LOSS OF THE SEX-CHROMOSOME IN HUMAN NEOPLASIAS OF THE NERVOUS-SYSTEM

Thirty-eight tumors (five grade I-II astrocytomas, three grade III astrocytomas, four glioblastomas, one oligodendroglioma, four ependymomas, one pineocytoma, three medulloblastomas, four acoustic nerve neurinomas, one intraspinal neurinoma, one neurofibroma, 10 meningiomas, and one craniopharyngioma) and three benign lesions of the nervous system were evaluated cytogenetically after in vitro culture. Sex chromosome loss was detected in 56% of the cases (-X in 13 of the 25 female patients and -Y in nine of the 16 male patients). The objective of the present report was to study the role of this abnormality in cells of the nervous system.

Diversity of fish species in the River Paranapanema Jurumirim Reservoir transition region (São Paulo, Brazil)

The diversity of fish species in an transition zone between the River Paranapanema and the head mouth of the Jurumirim Reservoir was evaluated. Fish samples were collected from October 1995 to September 1996, by experimental fishing (gill-nets and sieve), in three marginal shallow lagoons and two channel river zones, Gill-net collections resulted in 21 taxons of native fishes. Detritivorous Characiformes such as Steindachnerina insculpta were predominant Sieve collections resulted in 31 taxa and the Tetragonopterinae subfamily was the most representative group, which included small species as Cheirodon stenodon. The equitability index characterized the high heterogeneity of fish numeric abundance, reflecting the dominance of a few groups. A significant relationship between biotic and abiotic variables was indicated by the first canonical function. In comparison with other regions of the drainage basin, the ecotone zone studied indicated a higher species richness and, in the case of some species, fishes in all stages of development. This study demonstrated the necessity to preserve the ecological zone for the fishing and fishery management in the reservoir.

Chromosome analysis in Pseudopaludicola (Anura, Leiuperidae), with description of sex chromosomes XX/XY in P-saltica

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Paracentric inversion involving a NOR-bearing chromosome of rainbow trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss): Electron microscopy studies of the synaptonemal complex

Cytogenetic studies conduced on a sample of 19 specimens of rainbow trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss) showed that 6 presented two chromosomes with a single subterminal AgNOR on the short arms and 13 presented one chromosome with a single subterminal Ag-NOR and a second chromosome with two small subterminal Ag-NORs. Synaptonemal complex studies showed the presence of a pairing failure involving the two lateral elements (LEs) of the NOR-bearing chromosomes only in those specimens with two different NOR-bearing chromosomes, suggesting that the chromosomes with two Ag-NORs originated from a paracentric inversion involving a terminal segment of the original NOR-bearing chromosome. A comparative analysis between three normal and three heterozygous fishes suggest that in the latter group the LEs of the NOR-bearing chromosomes initiate the synaptic process in a more delayed manner, the synapsis develops more quickly, and the nucleolus stays associated with chromosomes for a longer time.

Genetic diversity in Colletotrichum gloeosporioides from Stylosanthes spp. at Centers of origin and utilization

Using molecular markers, this work compares the genetic diversity in Colletotrichum gloeosporioides infecting species of the tropical forage legume Stylosanthes at the center of origin in Brazil and Colombia with that of Australia, China, and India, where Srylosanthes spp. have been introduced for commercial use. There was extensive diversity in the pathogen population from Brazil, Colombia, China, and India. The Australian pathogen population was least diverse probably due to its geographical isolation and effective quarantine. The extensive diversity in China and India means that threats from exotic pathogen races to Stylosanthes pastures can potentially come from countries outside the South American center of origin. In Brazil and India, both with native Stylosanthes populations, a high level of genetic differentiation in the pathogen population was associated with sites where native or naturalized host population was widely distributed. There was limited genetic diversity at germplasm evaluation sites, with a large proportion of isolates having identical haplotypes. This contrasts recent pathogenicity results for 78 of the Brazilian isolates that show hot spots of complex races are more common around research stations where host germplasm are tested, but few are found at sites containing wild host populations. For a pathogen in which the same races arise convergently from different genetic backgrounds, this study highlights the importance of using both virulence and selectively neutral markers to understand pathogen population structure.

Evaluating the karyotypic diversity in species of Hyla (Anura, Hylidae) with 2n = 30 chromosomes based on the analysis of ten species

Ten species of Hyla with 2n = 30 from Brazilian fauna were analysed cytogenetically. Hyla minuta is the unique presenting all bi-armed metacentric or submetacentric chromosomes in the karyotype, therefore, with the highest FN = 60. The remaining species have a variable number of uni-armed telocentric or subtelocentric chromosomes: H. cruzi, H. elianeae, and H. rubicundula with three pairs (FN = 54), H. berthalutzae, H. elegans, H. microps, and H. nana with four pairs (FN = 52), and H. nahdereri and H. sanborni with five pairs (FN = 50). The uni-armed elements are among pairs 5, 6, 7, 11, 14, and 15, which also appeared with metacentric or submetacentric morphology. The remaining chromosome pairs 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13 were never found to be telocentric or subtelocentric. AgNOR patterns are species-specific, the majority of the species exhibiting a single pair with AgNORs, with the exception of H. elegans and H. nana with more than one chromosome pair bearing this cytological marker. C banding was obtained in H. berthalutzae, H. cruzi, H. elegans, H. elianeae, H. microps, H. minuta, H. nahdereri, and H. nana, which showed positively stained centromeric heterochromatin. Our analysis confirms the great karyotypic diversity in the species of Hyla with 2n = 30, with no species sharing identical karyotypes.

