Abstract
BackgroundThe genus Micronycteris is a diverse group of phyllostomid bats currently comprising 11 species, with diploid number (2n) ranging from 26 to 40 chromosomes. The karyotypic relationships within Micronycteris and between Micronycteris and other phyllostomids remain poorly understood. The karyotype of Micronycteris hirsuta is of particular interest: three different diploid numbers were reported for this species in South and Central Americas with 2n = 26, 28 and 30 chromosomes. Although current evidence suggests some geographic differentiation among populations of M. hirsuta based on chromosomal, morphological, and nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers, the recognition of new species or subspecies has been avoided due to the need for additional data, mainly chromosomal data.ResultsWe describe two new cytotypes for Micronycteris hirsuta (MHI) (2n = 26 and 25, NF = 32), whose differences in diploid number are interpreted as the products of Robertsonian rearrangements. C-banding revealed a small amount of constitutive heterochromatin at the centromere and the NOR was located in the interstitial portion of the short arm of a second pair, confirmed by FISH. Telomeric probes hybridized to the centromeric regions and weakly to telomeric regions of most chromosomes. The G-banding analysis and chromosome painting with whole chromosome probes from Carollia brevicauda (CBR) and Phyllostomus hastatus (PHA) enabled the establishment of genome-wide homologies between MHI, CBR and PHA.ConclusionsThe karyotypes of Brazilian specimens of Micronycteris hirsuta described here are new to Micronycteris and reinforce that M. hirsuta does not represent a monotypic taxon. Our results corroborate the hypothesis of karyotypic megaevolution within Micronycteris, and strong evidence for this is that the entire chromosome complement of M. hirsuta was shown to be derivative with respect to species compared in this study.
Highlights
The genus Micronycteris is a diverse group of phyllostomid bats currently comprising 11 species, with diploid number (2n) ranging from 26 to 40 chromosomes
Classical banding techniques together with chromosome painting has allowed the identification of chromosomal rearrangements that have occurred during karyotype evolution of the group and has confirmed the effectiveness of the probes produced for comparative studies of bats [14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25]
Karyotypic diversity in Micronycteris hirsuta Here we describe for the first time cytogenetic data of Micronycteris hirsuta from the Amazon Region, Brazil
Summary
The genus Micronycteris is a diverse group of phyllostomid bats currently comprising 11 species, with diploid number (2n) ranging from 26 to 40 chromosomes. The karyotype of Micronycteris hirsuta is of particular interest: three different diploid numbers were reported for this species in South and Central Americas with 2n = 26, 28 and 30 chromosomes. The big-eared bats genus Micronycteris Gray 1866 is an antique and diversified lineage of phyllostomids occurring from Mexico to Paraguay and throughout most parts of South America [1]. This lineage diverged from a sister group, Lampronycteris, approximately 23.2 million years ago (MYA) [2,3,4,5]. Classical banding techniques together with chromosome painting has allowed the identification of chromosomal rearrangements that have occurred during karyotype evolution of the group and has confirmed the effectiveness of the probes produced for comparative studies of bats [14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
