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An XX/XY Sex Chromosome System in a Fish Species, Hoplias malabaricus, with a Polymorphic NOR-Bearing X Chromosome

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Abstract

Cytogenetic studies were carried out in the fish, Hoplias malabaricus, from the Parque Florestal do Rio Doce (Brazil). This population is characterized by 2n = 42 chromosomes for both males and females and an XX/XY sex chromosome system, confirmed through several banding methods. Females show 24 metacentric, 16 submetacentric and 2 subtelocentric chromosomes. Males show 24 metacentric, 17 submetacentric and 1 subtelocentric chromosomes. While the X chromosome is easily recognized (the only subtelocentric element), the Y chromosome is somewhat difficult to identify but appears to correspond to the smallest submetacentric in the male karyotype. In-situ hybridization with an 18S rDNA probe showed 10 well-labeled chromosomes, including the X chromosome. The 5S rDNA is interstitially located in a single metacentric pair independent of the 18S rDNA sites. The NOR on the X chromosome is always active and occurs adjacent to a heterochromatic distal segment on the long arm. Variations in size of the NORs and/or heterochromatic segment correspond to a polymorphic size condition observed in the X chromosome. The present results confirm the XX/XY sex chromosome system in the population analyzed as well as a new cytotype in the Hoplias malabaricus group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ciências Morfo-Biológicas, FURG, RS, Brazil

    Guassenir Gonçalves Born

  2. Departamento de Genética e Evoluçbo, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, C.P. 676, 13565-905, Sbo Carlos, SP, Brazil

    Luiz Antonio Carlos Bertollo

Authors
  1. Guassenir Gonçalves Born
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  2. Luiz Antonio Carlos Bertollo
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Born, G.G., Bertollo, L.A.C. An XX/XY Sex Chromosome System in a Fish Species, Hoplias malabaricus, with a Polymorphic NOR-Bearing X Chromosome. Chromosome Res 8, 111–118 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009238402051

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