Distribution of GC-rich heterochromatin and ribosomal genes in three fungus-farming ants (Myrmicinae, Attini, Attina): insights on chromosomal evolution

Cytogenetic studies on fungus-farming ants have shown remarkable karyotype diversity, suggesting different chromosomal rearrangements involved in karyotype evolution in some genera. A notable cytogenetic characteristic in this ant group is the presence of GC-rich heterochromatin in the karyotypes of...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Gisele Amaro Teixeira, Luísa Antônia Campos Barros, Hilton Jeferson Alves Cardoso de Aguiar, Denilce Meneses Lopes
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Pensoft Publishers 2021
Materias:	Genetics QH426-470
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/04651d6242fd42dea7aee8325bc86385
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:04651d6242fd42dea7aee8325bc86385
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:04651d6242fd42dea7aee8325bc863852021-11-27T04:30:25ZDistribution of GC-rich heterochromatin and ribosomal genes in three fungus-farming ants (Myrmicinae, Attini, Attina): insights on chromosomal evolution10.3897/compcytogen.v15.i4.737691993-078Xhttps://doaj.org/article/04651d6242fd42dea7aee8325bc863852021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://compcytogen.pensoft.net/article/73769/download/pdf/https://compcytogen.pensoft.net/article/73769/download/xml/https://compcytogen.pensoft.net/article/73769/https://doaj.org/toc/1993-078XCytogenetic studies on fungus-farming ants have shown remarkable karyotype diversity, suggesting different chromosomal rearrangements involved in karyotype evolution in some genera. A notable cytogenetic characteristic in this ant group is the presence of GC-rich heterochromatin in the karyotypes of some ancient and derivative species. It was hypothesized that this GC-rich heterochromatin may have a common origin in fungus-farming ants, and the increase in species studied is important for understanding this question. In addition, many genera within the subtribe Attina have few or no cytogenetically studied species; therefore, the processes that shaped their chromosomal evolution remain obscure. Thus, in this study, we karyotyped, through classical and molecular cytogenetic techniques, the fungus-farming ants Cyphomyrmex transversus Emery, 1894, Sericomyrmex maravalhas Ješovnik et Schultz, 2017, and Mycetomoellerius relictus (Borgmeier, 1934), to provide insights into the chromosomal evolution in these genera and to investigate the presence the GC-rich heterochromatin in these species. Cyphomyrmex transversus (2n = 18, 10m + 2sm + 6a) and S. maravalhas (2n = 48, 28m + 20sm) showed karyotypes distinct from other species from their genera. Mycetomoellerius relictus (2n = 20, 20m) presented the same karyotype as the colonies previously studied. Notably, C. transversus presented the lowest chromosomal number for the genus and a distinct karyotype from the other two previously observed for this species, showing the existence of a possible species complex and the need for its taxonomic revision. Chromosomal banding data revealed GC-rich heterochromatin in all three species, which increased the number of genera with this characteristic, supporting the hypothesis of a common origin of GC-rich heterochromatin in Attina. Although a single chromosomal pair carries rDNA genes in all studied species, the positions of these rDNA clusters varied. The rDNA genes were located in the intrachromosomal region in C. transversus and M. relictus, and in the terminal region of S. maravalhas. The combination of our molecular cytogenetic data and observations from previous studies corroborates that a single rDNA site located in the intrachromosomal region is a plesiomorphic condition in Attina. In addition, cytogenetic data obtained suggest centric fission events in Sericomyrmex Mayr, 1865, and the occurrence of inversions as the origin of the location of the ribosomal genes in M. relictus and S. maravalhas. This study provides new insights into the chromosomal evolution of fungus-farming ants.Gisele Amaro TeixeiraLuísa Antônia Campos BarrosHilton Jeferson Alves Cardoso de AguiarDenilce Meneses LopesPensoft PublishersarticleGeneticsQH426-470ENComparative Cytogenetics, Vol 15, Iss 4, Pp 413-428 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Genetics QH426-470
spellingShingle	Genetics QH426-470 Gisele Amaro Teixeira Luísa Antônia Campos Barros Hilton Jeferson Alves Cardoso de Aguiar Denilce Meneses Lopes Distribution of GC-rich heterochromatin and ribosomal genes in three fungus-farming ants (Myrmicinae, Attini, Attina): insights on chromosomal evolution
