Estudo citogenetico de Pseudopaludicola canga, P. mineira e P. saltica e de cinco populações de Pseudopaludicola sp. (Anura, Leiuperidae) / Cytogenetic study of Pseudopaludicola canga, P. mineira and P. saltica and five populations of Pseudopaludicola sp. (Anura, Leiuperidae)

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2008

RESUMO

The genus Pseudopaludicola, of the family Leiuperidae, comprises 12 frog species and is widely distributed in South America. In Brazil, nine species have been described within this genus. As based on morphological data, the Pseudopaludicola species were classified in two groups named "pusilla" and "falcipes". Although this genus has undergone several taxonomic changes, recent molecular analyses revealed still unclear intergeneric relationships. The high morphological similarities among diverse species of Pseudopaludicola, associated to their sympatry in several localities, suggest taxonomic misidentification which had been based only in morphological characteristics. Besides, recent studies seem to indicate the existence of cryptic Pseudopaludicola species in several Brazilian localities. Cytogenetics of Pseudopaludicola has been scarce and restricted to the determination of chromosome number and morphology. Further cytogenetic analysis can contribute to differentiate the Pseudopaludicola species and, therefore, improve the sistematics of this genus. The objective of this work was to analyze the karyotypes of several Brazilian Pseudopaludicola species aiming at providing their characterization and further understanding of their systematic relationships. The analyzed species were the P. mineira, P. canga and P. saltica, from their type-localities (Serra do Cipó, MG; Serra dos Carajás, PA, and Chapada dos Guimarães, MT, respectively), P. saltica from Uberlândia, MG, Pseudopaludicola aff. saltica from Rio Claro (SP), Pseudopaludicola aff. falcipes from Icém (SP), and specimens of Pseudopaludicola sp. 1, 2 and 3, respectively from Andaraí (BA), Barreirinhas (MA) and Uberlândia (MG). Metaphases were obtained from intestinal epithelium and testicular cell suspensions, and stained with Giemsa or submitted to silver staining, in order to detect the nucleolus organizing regions (Ag-NOR), and to C-banding technique for heterochromatin localization. As based on chromosome number, there were two groups of karyotypes, with 2n=22 and 2n=18. The species P. mineira, Pseudopaludicola sp.1, P. saltica and Pseudopaludicola aff. saltica had a diploid number of 2n=22. Pseudopaludicola mineira and Pseudopaludicola sp.1 differed in the morphology of pairs 7, 8 and 11, in the NOR location in the pair 8 and in the heterochromatin distribution. The P. saltica and Pseudopaludicola aff. saltica populations showed very similar chromosomal morphology and identical heterochromatin pattern, except for the pair 8. In P. saltica, the pair 8 was characterized as sex chromosomes XX?/XY?, being the X classified as telocentric and Y submetacentric, whereas in Psedopaludicola aff. saltica, in both male and female specimens, the homologues of pair 8 are telocentrics, heteromorphic in size with the heterochromatin block present only in the longer homologue. The pair 8 is the NOR-bearing chromosome in both P. saltica and Psedopaludicola aff. saltica. High similarity was observed among the karyotypes of P. canga, Pseudopaludicola sp.2, Pseudopaludicola sp.3 and Pseudopaludicola aff. falcipes, all of them with 2n=18 chromosomes. However, these karyotypes differed in the NOR location, which was on pair 3 in P. canga and Pseudopaludicola sp.2, and on pair 9 in Pseudopaludicola sp.3 and Pseudopaludicola aff. falcipes. These species had similar heterochromatic blocks, except for one C-band on the long arm of pair 2 in P. canga and Pseudopaludicola sp.2, which was not observed in Pseudopaludicola sp.3 e Pseudopaludicola aff. falcipes). The cytogenetic data clearly distinguished Pseudopaludicola sp.1 from the other known species of this genus with 22 chromosomes, and suggested that this could be a not yet described species. The identification of sex chromosomes XX?/XY? in P. saltica, is the first case of sex chromosomes reported in the genus Pseudopaludicola. A mechanism of fission followed by loss of the short arm in one of homologues of a submetacentric pair could explain the origin of the X chromosome in P. saltica. The size heteromorphism in the homologues of the pair 8 of Pseudopaludicola aff. saltica, with the NOR site and heterochromatin present only in one of the homologues, could be explained by unequal crossing-over. The species Pseudopaludicola canga and Pseudopaludicola sp.2 could not be cytogenetically distinguished, suggesting that they belong to the same taxon. Since all the analyzed karyotypes of 2n=18 were very similar, we may suggest that Pseudopaludicola sp.2, Pseudopaludicola sp.3 e Pseudopaludicola aff. falcipes should be included in the same group of P. canga, which is currently allocated in the "pusilla" group. In addition, the results indicated that Pseudopaludicola aff. falcipes (2n=18) is more closely related to P. canga (2n=18) than to P. falcipes (2n=22), although the specimens are morphologically very similar and their identification is not unequivocal. Ultimately, the data presented herein reinforce the necessity of a taxonomic revision of the genus Pseudopaludicola

ASSUNTO(S)

cytogenetics amphibians cariotipos sex chromosomes anfibio citogenetica pseudopaludicola karyotype pseudopaludicola cromossomos sexuais

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