Chromosome Diversification in Antarctic Fish
(Notothenioidei)
Eva Pisano I , Catherine Ozouf-Costaz 2 , and Valentina Prirodina 3
IInstitute of Comparative Anatomy, University of Genova, Italy
2Museum of Natural History, Paris, France
3Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
Introduction
During recent years cytogenetic studies on Antarctic fish have received
increasing attention [1-4]. Representatives from all the families of the
Notothenioidei suborder have been studied in High Antarctic, SubAntarctic
and cold-PeriAntarctic regions (Fig. 1).
The diploid number and chromosomal morphology are known for 63
species ofNotothenioidei. These data represent a relatively high percentage
of the cytogenetic information available for perciform fish [5].
Patterns of chromosomal differentiation have been described and
interpretations of the karyological data have been attempted. However, it is
clear that for phylogenetic analyses classical data are limited [4,6,7]. More
recently, the development of banding studies and the introduction of
molecular cytogenetic methods promise to add a new dimension to analyses
of a wide range of evolutionary problems [7,8].
In this report we summarize the broad patterns of chromosomal
diversification of Notothenioidei. We focus on cytogenetic evidence in
"bovichtids," on intraspecific polymorphism, and on phylogenetic inference
of chromosome character analysis.
The monophyly of the Notothenioidei is still an unproven hypothesis that
merits further investigations (Bargelloni and Lecointre, this Vol.).
Therefore, the chromosomal data are discussed in relation to the
classification of the suborder in the eight families of Bovichtidae,
Pseudaphritidae,
Eleginopsidae,
Nototheniidae,
Harpagiferidae,
Artedidraconidae, Bathydraconidae, Channichthyidae [9].
Karyotypic Patterns
Among the suborder Notothenioidei the most frequent diploid number is
48. This diploid number is also found in 211 of 660 species of Perciformes
so far karyotyped [5].
G. di Prisco, E. Pisano, A. Clarke (Eds)
Fishes of Antarctica. A biological overview
© Springer-Verlag Italia 1998
(Notothenioidei)
Eva Pisano I , Catherine Ozouf-Costaz 2 , and Valentina Prirodina 3
IInstitute of Comparative Anatomy, University of Genova, Italy
2Museum of Natural History, Paris, France
3Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
Introduction
During recent years cytogenetic studies on Antarctic fish have received
increasing attention [1-4]. Representatives from all the families of the
Notothenioidei suborder have been studied in High Antarctic, SubAntarctic
and cold-PeriAntarctic regions (Fig. 1).
The diploid number and chromosomal morphology are known for 63
species ofNotothenioidei. These data represent a relatively high percentage
of the cytogenetic information available for perciform fish [5].
Patterns of chromosomal differentiation have been described and
interpretations of the karyological data have been attempted. However, it is
clear that for phylogenetic analyses classical data are limited [4,6,7]. More
recently, the development of banding studies and the introduction of
molecular cytogenetic methods promise to add a new dimension to analyses
of a wide range of evolutionary problems [7,8].
In this report we summarize the broad patterns of chromosomal
diversification of Notothenioidei. We focus on cytogenetic evidence in
"bovichtids," on intraspecific polymorphism, and on phylogenetic inference
of chromosome character analysis.
The monophyly of the Notothenioidei is still an unproven hypothesis that
merits further investigations (Bargelloni and Lecointre, this Vol.).
Therefore, the chromosomal data are discussed in relation to the
classification of the suborder in the eight families of Bovichtidae,
Pseudaphritidae,
Eleginopsidae,
Nototheniidae,
Harpagiferidae,
Artedidraconidae, Bathydraconidae, Channichthyidae [9].
Karyotypic Patterns
Among the suborder Notothenioidei the most frequent diploid number is
48. This diploid number is also found in 211 of 660 species of Perciformes
so far karyotyped [5].
G. di Prisco, E. Pisano, A. Clarke (Eds)
Fishes of Antarctica. A biological overview
© Springer-Verlag Italia 1998