Supernumerary chromosomes in the pufferfish Sphoeroides spengleri: first occurrence in marine Teleostean Tetraodontiformes fish

Abstract

Cytogenetic analyses carried out in eight specimens of Sphoeroides spengleri revealed the presence of 2n = 46 chromosomes (20 M/SM and 26 ST/A). Besides the standard karyotypical set, the presence of B microchromosomes was observed in two individuals, ranging from 0 to 2 microchromosomes per cell. A karyotype composed by 2n = 46 chromosomes with occurrence of M and SM chromosomes is considered basal for the species from the clade comprising the families Tetraodontidae, Balistidae, and Diodontidae, although it represents a derived condition for the order Tetraodontiformes, whose basal karyotype would be composed by 2n = 48 acrocentric chromosomes. The occurrence of B microchromosomes in marine Tetraodontiformes fish was not known, and this represents the first report of such a chromosomal type.