from one or several dozens in Iguanina to several hundred repeats in Scincomorpha and Varonoidea. The results are discussed in terms of an ambiguous position of the infraorder Iguania on the evolutionary trees constructed based on morphological and molecular data.