Comparative karyotype analysis of two Iranian cyprinids, Alburnoides bipunctatus and Alburnus filippii (Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae)

This study provides new data on chromosomal characteristics of two cyprinid fish species found in Iran, Alburnoides bipunctatus and Alburnus filippii. The chromosomes of these species were compared using Giemsa staining and silver-staining (Ag) techniques to describe the karyotypes. Both species possess 2n = 50 chromosomes with no detected sex heteromorphism. The karyotypes were distinct, composed of 7 pairs of metacentric, 10 pairs of submetacentric, and 8 pairs of subtelo-acrocentric chromosomes in A. bipunctatus and 6 pairs of metacentric, 9 pairs of submetacentric, 4 pairs of subtelocentric, and 6 pairs of acrocentric chromosomes in A. filippi. Both species possessed a single pair of Agstained nucleolar organizer region (NOR)-bearing chromosomes, but the species differed in its location and chromosomal type. In A. bipunctatus, Ag-NORs were located on the telomeres of two submetacentric chromosomes, and in A. filippii, on the telomeres of the short arm of a subtelocentric chromosome pair. The NOR patterns were nearly identical with those found in other representatives of Eurasian cyprinids and support the phylogenetic relationships proposed for species in the Leuciscinae. The results of cytogenetic studies of related species, mainly in the Leuciscinae, are compared and discussed.

Keywords:

Cypriniiformes , Alburnoides bipunctatus , Alburnus filippii , Fish cytogenetics , NOR , Cytotaxonomy