Análise citogenética em morcegos da família Emballonuridae (Chiroptera) da Amazônia Brasileira através de citogenética clássica e molecular

Abstract

This is the first description of the karyotypes of bats of the family Emballonuridae from the Brazilian Amazon region. The species studied were Cormura brevirostris-CBR (2n=22; NF=40), Rhynchonycteris naso-RNA (2n=22 and NF=36), Saccopteryx canescens-SCA (2n=24 and FN=38) and Saccopteryx leptura-SLE (2n=28 and NF=38), characterized by G-, C-banding, NOR-staining and Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH). In CBR the karyotypes found had the same diploid number and fundamental number than in literature. FISH with ribosomal DNA probes and Ag-NOR staining showed two NOR places. Hybridization with telomeric probes showed that the sequences were found in the centromeres of all chromosomes but the Y. Using meiotic studies, chromosome banding and FISH with a whole X chromosome probe from Phyllostomus hastatus (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) we suggest that the sex chromosome pair of this species is not the one described in the literature. Cells in diploid and diakinesis had a ring conformation with four chromosome pairs, what suggests multiple reciprocal translocations among these chromosomes, a very rare situation in vertebrates and never found in eutherian mammals. The analyses of RNA, SCA and SLE shows that the karyotypes of Emballonuridae are very conservative even when compared with samples collected geographically very far, but the C-banding analyses shows that it can happen intraspecific variations in the constitutive heterochromatin. For the first time the Nucleolar Organizer Regions were described, showing a stained pair of chromosomes on each analyzed species. The FISH with 18S rDNA probes agrees with the Ag-NOR staining. FISH with human telomeric probes showed hybridizations in the distal portion of all chromosomes. These works are Important to understand the biodiversity of bats from the Amazon region, as well as the comprehension of the chromosomal evolution of Chiroptera.