The remarkable fish biodiversity encompasses also great sex chromosome variability. Harttia catfish belong to Neotropical models for karyotype and sex chromosome research. Some species possess one of the three male-heterogametic sex chromosome systems, XY, X1X2Y or XY1Y2, while other members of the genus have yet uncharacterized modes of sex determination. Particularly the XY1Y2 multiple sex chromosome system shows a relatively low incidence among vertebrates, and it has not been yet thoroughly investigated. Previous research suggested two independent X-autosome fusions in Harttia which led to the emergence of XY1Y2 sex chromosome system in three of its species. In this study, we investigated evolutionary trajectories of synteny blocks involved in this XY1Y2 system by probing six Harttia species with whole chromosome painting (WCP) probes derived from the X (HCA-X) and the chromosome 9 (HCA-9) of H. carvalhoi. We found that both painting probes hybridize to two distinct chromosome pairs in Amazonian species, whereas the HCA-9 probe paints three chromosome pairs in H. guianensis, endemic to Guyanese drainages. These findings demonstrate distinct evolutionary fates of mapped synteny blocks and thereby elevated karyotype dynamics in Harttia among the three evolutionary clades.

Departamento de Biologia Estrutural Molecular e Genética Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa Ponta Grossa Brazil

Institut für Humangenetik Universitätsklinikum Jena Jena Germany

Laboratório de Citogenética de Peixes Departamento de Genética e Evolução Universidade Federal de São Carlos São Carlos Brazil

Laboratory of Fish Genetics Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Czech Academy of Sciences Liběchov Czechia

Museu de Zoologia Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo Brazil

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Homeology of sex chromosomes in Amazonian Harttia armored catfishes supports the X-fission hypothesis for the X1X2Y sex chromosome system origin