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Flow cytometric determination of genome size for eight commercially important fish species in China

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Abstract

The genome size (C value) of eight commercially important fish species in China was measured using flow cytometry. Chicken (Gallus domesticus) erythrocytes were used as reference cells. When using propidium iodide (PI) as the fluorescent dye, genome sizes were 1.09 ± 0.08, 2.75 ± 0.12, 1.05 ± 0.05, 1.35 ± 0.11, 0.99 ± 0.05, 0.90 ± 0.08, 0.90 ± 0.07, and 0.88 ± 0.07 pg for Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica), mullet (Myxocyprinus asiaticus), yellowcheek carp (Elopichthys bambusa), blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala), yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco), ricefield eel (Monopterus albus), mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi), and snakehead (Ophicephalus argus), respectively. However, genome sizes were 1.25 ± 0.00, 3.08 ± 0.02, 1.25 ± 0.00, 1.57 ± 0.01, 0.96 ± 0.01, 1.00 ± 0.01, 0.91 ± 0.01, and 0.89 ± 0.01 pg for these fishes, respectively, when 4′, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) was used as the fluorescent dye. Regardless of the dye used, the more evolutionarily advanced species had a smaller genome size than those with a lower evolutionary status. For each species, we also measured the size of erythrocytes and their nucleus and evaluated the relationships between erythrocyte size, nucleus size, chromosome number, and genome size. Genome size was positively correlated with erythrocyte nucleus size and chromosome number when using PI as the fluorescent dye, but it was only correlated with erythrocyte nucleus size when DAPI was used.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the earmarked fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System entitled “Staple Freshwater Fishery Industry Technology System” (no. CARS-46-05) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (no. 2011PY023).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Fisheries, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430-070, China

    Dongmei Zhu, Wen Song, Kun Yang, Xiaojuan Cao & Weiming Wang

  2. Department of Biosciences, Comsats Institute of Information Technology, Sahiwal, 570-00, Pakistan

    Yasmeen Gul

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  1. Dongmei Zhu
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  2. Wen Song
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  3. Kun Yang
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  4. Xiaojuan Cao
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Correspondence to Weiming Wang.

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Editor: T. Okamoto

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Zhu, D., Song, W., Yang, K. et al. Flow cytometric determination of genome size for eight commercially important fish species in China. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Animal 48, 507–517 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-012-9543-7

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