CARIOTIPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF DIFFERENT POPULATIONS OF Pterygoplichthys pardalis (Castelnau, 1855) (SILURIFORMES: LORICARIIDAE) OF THE AMAZON BASIN
acari, amazon, chromosomes.
Pterygoplichthys pardalis is one of the 15 species that make up the genus
Pterygoplichthys that is inserted in the family Loricariidae one of the richest in
biological diversity among the Siluriformes. Representatives of this genus are native to
South America, but records of invasion occur on 5 continents, with P. pardalis being
one of the most widely distributed species, 22 countries, representing a risk of
ecological imbalance outside their natural origin. In spite of the wide distribution,
economic, ecological and cultural interest, there are no studies about the cytogenetic
characterization of this species that allows the understanding of its evolution and
management. Therefore this study aims at the analysis and cytogenetic characterization
of this species through classical and cyto-molecular markers. Sampling will be
composed of 30 specimens from the following locations: Lake Pacoval, Lago Grande,
Arapixuna Lake, Trombetas River and Nhamundá River, all points located in the state
of Pará. Mitotic chromosomes in metaphases will be obtained from the hematopoietic
tissue (cephalic kidney ) as proposed by Gold et al. (1990). For the determination of the
karyotype will be using techniques of conventional staining by Giemsa, C-banding and
marking of Nuclear Organizing Regions (RONs) with silver nitrate, marking with
Cromomycin A3 (CMA3) as well as detection of 18S and 5S sites by In situ
Hybridization Fluorescent (FISH).