By using improved pulsed field gel electrophoresis conditions, the
molecular karyotype of the reference clone CL Brener selected for
Trypanosoma cruzi genome project was established. A total of 20 uniform
chromosomal bands ranging in size from 0.45 to 3.5 Megabase pairs (Mbp)
were resolved in a single run. The weighted sum of the chromosomal bands
was approximately 87 Mbp. Chromoblots were hybridized with 39 different
homologous probes, 13 of which identified single chromosomes. Several
markers showed linkage and four different linkage groups were identified,
each comprising two markers. Densitometric analysis suggests that most of
the chromosomal bands contain two or more chromosomes representing either
homologous chromosomes and/or heterologous chromosomes with similar sizes.
