No abstract

The karyotypes of three armored catfish species (Loricariidae) from the Iguaçu river, southern of the Brazil, were compared using different techniques: C-banding, Ag-NOR and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), which used 5S and 18S rDNAs and total Cot-1 fraction as probes. Hypostomus commersoni and Hypostomus derbyi presented 2n = 68 chromosomes, with karyotype formulae 12m+12sm+14st+30a and 12m+12sm+10st+34a, respectively; whereas Hypostomus myersi presented 2n = 74 chromosomes and 12m+16sm+12st+34a. The chromosomal localization of the Ag-NORs, 5S and 18S rDNAs differed in number of sites and chromosomal localization among the studied species. The total Cot-1 probe permitted the visualization of the repetitive DNA fraction in karyotypes of each species. Crosshybridizations using total Cot-1 probe revealed that these species have repetitive DNAs in common. However, this does not occur in H. commersoni in relation to the other species. The apparent karyotype similarity suggests a close relationship between the sympatric H. commersoni and H. derbyi species, but the small differences detected in the examined chromosomal markers indicate evolutionary divergence due to gene flow restriction among them. Hence, the present findings indicate different composition of repetitive sequences among studied species, which permit to infer its role in chromosomal differentiation of Hypostomus.

Anostomidae are a neotropical fish family rich in number of species. Cytogenetically, they show a conserved karyotype with 2n = 54 chromosomes, although they present intraspecific/interspecific variations in the number and chromosomal location of repetitive DNA sequences. The aim of the present study was to perform a comparative description of the karyotypes of two populations of Leporinusfriderici Bloch, 1794 and three populations of Leporellusvittatus Valenciennes, 1850. We used conventional cytogenetic techniques allied to fluorescence in situ hybridization, using 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and 5S rDNA, a general telomere sequence for vertebrates (TTAGGG)n and retrotransposon (RTE) Rex1 probes. The anostomids in all studied populations presented 2n = 54 chromosomes, with a chromosome formula of 32m + 22sm for L.friderici and 28m + 26sm for L.vittatus. Variations in the number and location of the 5S and 18S rDNA chromosomal sites were observed between L.friderici and L.vittatus populations and species. Accumulation of Rex1 was observed in the terminal region of most chromosomes in all populations, and telomere sequences were located just on all ends of the 54 chromosomes in all populations. The intraspecific and intergeneric chromosomal changes occurred in karyotype differentiation, indicating that minor chromosomal rearrangements had present in anostomid species diversification.

Anostomidae é uma família altamente especiosa entre os Characiformes, compreendendo 156 espécies válidas, as quais estão distribuídas na região Neotropical. Estudos citogenéticos com anostomídeos revelam que sua estrutura cariotípica é altamente conservada, com variações quanto a presença de cromossomos sexuais. O presente estudo teve como objetivo realizar a caracterização cariotípica de Leporinus cf. obtusidens e Leporellus vittatus da bacia do rio São Francisco, por meio de técnicas citogenéticas. As coletas foram realizadas no rio Piumhi, bacia do rio São Francisco, em Minas Gerais. Foram utilizados procedimentos citogenéticos convencionais (Giemsa, Ag-Rons e bandamentos C) aliados a citogenética molecular (hibridação in situ fluorescente com sondas de DNA ribossômico 18S e 5S). Ambas as espécies analisadas apresentaram 2n = 54 cromossomos, tipo metacêntricos e submetacêntricos, com número fundamental igual a 108. Leporinus cf. obtusidens apresentou sistema de cromossomos sexuais tipo ZZ/ZW, identificados pelo padrão de distribuição da heterocromatina constitutiva, com o cromossomo W quase inteiramente heterocromático e o cromossomo Z com apenas a região terminal heterocromática. Para Leporellus vittatus foram observadas marcações heterocromáticas nas regiões centroméricas e ausência de cromossomos sexuais. A FISH com sondas de rDNA 18S revelou marcação nas regiões terminais de um único par cromossômico para as duas espécies. O rDNA 5S também foi observada em apenas um par de cromossomos, localizado na posição terminal em Leporinus cf. obtusidens e intersticial de Leporellus vittatus. Estes dados corroboram o conservadorismo da macroestrutura cromossômica e indicam a necessidade de um aprofundamento no tocante a distribuição dos DNAs repetitivos nos genomas de Anostomidae.