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Molecular cytogenetics of Astyanax ribeirae (Teleostei, Characidae), an endemic characin of the Atlantic rainforest

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Abstract

Astyanax ribeirae is a characin fish endemic to Ribeira de Iguape river basin, Brazil. Karyotypic analysis of the specimen from distinct geographic regions depicted similar karyotypic features, i.e. 2n = 50 constituting the 4 M + 10SM + 6ST + 30A and a fundamental number (FN) equal to 70. Further analysis on linear differentiation using silver nitrate staining, c-banding and rDNA localization revealed single NOR on ST/A chromosomes, heterochromatin blocks in the pericentromeric region of some chromosomes, and four 18S rDNA sites and six 5S rDNA sites, all located on ST/A chromosomes. FISH with As-51 satellite DNA probe presented no homology signals in chromosomes of A. ribeirae, indicating uniqueness of species within the genus Astyanax. The chromosomal and molecular cytogenetic data obtained on A. ribeirae specimens collected from Atlantic rainforest areas are discussed to elucidate relationship between this species and other species in the genus vis-à-vis chromosomal evolution of the group. This is the first report on cytogenetic analysis of Astyanax ribeirae.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank LR Malabarba LR and V Bertaco for the taxonomical identification, CE Lopes for the help with the samples, and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) for the financial support. The experiments comply with the current laws in Brazil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Genética Ecologica e Evolutiva, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Campus de Rio Paranaíba. Rodovia BR 354 - km 310, Po. Box 22, ZIP 38810-000, Rio Paranaíba, MG, Brazil

    Karine Frehner Kavalco & Rubens Pazza

  2. Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 277—Edifício André Dreyfus, Cidade Universitária, ZIP 05508090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Lurdes Foresti de Almeida-Toledo

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  1. Karine Frehner Kavalco
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  2. Rubens Pazza
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  3. Lurdes Foresti de Almeida-Toledo
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Correspondence to Karine Frehner Kavalco.

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Kavalco, K.F., Pazza, R. & de Almeida-Toledo, L.F. Molecular cytogenetics of Astyanax ribeirae (Teleostei, Characidae), an endemic characin of the Atlantic rainforest. Nucleus 53, 51–54 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13237-010-0006-9

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