description	Cytogenetic studies on fungus-farming ants have shown remarkable karyotype diversity, suggesting different chromosomal rearrangements involved in karyotype evolution in some genera. A notable cytogenetic characteristic in this ant group is the presence of GC-rich heterochromatin in the karyotypes of some ancient and derivative species. It was hypothesized that this GC-rich heterochromatin may have a common origin in fungus-farming ants, and the increase in species studied is important for understanding this question. In addition, many genera within the subtribe Attina have few or no cytogenetically studied species; therefore, the processes that shaped their chromosomal evolution remain obscure. Thus, in this study, we karyotyped, through classical and molecular cytogenetic techniques, the fungus-farming ants Cyphomyrmex transversus Emery, 1894, Sericomyrmex maravalhas Ješovnik et Schultz, 2017, and Mycetomoellerius relictus (Borgmeier, 1934), to provide insights into the chromosomal evolution in these genera and to investigate the presence the GC-rich heterochromatin in these species. Cyphomyrmex transversus (2n = 18, 10m + 2sm + 6a) and S. maravalhas (2n = 48, 28m + 20sm) showed karyotypes distinct from other species from their genera. Mycetomoellerius relictus (2n = 20, 20m) presented the same karyotype as the colonies previously studied. Notably, C. transversus presented the lowest chromosomal number for the genus and a distinct karyotype from the other two previously observed for this species, showing the existence of a possible species complex and the need for its taxonomic revision. Chromosomal banding data revealed GC-rich heterochromatin in all three species, which increased the number of genera with this characteristic, supporting the hypothesis of a common origin of GC-rich heterochromatin in Attina. Although a single chromosomal pair carries rDNA genes in all studied species, the positions of these rDNA clusters varied. The rDNA genes were located in the intrachromosomal region in C. transversus and M. relictus, and in the terminal region of S. maravalhas. The combination of our molecular cytogenetic data and observations from previous studies corroborates that a single rDNA site located in the intrachromosomal region is a plesiomorphic condition in Attina. In addition, cytogenetic data obtained suggest centric fission events in Sericomyrmex Mayr, 1865, and the occurrence of inversions as the origin of the location of the ribosomal genes in M. relictus and S. maravalhas. This study provides new insights into the chromosomal evolution of fungus-farming ants.
format	article
author	Gisele Amaro Teixeira Luísa Antônia Campos Barros Hilton Jeferson Alves Cardoso de Aguiar Denilce Meneses Lopes
author_facet	Gisele Amaro Teixeira Luísa Antônia Campos Barros Hilton Jeferson Alves Cardoso de Aguiar Denilce Meneses Lopes
author_sort	Gisele Amaro Teixeira
title	Distribution of GC-rich heterochromatin and ribosomal genes in three fungus-farming ants (Myrmicinae, Attini, Attina): insights on chromosomal evolution
title_short	Distribution of GC-rich heterochromatin and ribosomal genes in three fungus-farming ants (Myrmicinae, Attini, Attina): insights on chromosomal evolution
title_full	Distribution of GC-rich heterochromatin and ribosomal genes in three fungus-farming ants (Myrmicinae, Attini, Attina): insights on chromosomal evolution
title_fullStr	Distribution of GC-rich heterochromatin and ribosomal genes in three fungus-farming ants (Myrmicinae, Attini, Attina): insights on chromosomal evolution
title_full_unstemmed	Distribution of GC-rich heterochromatin and ribosomal genes in three fungus-farming ants (Myrmicinae, Attini, Attina): insights on chromosomal evolution
title_sort	distribution of gc-rich heterochromatin and ribosomal genes in three fungus-farming ants (myrmicinae, attini, attina): insights on chromosomal evolution
publisher	Pensoft Publishers
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/04651d6242fd42dea7aee8325bc86385
work_keys_str_mv	AT giseleamaroteixeira distributionofgcrichheterochromatinandribosomalgenesinthreefungusfarmingantsmyrmicinaeattiniattinainsightsonchromosomalevolution AT luisaantoniacamposbarros distributionofgcrichheterochromatinandribosomalgenesinthreefungusfarmingantsmyrmicinaeattiniattinainsightsonchromosomalevolution AT hiltonjefersonalvescardosodeaguiar distributionofgcrichheterochromatinandribosomalgenesinthreefungusfarmingantsmyrmicinaeattiniattinainsightsonchromosomalevolution AT denilcemeneseslopes distributionofgcrichheterochromatinandribosomalgenesinthreefungusfarmingantsmyrmicinaeattiniattinainsightsonchromosomalevolution
_version_	1718409207303110656

Distribution of GC-rich heterochromatin and ribosomal genes in three fungus-farming ants (Myrmicinae, Attini, Attina): insights on chromosomal evolution

Ejemplares similares