title: Is the Karyotype of Neotropical Boid Snakes Really Conserved? Cytotaxonomy, Chromosomal Rearrangements and Karyotype Organization in the Boidae Family.
abstract: Boids are primitive snakes from a basal lineage that is widely distributed in Neotropical region. Many of these species are both morphologically and biogeographically divergent, and the relationship among some species remains uncertain even with evolutionary and phylogenetic studies being proposed for the group. For a better understanding of the evolutionary relationship between these snakes, we cytogenetically analysed 7 species and 3 subspecies of Neotropical snakes from the Boidae family using different chromosomal markers. The karyotypes of Boa constrictor occidentalis, Corallus hortulanus, Eunectes notaeus, Epicrates cenchria and Epicrates assisi are presented here for the first time with the redescriptions of the karyotypes of Boa constrictor constrictor, B. c. amarali, Eunectes murinus and Epicrates crassus. The three subspecies of Boa, two species of Eunectes and three species of Epicrates exhibit 2n = 36 chromosomes. In contrast, C. hortulanus presented a totally different karyotype composition for the Boidae family, showing 2n = 40 chromosomes with a greater number of macrochromosomes. Furthermore, chromosomal mapping of telomeric sequences revealed the presence of interstitial telomeric sites (ITSs) on many chromosomes in addition to the terminal markings on all chromosomes of all taxa analysed, with the exception of E. notaeus. Thus, we demonstrate that the karyotypes of these snakes are not as highly conserved as previously thought. Moreover, we provide an overview of the current cytotaxonomy of the group.
authors: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Av. André Araujo 2936, Petrópolis, CEP: 69067-375 Manaus, AM, Brazil.
authors: Patrik F
authors: PF
authors: Viana
authors: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Av. André Araujo 2936, Petrópolis, CEP: 69067-375 Manaus, AM, Brazil.
authors: Leila B
authors: LB
authors: Ribeiro
authors: Criadouro Comercial Jiboias Brasil, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors: George Myller
authors: GM
authors: Souza
authors: Faculdades Integradas do Tapajós, Laboratório de Pesquisas Zoológicas, Santarém, PA, Brazil.
authors: Hipócrates de Menezes
authors: Hde M
authors: Chalkidis
authors: Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Rua General Rodrigo Otávio Num. 3000, Mini-Campus Coroado, CEP: 66077070 Manaus, AM, Brazil.
authors: Maria Claudia
authors: MC
authors: Gross
authors: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Av. André Araujo 2936, Petrópolis, CEP: 69067-375 Manaus, AM, Brazil.
authors: Eliana
authors: E
authors: Feldberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017821:Boidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D002875:Chromosomes; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000235:genetics; D059785:Karyotype; D009697:Nucleolus Organizer Region; D010802:Phylogeny; D016615:Telomere
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D006570:Heterochromatin