Dated phylogenetic studies of the southernmost American buthids (Scorpiones; Buthidae).

A dated molecular phylogeny of the southernmost American species of the family Buthidae, based on two nuclear and two mitochondrial genes, is presented. Based on this study, analyzed species of the subgenus Tityus (Archaeotityus) are neither sister to the remaining species of the genus Tityus, nor are they closely related to the New World microbuthids with decreasing neobothriotaxy. Analyzed species of the subgenus Tityus do not form a monophyletic group. Based on ancestral area estimation analyses, known geoclimatic events of the region and comparisons to the diversification processes of other epigean groups from the area, a generalized hypothesis about the patterns of historical colonization processes of the family Buthidae in southern South America is presented. Furthermore, for the first time, a Paleogene-African ingression route for the colonization of America by the family Buthidae is proposed as a plausible hypothesis.

Male and female meiosis in the mountain scorpion Zabius fuscus (Scorpiones, Buthidae): heterochromatin, rDNA and TTAGG telomeric repeats.

All cytogenetically studied scorpions present male achiasmatic meiosis and lack heteromorphic sex chromosomes. In contrast, information about female meiosis in scorpions is scarce due to the difficulty of finding meiotic cells. The genus Zabius includes three described species and no chromosome studies have been performed on it until now. We analyzed the constitutive heterochromatin distribution, NORs and telomeric sequences in mitosis and meiosis of males and females of different populations of Zabius fuscus. All specimens presented 2n = 18 holokinetic chromosomes that gradually decreased in size. Male meiosis presented nine bivalents and a polymorphism for one reciprocal translocation in one population. Telomeric signals were detected at every terminal region, confirming also the presence of a (TTAGG) n motif in Buthidae. Constitutive heterochromatin was found in three chromosome pairs at a terminal region; moreover, NORs were embedded in the heterochromatic region of the largest pair. Chromosome size and landmarks allowed us to propose the chromosomes involved in the rearrangement. In four females, cells at different prophase I stages were analyzed. We describe a diffuse stage and the presence of ring-shaped bivalents. We discuss the possible origin of these bivalents in the framework of chiasmatic or achiasmatic female meiosis. These results contribute to increase the scarce evidence of female meiosis in scorpions and raise new questions about its mechanism.

Robust, versatile DNA FISH probes for chromosome-specific repeats in Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus.

Repetitive DNA sequences are useful targets for chromosomal fluorescence in situ hybridization. We analyzed recent genome assemblies of Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus to identify tandem repeats with a unique genomic localization. Based on these findings, we designed and validated sets of oligonucleotide probes for each species targeting at least 1 locus per chromosome. These probes yielded reliable fluorescent signals in different tissues and can easily be combined with the immunolocalization of cellular proteins. Synthesis and labeling of these probes are highly cost-effective and require no hands-on labor. The methods presented here can be easily applied in other model and nonmodel organisms with a sequenced genome.

Analysis of meiosis in Pristionchus pacificus reveals plasticity in homolog pairing and synapsis in the nematode lineage.

Meiosis is conserved across eukaryotes yet varies in the details of its execution. Here we describe a new comparative model system for molecular analysis of meiosis, the nematode Pristionchus pacificus, a distant relative of the widely studied model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. P. pacificus shares many anatomical and other features that facilitate analysis of meiosis in C. elegans. However, while C. elegans has lost the meiosis-specific recombinase Dmc1 and evolved a recombination-independent mechanism to synapse its chromosomes, P. pacificus expresses both DMC-1 and RAD-51. We find that SPO-11 and DMC-1 are required for stable homolog pairing, synapsis, and crossover formation, while RAD-51 is dispensable for these key meiotic processes. RAD-51 and DMC-1 localize sequentially to chromosomes during meiotic prophase and show nonoverlapping functions. We also present a new genetic map for P. pacificus that reveals a crossover landscape very similar to that of C. elegans, despite marked divergence in the regulation of synapsis and crossing-over between these lineages.

Multiple approaches to understanding the taxonomic status of an enigmatic new scorpion species of the genus Tityus (Buthidae) from the biogeographic island of Paraje Tres Cerros (Argentina).

Tityus curupi n. sp., belonging to the bolivianus complex, is described from the biogeographically distinct area of Paraje Tres Cerros in north-eastern Argentina. We also present a molecular species delimitation analysis between Tityus curupi n. sp. and its sister species Tityus uruguayensis Borelli 1901 to confirm species integrity. Furthermore, a cytogenetic analysis is presented for these two species which contain different multivalent associations in meiosis, as a consequence of chromosome rearrangements, and the highest chromosome numbers in the genus.

Sex-Linked Chromosome Heterozygosity in Males of Tityus confluens (Buthidae): A Clue about the Presence of Sex Chromosomes in Scorpions.

Scorpions of the genus Tityus show holokinetic chromosomes, achiasmatic male meiosis and an absence of heteromorphic sex chromosomes, like all Buthidae. In this work, we analysed the meiotic behaviour and chromosome rearrangements of a population of the scorpion Tityus confluens, characterising the cytotypes of males, females and embryos with different cytogenetic techniques. This revealed that all the females were structural homozygotes, while all the males were structural heterozygotes for different chromosome rearrangements. Four different cytotypes were described in males, which differed in chromosome number (2n = 5 and 2n = 6) and meiotic multivalent configurations (chains of four, five and six chromosomes). Based on a detailed mitotic and meiotic analysis, we propose a sequence of chromosome rearrangements that could give rise to each cytotype and in which fusions have played a major role. Based on the comparison of males, females and a brood of embryos, we also propose that the presence of multivalents in males and homologous pairs in females could be associated with the presence of cryptic sex chromosomes, with the male being the heterogametic sex. We propose that the ancestral karyotype of this species could have had homomorphic XY/XX (male/female) sex chromosomes and a fusion could have occurred between the Y chromosome and an autosome.

Cytogenetic analysis on geographically distant parthenogenetic populations of Tityus trivittatus Kraepelin, 1898 (Scorpiones, Buthidae): karyotype, constitutive heterochromatin and rDNA localization.

Tityus trivittatus Kraepelin, 1898 is the most medically important scorpion species of Argentina, and parthenogenetic populations are present in the major cities of this country. We performed a detailed cytogenetic analysis of specimens of three synanthropic parthenogenetic populations, all distant about 900 km from each other, using Ag-NOR, C-banding, DAPI/CMA3 staining and FISH with autologous 28S rDNA probes. The karyotype of females and embryos from the three populations showed 2n=6, with two large and four middle-sized holokinetic chromosomes. Constitutive heterochromatin was found in terminal and interstitial location and its pattern allowed the identification of three chromosome pairs. NORs were found on the terminal heterochromatic region of one pair of middle-sized chromosomes. The use of fluorochromes to characterize heterochromatin showed the absence of GC-rich heterochromatin and a low and variable number of AT-rich heterochromatic regions. We propose that a possible explanation for the lack of karyotypic variation between these geographically distant populations could be a recent colonization of urban areas by human means of synanthropic specimens from a single lineage of northeastern Argentina.