Aglomeraciones en torno a los recursos naturales en América Latina y el Caribe: políticas de articulación y articulación de políticas

Incluye Bibliografía

Dinámica del suelo y estoque de carbono después de diez años de la restauración de tierras degradadas usando especies arbóreas del bosque atlántico

Brazil's Atlantic Forest ecosystem has been greatly affected by land use changes, with only 11.26% of its original vegetation cover remaining. Currently, Atlantic Forest restoration is receiving increasing attention because of its potential for carbon sequestration and the important role of soil carbon in the global carbon balance. Soil organic matter is also essential for physical, chemical and biological components of soil fertility and forest sustainability. This study evaluated the potential for soil recovery in contrasting restoration models using indigenous Atlantic Forest tree species ten years after their establishment. The study site is located in Botucatu municipality, São Paulo State-Brazil, in a loamy dystrophic Red-Yellow Argisol site (Typic Hapludult). Four treatments were compared: i) Control (Spontaneous Restoration); ii) Low Diversity (five fast-growing tree species established by direct seeding); iii) High Diversity (mixed plantings of 41 species established with seedlings) and; iv) Native Forest (well conserved neighboring forest fragment). The following soil properties were evaluated: (1) physical-texture, density and porosity; (2) chemical-C, N, P, S, K, Ca, Mg, Al and pH; (3) biological-microbial biomass. Litter nutrient concentrations (P, S, K, Ca and Mg) and C and N litter stocks were determined. Within ten years the litter C and N stocks of the Low Diversity treatment area were higher than Control and similar to those in both the High Diversity treatment and the Native Forest. Soil C stocks increased through time for both models and in the Control plots, but remained highest in the Native Forest. The methods of restoration were shown to have different effects on soil dynamics, mainly on chemical properties. These results show that, at least in the short-term, changes in soil properties are more rapid in a less complex system like the Low Diversity model than in the a High Species Diversity model. For both mixed plantation systems, carbon soil cycling can be reestablished, resulting in increases in carbon stocks in both soil and litter.

Karyotypic diversity and evolutionary trends in the neotropical catfish genus Hypostomus lacépède, 1803 (Teleostei, Siluriformes, Loricariidae)

The family Loricariidae with 813 nominal species is one of the largest fish families of the world. Hypostominae, its more complex subfamily, was recently divided into five tribes. The tribe Hypostomini is composed of a single genus, Hypostomus Lacépède, 1803, which exhibits the largest karyotypic diversity in the family Loricariidae. With the main objective of contributing to a better understanding of the relationship and the patterns of evolution among the karyotypes of Hypostomus species, cytogenetic studies were conducted in six species of the genus from Brazil and Venezuela. The results show a great chromosome variety with diploid numbers ranging from 2n=68 to 2n=76, with a clear predominance of acrocentric chromosomes. The Ag-NORs are located in terminal position in all species analyzed. Three species have single Ag-NORs (Hypostomus albopunctatus (Regan, 1908), H. prope plecostomus (Linnaeus, 1758), and H. prope paulinus (Ihering, 1905)) and three have multiple Ag-NORs (H. ancistroides (Ihering, 1911), H. prope iheringi (Regan, 1908), and H. strigaticeps (Regan, 1908)). In the process of karyotype evolution of the group, the main type of chromosome rearrangements was possibly centric fissions, which may have been facilitated by the putative tetraploid origin of Hypostomus species. The relationship between the karyotype changes and the evolution in the genus is discussed. © Anderson Luis Alves et al.

High chromosome variability and the presence of multivalent associations in buthid scorpions

In this study, we investigated the mitotic and meiotic chromosomes of 11 Buthidae scorpion species, belonging to three genera (Ananteris, Rhopalurus and Tityus), to obtain detailed knowledge regarding the mechanisms underlying the intraspecific and/or interspecific diversity of chromosome number and the origin of the complex chromosome associations observed during meiosis. The chromosomes of all species did not exhibit a localised centromere region and presented synaptic and achiasmatic behaviour during meiosis I. Spermatogonial and/or oogonial metaphase cells of these buthids showed diploid numbers range from 2n = 6 to 2n = 28. In most species, multivalent chromosome associations were observed in pachytene and postpachytene nuclei. Moreover, intraspecific variability associated with the presence or absence of chromosome chains and the number of chromosomes in the complex meiotic configurations was observed in some species of these three genera. Silver-impregnated cells revealed that the number and location of nucleolar organiser regions (NORs) remained unchanged despite extensive chromosome variation; notably, two NORs located on the terminal or subterminal chromosome regions were commonly observed for all species. C-banded and fluorochrome-stained cells showed that species with conspicuous blocks of heterochromatin exhibited the lowest rate of chromosomal rearrangement. Based on the investigation of mitotic and meiotic cells, we determined that the intraspecific variability occurred as a consequence of fission/fusion-type chromosomal rearrangements in Ananteris and Tityus species and reciprocal translocation in Rhopalurus species. Furthermore, we verified that individuals presenting the same diploid number differ in structural chromosome organisation, giving rise to intraspecific differences of chromosome association in meiotic cells (bivalent-like elements or chromosome chains). © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.