Cytogenetic studies in Sparus auratus

n/

Cytogenetic analysis of Coregonus

The European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, widely distributed in freshwater of northern Europe and introduced into the major lakes of northern Italy, has been restocked in central Italian lakes. In accordance with current managing practices, a reduced number of spawners contribute to reproduction within each lake and a certain degree of isolation is to be expected between populations from different lakes, resulting in the rapid fixing of chromosomal changes. A detailed survey of three populations from different lakes was carried out using classical and molecular cytogenetic techniques, to verify if specific chromosomal markers are present in the distinct populations. The comparative analysis revealed intraspecific variability of NORs and fixed differences in their number in the three populations. A co-localization of major and minor rRNA genes on one chromosome site was also observed. The original data regarding the chromosome mapping of the (TTAGGG)n telomeric repeat obtained in this study, demonstrated their exclusively terminal distribution, and a conspicuous inter-chromosomal variation in the number of repeats. The results are compared with data available for populations from native geographic ranges

The first cytogenetic description of Euleptes europaea (Gené, 1839) from Northern Sardinia reveals the highest diploid chromosome number among sphaerodactylid geckos (Sphaerodactylidae, Squamata)

The karyotype of a sphaerodactylid gecko Euleptes europaea (Gené, 1839) was assembled for the first time in this species. It is made of 2n = 42 gradually decreasing in size chromosomes, the highest chromosome number so far acknowledged in the family Sphaerodactylidae. The second chromosome pair of the karyotype appears slightly heteromorphic in the male individual. Accordingly, FISH with a telomeric probe revealed an uneven distribution of telomeric repeats on the two homologues of this pair, which may be indicative of an XY sex-determination system in the species, to be further investigated

Comparative chromosome mapping of the rRNA genes and telomeric repeats in three Italian pine voles of the Microtus savii s.l. complex (Rodentia, Cricetidae)

Volume: 5Start Page: 247End Page: 25

Comparative cytogenetics of two species of ground skinks: <em>Scincella assata</em> and <em>S. cherriei</em> (Squamata: Scincidae: Lygosominae) from Chiapas, Mexico

Standard karyotypes of two species of the genus <em>Scincella</em>, <em>S. assata</em> and <em>S. cherriei</em>, both from Chiapas State, Mexico, were described for the first time. The diploid chromosome number was 28 in <em>S. assata</em>, whereas 30 in <em>S. cherriei</em>. The karyotypes of the two species, while differing in the number of microchromosomes, 14-15 in S. assata and 16-17 in S. cherriei, share four pairs of large metacentric, two pairs of medium-sized metacentric, and one particular pair (number 7) of chromosomes. Female S. assata carries chromosome pair 7 composed of two identical medium-sized subtelocentric chromosomes. This chromosome pair is heteromorphic in males of both species, i.e., one component of the pair is similar to the homomorphic chromosomes 7 of the <em>S. assata</em> female, while the other is nearly one-half the size of its counterpart and resembles a microchromosome. The homology of such externally different elements is deducted from the presence of an asymmetric bivalent in spermatocytes at diplotene-diakinesis. Female <em>S. cherriei</em> was not available. We suspect that the two Scincella species possess an XY sex determination system, as previously reported for the North American congeneric species, <em>S. lateralis</em>

Comparative cytogenetics of two species of ground skinks: Scincella assata and S. cherriei (Squamata: Scincidae: Lygosominae) from Chiapas, Mexico

Standard karyotypes of two species of the genus Scincella, S. assata and S. cherriei, both from Chiapas State, Mexico, were described for the first time. The diploid chromosome number was 28 in S. assata, whereas 30 in S. cherriei. The karyotypes of the two species, while differing in the number of microchromosomes, 14-15 in S. assata and 16-17 in S. cherriei, share four pairs of large metacentric, two pairs of medium-sized metacentric, and one particular pair (number 7) of chromosomes. Female S. assata carries chromosome pair 7 composed of two identical mediumsized subtelocentric chromosomes. This chromosome pair is heteromorphic in males of both species, i.e., one component of the pair is similar to the homomorphic chromosomes 7 of the S. assata female, while the other is nearly one-half the size of its counterpart and resembles a microchromosome. The homology of such externally different elements is deducted from the presence of an asymmetric bivalent in spermatocytes at diplotene-diakinesis. Female S. cherriei was not available. We suspect that the two Scincella species possess an XY sex determination system, as previously reported for the North American congeneric species, S. lateralis. © Firenze University Press

Detection of cryptic diversity in lizards (Squamata) from two Biosphere Reserves in Mesoamerica

A combined approach based on karyology and DNA taxonomy allowed us to characterize the taxonomic peculiarities in 10 Mesoamerican lizard species, belonging to six genera and five families, inhabiting two Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas, Mexico: La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve, and Montes Azules Biosphere. The karyotypes of four species, Phyllodactylus sp. 3 (P. tuberculosus species group) (2n = 38), Holcosus festivus (Lichtenstein et von Martens, 1856) (2n = 50), Anolis lemurinus Cope, 1861 (2n = 40), and A. uniformis Cope, 1885 (2n = 29–30) are described for the first time, the last one showing a particular X1X1X2X2/X1X2Y condition. In Aspidoscelis deppii (Wiegmann, 1834) (2n = 50) and Anolis capito Peters, 1863 (2n = 42), we found a different karyotype from the ones previously reported for these species. Moreover, in A. capito, the cytogenetic observation is concurrent with a considerable genetic divergence (9%) at the studied mtDNA marker (MT-ND2), which is indicative of a putative new cryptic species. The skink Scincella cherriei (Cope, 1893), showed high values of genetic divergence (5.2% at 16S gene) between the specimens from Montes Azules and those from Costa Rica and Nicaragua, comparable to the values typical of sister species in skinks. A lower level of genetic divergence, compatible with an intraspecific phylogeographic structure, has been identified in Lepidophyma flavimaculatum Duméril, 1851. These new data identify taxa that urgently require more in-depth taxonomic studies especially in these areas where habitat alteration is proceeding at an alarming rate

Characterization of the satellite DNA Msat-160 from species of Terricola (Microtus) and Arvicola (Rodentia, Arvicolinae)

In the subfamily Arvicolinae (Cricetidae, Rodentia) the satellite DNA Msat-160 has been so far described in only some species from the genus Microtus and in one species from another genus, Chionomys nivalis. Here we cloned and characterized this satellite in two new arvicoline species, Microtus (Terricola) savii and Arvicola amphibius (terrestris). We have also demonstrated, by PCR and FISH, its existence in the genomes of several other species from both genera. These results suggest that Msat-160 already occurred in the common ancestor of the four genera/subgenera of Arvicolinae (Microtus, Chionomys, Arvicola, and Terricola). In Arvicola and Terricola, Msat-160 showed the basic monomer length of 160 bp, although a higher-order repeat (HORs) of 640 bp could have been probably replacing the original monomeric unit in A. a. terrestris. Msat-160 was localized by FISH mostly on the pericentromeric regions of the chromosomes, but the signal intensity and the number of carrier chromosomes varied extremely even between closely related species, resulting in a species-specific pattern of chromosomal distribution of this satellite. Such a variable pattern most likely is a consequence of a rapid amplification and contraction of particular repeats in the pericentromeric regions of chromosomes. In addition, we proposed that the rapid variation of pericentromeric repeats is strictly related to the prolific species radiation and diversification of karyotypes that characterize Arvicolinae lineage. Finally, we performed phylogenetic analysis in this group of related species based on Msat-160 that results to be in agreement with previously reported phylogenies, derived from other molecular markers