Abstract
A highly debated problem in Acipenseridae taxonomy is whether Acipenser oxyrinchus (North American Atlantic sturgeon) and A. sturio (European Atlantic sturgeon) are true species: a detailed comparison of their karyotypes could provide relevant information. Here we describe for the first time the karyotype of A. oxyrinchus (2n = 121 ± 3), and its features, among which the constitutive heterochromatin, revealed by C-banding technique, the distribution of telomeric regions, and the 5S rRNA genes, detected by FISH. The results reveal that A. oxyrinchus and A. sturio karyotypes and features are quite similar. Moreover, comparing the results obtained through hybridization by FISH with HindIII and PstI satellite DNA in these and in other sturgeon species, no hybridization signals are detected in A. sturio and A. oxyrinchus, while A. stellatus and A. gueldenstaedtii show hybridization. Thus A. sturio and A. oxyrinchus appear very similar from a cytogenetic point of view: these and molecular data repeatedly point out that A. sturio and A. oxyrinchus represent a sister clade in comparison to all other sturgeon species up to now studied.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Artuykhin E, Vecsei P (1999) On the status of Atlantic sturgeon: conspecificity of European Acipenser sturio and the North American Acipenser oxyrhynchus. J Appl Ichthyol (Special Issue) 15(4–5):35–37
Birstein VJ, Bemis WE (1997) How many species are there within the genus Acipenser? Environ Biol Fish 48:157–163
Birstein VJ, DeSalle R (1998) Molecular phylogeny of Acipenserinae. Mol Phylogenet Evol 9:141–155
Birstein VJ, Doukakis P (2000) Molecular analysis of Acipenser sturio, L., 1758 and A. oxyrinchus Mitchill, 1815: A review. Bol Inst Esp Oceanogr 16:61–73
Chicca M, Suciu R, Ene C, Lanfredi M, Congiu L, Leis M, Tagliavini J, Rossi R, Fontana F (2002) Karyotype characterization of the stellate sturgeon, Acipenser stellatus, by chromosome banding and fluorescent in situ hybridization. J Appl Ichthyol 18:298–300
Choudhury A, Dick TA (1998) The historical biogeography of sturgeons (Osteichthyes : Acipenseridae): a synthesis of phylogenetics, palaeontology and palaeogeography. J Biogeog 25:623– 640
De La Hérran R, Ruiz Rejòn C, Ruiz Rejòn M, Garrido-Ramos MA (2001) The molecular phylogeny of the Sparidae (Pisces, Perciformes) based on two satellite DNA families. Heredity 87:691–697
Fontana F (2002) A cytogenetic approach to the study of taxonomy and evolution in sturgeons. J Appl Ichthyol 18:226–233
Fontana F, Colombo G (1974) The chromosomes of italian sturgeons. Experientia 30:739–742
Fontana F, Lanfredi M, Rossi R, Bronzi P, Arlati G (1995) Etablished cell lines from three sturgeon species. Sturgeon Quarterly 3(4):6–7
Fontana F, Tagliavini J, Congiu L, Lanfredi M, Chicca M, Laurenti C, Rossi R (1998) Karyotypic characterization of the great sturgeon, Huso huso, by multiple staining techniques and fluorescent in situ hybridization. Mar Biol 132:495–501
Fontana F, Tagliavini J, Congiu L (2001) Sturgeon genetics and cytogenetics: recent advancements and perspectives. Genetica 111:359–373
Gardiner BG (1984) Sturgeons as living fossils. In: Eldredge N, Stanley SM (eds) Living Fossils. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp 148–152
Garrido-Ramos MA, Soriguer MC, De la Herrán R, Jamilena M, Ruiz Rejón C, Domezain A, Hernando JA, Ruiz Rejón M (1997) Morphometric and genetic analysis as proof of the existence of two sturgeon species in the Guadalquivir river. Mar Biol 129:33–39
Krieger J, Fuerst PA (2002) Evidence for a slowed rate of molecular evolution in the Order Acipenseriformes. Mol Biol Evol 19:891–897
