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Cytogenetics of Synbranchiformes: a comparative analysis of two Synbranchus Bloch, 1795 species from the Amazon

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Abstract

Synbranchidae belongs to the Synbranchiformes and occurs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Mexico, and Central and South America. This family comprises four genera: Synbranchus, Ophisternon, Monopterus, and Macrotrema. Only two are known from the neotropical region, Ophisternon and Synbranchus. According to current classification, Synbranchus has three valid species: S. marmoratus (Bloch 1795), S. madeirae (Rosen and Rumney 1972), and S. lampreia (Favorito, Zanata and Assumpção 2005). Thus the present research is aimed to cytogenetically characterize (by classical and molecular methods) two syntopic species—S. aff. lampreia and S. madeirae—from the central Amazon basin to validate the taxonomy of both species and provide a revisionary discussion on the cytogenetics of Synbranchiformes. Synbranchus aff. lampreia was found to possess 2n = 44 chromosomes (6 m + 2st + 36a, NF = 50), while S. madeirae had 2n = 46 chromosomes (6 m + 2st + 38a, NF = 52). Constitutive heterochromatin was dominant in the centromeric and terminal regions of most of the chromosomes in both species, although the precise distribution patterns were species-specific. The nucleolar organizing region was single in S. aff. lampreia and multiple in S. madeirae, as indicated by both AgNO3 and hybridization using 18S rDNA probes. The 5S rDNA sites were located interstitially on the long arms of an acrocentric pair in both species, and the telomeric probe did not show any interstitial sites in either species. These data indicate the occurrence of interspecific karyotypic variability in Synbranchus and suggest that taxonomic review for this genus is necessary.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA) through the Research Institutional Projects, the graduate program of INPA Genética, Conservação e Biologia Evolutiva, PIPT/FAPEAM (grant number: 1749/08). Collecting was performed with a permit issued by the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA n. 10609-1/2007). NDMC was granted by Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisas do Estado do Amazonas FAPEAM. EF (process # 307536/2008-4) and JZ (process # 307464/2009-1) receive productivity grants from CNPq. This paper was reviewed by American Journal Experts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Genética Animal, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, 2936, Aleixo, Manaus, AM, CEP 69060-001, Brazil

    N. D. M. Carvalho, C. H. Schneider, M. L. Terencio & E. Feldberg

  2. Laboratório de Citogenômica Animal, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Estrada do Contorno 3000, Aleixo, Manaus, AM, CEP 69077-000, Brazil

    M. C. Gross

  3. Laboratório de Sistemática e Ecologia de Peixes, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, 2936, Aleixo, Manaus, AM, CEP 69060-001, Brazil

    J. Zuanon

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  1. N. D. M. Carvalho
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Correspondence to N. D. M. Carvalho.

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Carvalho, N.D.M., Gross, M.C., Schneider, C.H. et al. Cytogenetics of Synbranchiformes: a comparative analysis of two Synbranchus Bloch, 1795 species from the Amazon. Genetica 140, 149–158 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-012-9666-5

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