Study on karyotype and occurrence of B chromosomes in two endemic species of the genus Pimelodus (Siluriformes, Pimelodidae) from the river Iguaçu.

The current work describes, for the first time, the occurrence of B chromosomes in the genus Pimelodus. Cytogenetic analysis in P. ortmanni and Pimelodus sp., from the river Iguaçu basin, revealed a diploid number of 56 chromosomes. Whereas distribution pattern of C-banding in Pimelodus sp. showed predominance of heterochromatin at the two extremities of several pairs of chromosomes, centromere markings predominated in P. ortmanni. Additional chromosomes in the two species were observed with numerical intra-individual variations between zero and four B, together with interspecies differences in their frequency. In Giemsa-stained metaphases two distinct morphological types of B chromosomes were identified: Bm (B metacentric) and Ba (B acrocentric). In P. ortmanni both types of B chromosomes were totally heterochromatic; the Bm type in Pimelodus sp. had heterochromatin throughout its entire extension; the Ba type was partially heterochromatic with telomere markings on the long arm.