Contribució de la caracterització de la heterocromatina a l'estudi dels canvis cromosòmics que esdevenen en processos biològics de tipus evolutiu i patològic

Chromosomal reorganizations are related with evolution in speciation mechanisms and with pathologies in problems affecting health. Changes affecting euchromatin have been analyzed but not those affecting the heterochromatin. Heterochromatin has been considered to be non informative and very constant, and changes in the heterochromatin with no effects in phenotypic characteristics. Recently some methods allow us to subtype the heterochromatin showing that it is not as constant as it has been supposed to be. When comparing karyotypes it can be observed that in homologous chromosomes from different species the type of heterochromatin is not conserved. It has also been described that each species has predominantly a special subtype of heterochromatin specially in a non centromeric localization. These observations allow to suppose that the heterochromatin may have an important paper in the processes of macro evolution. The aim of this project is to study the heterochromatin in rlation to chromosomal changes occurring in biological processes.