Tesis
Estudos evolutivos no gênero Triportheus (Characiformes, Triportheidae) com enfoque na diferenciação do sistema de cromossomos sexuais ZZ/ZW
Fecha
2016-10-24Registro en:
Autor
Yano, Cassia Fernanda
Institución
Resumen
Triportheus genus (Characiformes, Triportheidae) presents a particular scenario 1 in fishes, with a
ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes system for all species until now investigated. The Z chromosome is
metacentric and the largest one of the karyotype, remaining morphologically conserved in all
species. In contrast, the W chromosome differs in shape and size among species, from almost
identical to markedly reduced in size in relation to the Z, with a clear heterochromatin accumulation
associated with its differentiation process. This scenario in Triportheus, along with a well defined
phylogeny for this group, provided an excellent opportunity to investigate the evolutionary events
associated with the sex chromosomes differentiation, a matter of increasing interest to evolutionary
biology in recent years. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the origin and
differentiation of sex chromosomes in eight Triportheus species, using diverse conventional and
molecular cytogenetics tools, such as C-banding, chromosomal mapping of rDNAs and several
other repetitive DNA sequences, comparat ive genomic hybridization (CGH), microdissection of Z
and W chromosomes and whole chromosome painting (WCP). The preferential accumulation of
repetitive DNAs on the W chromosome highlighted the predominant participation of these
sequences in the differentiation of this chromosome. Notably, the differential accumulation of
microsatellites, and a hybridization pattern with no direct correlation to the ancestry of the W
chromosome, put in evidence the particular evolutionary processes that shaped the sex-specific
chromosome among species. The chromosomal mapping of 5S and 18S rDNAs and U2 DNAsn
highlighted a very particular scenario in the distribution of these multigene families in Triportheus.
Indeed, the variability in number of the rDNA sites on the autosomes, as well as the syntenic
"status" of these three multigene families, showed their intense dynamism in the karyotype
evolution, revealing a much more complex organization of these genes than previously supposed for
closely related species. In addition, the occurrence of U2 DNAsn on the W chromosome of T. albus
appears as an evolutionary novelty, while the occurrence of 18S rDNA in the Wq terminal region of
all species pointed to a conserved condition for the genus, as well as a peculiarity in the
evolutionary process of the W chromosome. Noteworthy, the use of WCP, and especially CGH
experiments, put in evidence sequences which are shared by both Z and W chromosomes and
sequences that are unique to each one. Thus, the Wq terminal region stood out with a high
concentration of female specific sequences, in coincidence with the location of the 18S rDNA
genes, allowing inferences about the origin of these cistrons on the sex-specific chromosome. Our
data also showed that the ZZ/ZW system had, in fact, a common origin in Triportheus, considering
the homologies found in chromosomal paintings using the Z and W probes. Triportheus auritus is
the direct representative of the first lineage to differentiate in the genus and WCP experiments,
using the Z chromosome probe of this species, have showed how this chromosome is notably
conserved in all investigated species. On the other hand, the W chromosome showed variable
patterns of homology among species, highlighting the molecular divergence emerged along its
evolutionary history. In conclusion, the results obtained in this study allowed to certify the common
origin of the ZZ/ZW sex system in Triportheus and to evaluate the intra- and inter-specific genomic
homologies and differences between the sex pair, resulting in significant advances in the knowledge
of the origin and differentiation of the sex chromosomes among lower vertebrates.