Abstract
The genus Makalata is a taxonomically complex group of rodents on which few cytogenetic studies have been performed. Most of the published karyotypes were described based only on conventional chromosome staining. Here, we studied the karyotypes of Makalata from two Brazilian Amazonian states, Amapá and Pará, by Giemsa-staining, G- and C-banding, AgNO3-staining and FISH with 18S rDNA and telomeric sequences probes. We observed 2n = 66/FN = 124 in the Pará state population in Makalata sp; and 2n = 72/FN = 128 in the Amapá state population in M. didelphoides. Multiple chromosome rearrangements may have given rise to these karyotypes, which differ significantly from each other and from those reported in the literature. The chromosomal differences among the described Makalata karyotypes can act as a barrier to gene flow; since they are also associated with geographic barriers (e.g., rivers) and numerous molecular differences, they could be seen as evidence for reproductive isolation of populations from genus Makalata. Our data suggest that the genus is chromosomally diverse and the karyotypes may belong to different species. These karyotypes may prove useful as taxonomic markers for these rodents.
Highlights
Echimyidae is considered to be the most ecologically, taxonomically and morphologically diverse family of South American Hystricognathi rodents [1, 2]; there are nine genera and approximately 36 species, and the members are predominantly arboreal [2]
The skins and skulls of the analyzed vouchers were deposited at the Museu Paraense Emılio Goeldi (MPEG), Belem City, Para State, Brazil, and at the Instituto de Pesquisas Cientıficas e Tecnologicas do Estado do Amapa (IEPA), Macapa City, Amapa State, Brazil
In pairs 1 and 12, the Constitutive heterochromatin (CH) occurs in the pericentromeric region
Summary
Echimyidae is considered to be the most ecologically, taxonomically and morphologically diverse family of South American Hystricognathi rodents [1, 2]; there are nine genera and approximately 36 species, and the members are predominantly arboreal [2]. Makalata (Husson, 1978) is a genus of Echimyinae that has arboreal and nocturnal habits and has adapted to the floodplain forests (e.g., varzea and igapo); these rodents usually have short legs, long backs, and coarse thorn-shaped fur along their bodies and long tails [3,4,5]. This genus is distributed from Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, the islands of Trinidad and Tobago and Peru, to the Amazon and Brazilian Northeast Region [5,6,7]. Financial Disclosure: The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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