title: International study on Artemia. LXII. Genomic relationships between Artemia franciscana and A. persimilis, inferred from chromocentre numbers.
abstract: Chromocentres, i.e. heavily stainable heterochromatic areas with highly repetitive DNA (a 130-bp repeat in the order of 6 x 105 copies per haploid genome) observed in the resting nucleus, are a reliable taxonomic trait and a good marker for speciation in Artemia. This chromosome marker was evaluated in populations of two New World sibling species: A. franciscana, from North, Central and South America, and A. persimilis from Argentina. Artemia persimilis showed the characteristically low average chromocentre numbers (<3) of the ancestral Mediterranean species, whilst higher numbers (>5) were seen in A. franciscana. The increase in chromocentre numbers from A. persimilis to A. franciscana occurred in a rather steady, continuous geographical pattern with an overlapping zone between both species. A north-south steady latitudinal decline of chomocentres was observed towards the equator in A. franciscana populations from the northern hemisphere, whilst the trait increased from this point towards southern latitudes with a population in Chilean Patagonia (below 52 degrees S) exhibiting the highest chromocentre frequency. Since chromocentres are positively correlated with repetitive DNA content, differentiation between the species through the amplification of heterochromatin or an increased DNA content in A. franciscana (although this species has a lower diploid chromosome number), might nevertheless reflect chromosomal reorganizations between the species. Chromocentres, together with other traits, reveal a probable hybrid zone between the two species in Chilean Patagonia.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetics & Aquaculture, Universidad de Los Lagos, PO Box 933, Osorno. ggajardo@ulagos.cl
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gajardo
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Beardmore
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sorgeloos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001156:Artemia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D002489:Central America; D002875:Chromosomes; D004247:DNA; D005819:Genetic Markers; D009656:North America; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D013020:South America; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D004247:DNA