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Heteromorphic Z and W sex chromosomes in Physalaemus ephippifer (Steindachner, 1864) (Anura, Leiuperidae)

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Abstract

Heteromorphisms between sex chromosomes are rarely found in anurans and sex chromosome differentiation is considered to be a set of recent recurrent events in the evolutionary history of this group. This paper describes for the first time heteromorphic sex chromosomes Z and W in the leiuperid genus Physalaemus. They were found in P. ephippifer, a species of the P. cuvieri group, and corresponded to the eighth pair of its karyotype. The W chromosome differed from the Z chromosome by the presence of an additional segment in the short arm, composed of a distal NOR and an adjacent terminal DAPI-positive C-band. The identification of this sex chromosome pair may help in future investigations into the sex determining genes in the genus Physalaemus.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES/PROEX).

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  1. Departamento de Anatomia, Biologia Celular, Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas—UNICAMP, 6109, 13083-863, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Juliana Nascimento, Yeda Rumi Serra Douglas Quinderé, Shirlei Maria Recco-Pimentel & Luciana Bolsoni Lourenço

  2. Instituto de Pesquisas Científicas e Tecnlógicas do Amapá-IEPA, Núcleo de Zoologia, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil

    Janaína Reis Ferreira Lima

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  1. Juliana Nascimento
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  2. Yeda Rumi Serra Douglas Quinderé
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Correspondence to Luciana Bolsoni Lourenço.

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Nascimento, J., Quinderé, Y.R.S.D., Recco-Pimentel, S.M. et al. Heteromorphic Z and W sex chromosomes in Physalaemus ephippifer (Steindachner, 1864) (Anura, Leiuperidae). Genetica 138, 1127–1132 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-010-9501-9

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