Lanfredi M, Congiu L, Garrido-Ramos MA, De La Herrán R, Leis M, Chicca M, Rossi R, Tagliavini J, Ruiz Rejón C, Ruiz Rejón M, Fontana F (2001) Chromosomal location and evolution of a satellite DNA family in seven sturgeon species. Chrom Res 9:47–52
Li MF, Marrayatt V, Annand C, Odense P (1985) Fish cell culture: two newly developed cell lines from Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus) and guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Can J Zool 63:2867–2874
Ludwig A, May B, Debus L, Jennekens I (2000) Heteroplasmy in the mtDNA control region of sturgeon (Acipenser, Huso and Scaphirhynchus). Genetics 156:1933–1947
Ludwig A, Belfiore NM, Pitra C, Svirsky V, Jenneckens I (2001) Genome duplication events and functional reduction of ploidy levels in sturgeon (Acipenser, Huso and Scaphirhynchus). Genetics 158:1203–1215
Ludwig A, Debus I, Lieckfeldt D, Wirgin I, Benecke N, Jenneckens I, Williot P, Waldman JR, Pitra C (2002) When the American sea sturgeon swam east. Nature 419:447–448
Magnin E, Beaulieau G (1963) Étude morphométrique comparée de l’Acipenser oxyrhynchus Mitchill du Saint-Laurent et l’Acipenser sturio Linné de la Gironde. Natur Can 90:5–38
Ong TL, Stabile J, Wirgin I, Waldman JR (1996) Genetic divergence between Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus and A. o. desotoi as assessed by mitochondrial DNA sequencing analysis. Copeia 1996:464–469
Robles F, De La Herrán R, Ludwig A, Ruiz Rejón C, Ruiz Rejón M, Garrido-Ramos MA (2004) Evolution of ancient satellite DNAs in sturgeon genomes. Gene 338:133–142
Robles F, De La Herrán R, Ludwig A, Ruiz Rejón C, Ruiz Rejón M, Garrido-Ramos MA (2005) Genomic organization and evolution of the 5S ribosomal DNA in the ancient fish sturgeon. Genome 48:18–28
Smith HM (1891) Report on the fisheries of the South Atlantic States. Bull U S Fish Comm 11:269–356
Tagliavini J, Williot P, Congiu L, Chicca M, Lanfredi M, Rossi R, Fontana F (1999) Molecular cytogenetic analysis of the karyotype of the European Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser sturio. Heredity 83:520–525
Tiedemann R, Moll K, Paulus KB, Scheer M, Williot P, Bartel R, Gessner J, Kirschbaum F (2006) Atlantic sturgeons (Acipenser sturio, Acipenser oxyrinchus): American females successful in Europe. Naturwissenschaften DOI 10.1007/s00114–006–0175-1
Vladykov VD (1955) A comparison of Atlantic sea sturgeon with a new subspecies from the Gulf of Mexico (Acipenser oxyrhynchus desotoi). J Fish Res Board Can 12:754–761
Wirgin II, Stabile JE, Waldman JR (1997) Molecular analysis in the conservation of sturgeons and paddlefish. Environ Biol Fish 48:385–398
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Dipl.-Biol. Jörn Geßner and Dr Sven Würtz, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany, for their help in the collection of the tissues. They also wish to thank Dr James Tagliavini, Department of Evolutionary and Functional Biology, University of Parma, and Dr Milvia Chicca, Department of Biology, University of Ferrara, for critically reviewing the manuscript. This research was supported by Italian Ministry of Instruction, University and Research (MIUR) grant n. DM219-22-12-05, National Relevant Interest Research Projects (PRIN), 2005, and from the Spanish Ministerio de Educaciòn y Ciencia (Ref. n. AGL2003-04716).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fontana, F., Lanfredi, M., Kirschbaum, F. et al. Comparison of karyotypes of Acipenser oxyrinchus and A. sturio by chromosome banding and fluorescent in situ hybridization. Genetica 132, 281–286 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-007-9171-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-007-9171-4