title: Karyotype and Mapping of Repetitive DNAs in the African Butterfly Fish Pantodon buchholzi, the Sole Species of the Family Pantodontidae.
abstract: The monophyletic order Osteoglossiformes represents one of the most ancestral groups of teleosts and has at least 1 representative in all continents of the southern hemisphere, with the exception of Antarctica. However, despite its phylogenetic and biogeographical importance, cytogenetic data in Osteoglossiformes are scarce. Here, karyotype and chromosomal characteristics of the lower Niger River population of the African butterfly fish Pantodon buchholzi, the sole species of the family Pantodontidae (Osteoglossiformes), were examined using conventional and molecular cytogenetic approaches. All specimens examined had 2n = 46 chromosomes, with a karyotype composed of 5 pairs of metacentric, 5 pairs of submetacentric, and 13 pairs of acrocentric chromosomes in both sexes. No morphologically differentiated sex chromosomes were identified. C-bands were located in the centromeric/pericentromeric region of all chromosomes and were associated with the single AgNOR site. FISH with ribosomal DNA probes revealed that both 5S and 18S rDNA were present in only 1 pair of chromosomes each, but did not colocalize. CMA3+ bands were observed near the telomeres in several chromosome pairs and also at the 18S rDNA sites. The mapping of di- and trinucleotide repeat motifs, Rex6 transposable element, and U2 snRNA showed a scattered distribution over most of the chromosomes, but for some microsatellites and the U2 snRNA also a preferential accumulation at telomeric regions. This study presents the first detailed cytogenetic analysis in the African butterfly fish by both conventional and molecular cytogenetic protocols. This is the first of a series of further cytogenetic and cytogenomic studies on osteoglossiforms, aiming to comprehensively examine the chromosomal evolution in this phylogenetically important fish order.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Fish Genetics, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Liběchov, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ráb
authors.forename: Cassia F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lavoué
authors.forename: Oladele I
authors.initials: OI
authors.lastname: Jegede
authors.forename: Luiz A C
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Bertollo
authors.forename: Tariq
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ezaz
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Majtánová
authors.forename: Ezequiel A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.forename: Marcelo B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Cioffi
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000818:Animals; D002871:Chromosome Banding; D020732:Cytogenetic Analysis; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D059785:Karyotype; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D010802:Phylogeny; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S