The karyotype of Greek cobitid fish Cobitisstrumicae Karaman, 1955, from Lake Volvi, Greece, a representative of one of its two major intraspecific phylogenetic lineages, was analysed by means of sequential Giemsa-staining, C-banding, silver-staining, CMA3 fluorescence banding and also by in situ hybridization (FISH) with rDNA probe. The diploid chromosome number was 2n = 50, karyotype composed of 10 pairs of metacentric to submetacentric and 15 pairs of subtelocentric to acrocentric chromosomes. The nucleolus organizer regions (NORs) as revealed by Ag- and CMA3 staining and FISH were situated in the telomeric region of the fourth submetacentric chromosome pair. The chromosomes contained very low content of C-positive heterochromatin. No heteromorphic sex chromosomes were detected. This first karyotype report for any species of lineage Bicanestrinia Băcescu, 1962 shows a simple karyotype dominated by acrocentric chromosomes and possessing single NOR-bearing chromosome pair. Cytotaxonomic implications of this finding for the taxonomy of the genus Cobitis Linnaeus, 1758 are further discussed.

• Keywords
• FISH, NOR phenotype, chromosome banding, cytotaxonomy of Cobitis loaches, rDNA,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

The region of Balkans is often considered as an ichthyologic "hot spot", with a great number of species and high portion of endemics living in fresh waters in a relatively small area. The Adriatic watershed in Croatia and Herzegovina is inhabited by six spined loach species (genus Cobitis) whose extinction risk estimations were based solely on their extent of occurrence (and/or area of occupancy) and its fragmentation, and conservation proposals do not consider diversity below species level. In this investigation we employed molecular genetic methods to describe present genetic structure of the Adriatic spined loaches and reveal their demographic history. The divergence of the Adriatic lineages inside the genus Cobitis started in Miocene and lasted until Pleistocene epoch. Geological events responsible for shaping recent diversity of spined loaches in the Adriatic basin are: the Dinarid Mountains upwelling, the evolution of Dinaric Lake system, local tectonic activity, river connections during glaciations and differences in sea level. Even though all the investigated species inhabit karstic rivers located in the same geographic area and that were subject of similar geological events, the results obtained reveal great differences in their genetic diversity and structure and point out the necessity of different conservation measures to ensure their future viability. High level of genetic polymorphism is characteristic for species located more to the south. Two species comprised of more than one population have completely different intraspecific structure; populations of C. illyrica are genetically distinct and represent separate evolutionary significant units, whereas intraspecific structure of C. narentana corresponds to metapopulational pattern. Without population genetic data, evolutionary significant units could be easily misidentified. Furthermore, the obtained results affirm that population genetic measurements are able to detect differences among closely located and related species and estimate extinction risk even more accurately than currently applied IUCN criteria.

• MeSH
• Cytochromes b genetics   MeSH
• Extinction, Biological MeSH
• Genetic Markers MeSH
• Population Density MeSH
• Cypriniformes genetics   MeSH
• Mitochondrial Proteins genetics   MeSH
• Evolution, Molecular MeSH
• Endangered Species MeSH
• Polymorphism, Genetic MeSH
• Risk MeSH
• Animal Distribution MeSH
• Fish Proteins genetics   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• Bosnia and Herzegovina MeSH
• Croatia MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Cytochromes b MeSH
• Genetic Markers MeSH
• Mitochondrial Proteins MeSH
• Fish Proteins MeSH