Abstract
BackgroundThe Micronycterinae form a subfamily of leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) that contains the genera Lampronycteris Sanborn, 1949, and Micronycteris Gray, 1866 (stricto sensu), and is characterized by marked karyotypic variability and discrepancies in the phylogenetic relationships suggested by the molecular versus morphological data. In the present study, we investigated the chromosomal evolution of the Micronycterinae using classical cytogenetics and multidirectional chromosome painting with whole-chromosomes probes of Phyllostomus hastatus and Carollia brevicauda. Our goal was to perform comparative chromosome mapping between the genera of this subfamily and explore the potential for using chromosomal rearrangements as phylogenetic markers.ResultsThe Micronycterinae exhibit great inter- and intraspecific karyotype diversity, with large blocks of telomere-like sequences inserted within or adjacent to constitutive heterochromatin regions. The phylogenetic results generated from our chromosomal data revealed that the Micronycterinae hold a basal position in the phylogenetic tree of the Phyllostomidae. Molecular cytogenetic data confirmed that there is a low degree of karyotype similarity between Lampronycteris and Micronycteris specimens analyzed, indicating an absence of synapomorphic associations in Micronycterinae.ConclusionsWe herein confirm that karyotypic variability is present in subfamily Micronycterinae. We further report intraspecific variation and describe a new cytotype in M. megalotis. The cytogenetic data show that this group typically has large blocks of interstitial telomeric sequences that do not appear to be correlated with chromosomal rearrangement events. Phylogenetic analysis using chromosome data recovered the basal position for Micronycterinae, but did not demonstrate that it is a monophyletic lineage, due to the absence of common chromosomal synapomorphy between the genera. These findings may be related to an increase in the rate of chromosomal evolution during the time period that separates Lampronycteris from Micronycteris.
Highlights
IntroductionThe Micronycterinae form a subfamily of leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) that contains the genera Lampronycteris Sanborn, 1949, and Micronycteris Gray, 1866 (stricto sensu), and is characterized by marked karyotypic variability and discrepancies in the phylogenetic relationships suggested by the molecular versus morphological data
The Micronycterinae form a subfamily of leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) that contains the genera Lampronycteris Sanborn, 1949, and Micronycteris Gray, 1866, and is characterized by marked karyotypic variability and discrepancies in the phylogenetic relationships suggested by the molecular versus morphological data
Interstitial telomeric sequences (ITSs) are present at the distal portion of each chromosome, as well as in the centromeric regions of pairs 1, 2, 6, 7, 9–12, 14 and 15 (Fig. 2a). 18S rDNA sites are seen in the pericentromeric region of pair 13 (Fig. 2a)
Summary
The Micronycterinae form a subfamily of leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) that contains the genera Lampronycteris Sanborn, 1949, and Micronycteris Gray, 1866 (stricto sensu), and is characterized by marked karyotypic variability and discrepancies in the phylogenetic relationships suggested by the molecular versus morphological data. Micronycteris and Lampronycteris have been proposed to represent a more restricted clade belonging to subfamily Micronycterinae, which was thought to represent a basal group within the Phyllostomidae that diverged after the Macrotinae and before the Desmodontinae [6]. This phylogenetic proposal differed markedly from previous hypotheses, as it implied that the primitive features present in Micronycteris (lato sensu) were not evidence of monophyly but rather represent symplesiomorphies [6]. Others have suggested that the morphological evidence indicates that the Micronycterinae diverged from the rest of the Phyllostomidae after the Desmodontinae [10]
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