RESUMO
B chromosomes occur in different species of the small characid fishes of the genus Moenkhausia. These supernumerary elements, that do not recombine with chromosomes of the standard A complement and follow their own evolutionary mechanism vary in number, morphology, and distribution. Here, we show karyotypic data of individuals of 2 populations of Moenkhausia oligolepis of the Brazilian Amazon (Pedro Correia and Taboquinha streams, Tocantins river basin), both with a diploid number of 50 chromosomes and karyotypic formula of 10m + 32sm + 8a. In addition to the normal complement, we also observed the occurrence of B chromosomes in the 2 populations with intra- and interindividual variation ranging from 0 to 10 Bs, independent of sex. The C-banding pattern evidenced heterochromatic blocks located mainly in the pericentromeric region of the chromosomes, while the B chromosomes appeared euchromatic. Silver-stained nucleolus organizer regions were identified in multiples sites, and some of these blocks were positive when stained with chromomycin A3. The karyotype analysis and the application of whole-chromosome painting in populations of M. oligolepis reinforce the conservation of the basal diploid number for the genus, as well as the evolutionary tendency in these fishes to carry B chromosomes. Both populations turned out to be in different stages of stability and expansion of their B chromosomes. We further suggest that the origin of these chromosomes is due to the formation of isochromosomes. Here, we identified a pair of complement A chromosomes involved in this process.
Assuntos
Characidae/genética , Instabilidade Cromossômica , Cromossomos/química , Cariotipagem/métodos , Animais , Brasil , Cromomicina A3/química , Bandeamento Cromossômico , Mapeamento Cromossômico , Feminino , Corantes Fluorescentes/química , Hibridização in Situ Fluorescente , Cariótipo , Masculino , Mitose , PloidiasRESUMO
Notolathyrus is a section of South American endemic species of the genus Lathyrus. The origin, phylogenetic relationship and delimitation of some species are still controversial. The present study provides an exhaustive analysis of the karyotypes of approximately half (10) of the species recognized for section Notolathyrus and four outgroups (sections Lathyrus and Orobus) by cytogenetic mapping of heterochromatic bands and 45S and 5S rDNA loci. The bulk of the parameters analyzed here generated markers to identify most of the chromosomes in the complements of the analyzed species. Chromosome banding showed interspecific variation in the amount and distribution of heterochromatin, and together with the distribution of rDNA loci, allowed the characterization of all the species studied here. Additionally, some of the chromosome parameters described (st chromosomes and the 45S rDNA loci) constitute the first diagnostic characters for the Notolathyrus section. Evolutionary, chromosome data revealed that the South American species are a homogeneous group supporting the monophyly of the section. Variation in the amount of heterochromatin was not directly related to the variation in DNA content of the Notolathyrus species. However, the correlation observed between the amount of heterochromatin and some geographical and bioclimatic variables suggest that the variation in the heterochromatic fraction should have an adaptive value.
Assuntos
DNA Ribossômico/genética , Evolução Molecular , Heterocromatina/genética , Cariótipo , Lathyrus/genética , Cromomicina A3/química , Mapeamento Cromossômico , DNA de Plantas/genética , Hibridização in Situ Fluorescente , Indóis/química , Lathyrus/classificação , América do SulRESUMO
Under specific technical conditions chromosome staining with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) permits characterization of heterochromatic regions as AT-rich (DAPI(+)) or AT-poor (DAPI(-)), especially when the chromosomes are counterstained with chromomycin A(3) (CMA), which preferentially binds to GC-rich DNA. DAPI(+) bands also often have been observed after C-banding or FISH. In these cases, however, it is not clear whether only AT-rich regions stain positively with DAPI or other heterochromatins with different base compositions also are stained. We evaluated the meaning of DAPI bands observed after C-banding and FISH using three plant species bearing different types of heterochromatin: DAPI(+)/CMA(-), DAP(-)/CMA(+) and DAPI(0)/CMA(0) (neutral bands). Additional tests were performed using propidium iodide, a fluorochrome without preferential affinity for AT or GC. Our results indicate that AT-rich heterochromatin stains as DAPI(+) bands after C-banding or FISH, but other kinds of heterochromatin also may be stained by DAPI.
Assuntos
Bandeamento Cromossômico/métodos , Heterocromatina/química , Indóis/química , Plantas/genética , Sequência Rica em At , Cromomicina A3/química , Corantes Fluorescentes , Sequência Rica em GC , Hibridização in Situ Fluorescente , Substâncias Intercalantes , Propídio/químicaRESUMO
Cytogenetic studies were carried out on seven specimens of Pimelodus heraldoi and sixteen specimens of Pimelodus sp., both from the Parana River basin. The two species had the same diploid number of 56 chromosomes: P. heraldoi with 22M+22SM+6ST+6A and FN of 106 and Pimelodus sp. with 24M+26SM+4ST+2A and FN of 110. NORs were found at the terminal position of the long arm of one pair of ST chromosomes. C-banding (CB) showed in the two species heterochromatin distributed in various chromosomes of the complement, mainly in telomeric regions and in a pair of metacentric chromosomes with strong heterochromatic staining in both telomeres. Treatment only with the fluorochrome CMA3 confirmed in Pimelodus heraldoi and Pimelodus sp. the nucleolar chromosome pair and showed other fluorescent bands. Combined treatment with CB+CMA3 enhanced fluorescent staining of chromosomes in the two fish species evidencing several bands, including in P. heraldoi a chromosome pair showing fluorescent staining in both telomeres.
Assuntos
Peixes-Gato/genética , Animais , Brasil , Cromomicina A3/química , Bandeamento Cromossômico/métodos , Cromossomos/genética , Cromossomos/ultraestrutura , Feminino , Cariotipagem , Masculino , Microscopia de FluorescênciaRESUMO
Chromosomes of a species of Eigenmannia presenting a X1X1X2X2:X1X2Y sex chromosome system, resulting from a Y-autosome Robertsonian translocation, were analyzed using the C-banding technique, chromomycin A3 (CMA3) and mithramycin (MM) staining and in situ digestion by the restriction endonuclease AluI. A comparison of the metacentric Y chromosome of males with the corresponding acrocentrics in females indicated that a C-band-positive, CMA3/MM-fluorescent and AluI digestion-resistant region had been lost during the process of translocation, resulting in a diminution of heterochromatin in the males. It is hypothesized that the presence of a smaller amount of G + C-rich heterochromatin in the sex chromosomes of the heteromorphic sex when compared with the homomorphic sex may be associated with the sex determination mechanism in this species and may be a more widely occurring phenomenon in fish with differentiated sex chromosomes than was initially thought.