AUTHOR=Ferreira Pedro H. N. , Souza Fernando H. S. , de Moraes Renata L. , Perez Manolo F. , Sassi Francisco de M. C. , Viana Patrik F. , Feldberg Eliana , Ezaz Tariq , Liehr Thomas , Bertollo Luiz A. C. , Cioffi Marcelo de B. 

TITLE=The Genetic Differentiation of Pyrrhulina (Teleostei, Characiformes) Species is Likely Influenced by Both Geographical Distribution and Chromosomal Rearrangements

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2022.869073

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2022.869073

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>Allopatry is generally considered to be one of the main contributors to the remarkable Neotropical biodiversity. However, the role of chromosomal rearrangements including neo-sex chromosomes for genetic diversity is still poorly investigated and understood. Here, we assess the genetic divergence in five <italic>Pyrrhulina</italic> species using population genomics and combined the results with previously obtained cytogenetic data, highlighting that molecular genetic diversity is consistent with their chromosomal features. The results of a principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) indicated a clear difference among all species while showing a closer relationship of the ones located in the same geographical region. This was also observed in genetic structure analyses that only grouped <italic>P. australis</italic> and <italic>P. marilynae</italic>, which were also recovered as sister species in a species tree analysis. We observed a contradictory result for the relationships among the three species from the Amazon basin, as the phylogenetic tree suggested <italic>P. obermulleri</italic> and <italic>P. semifasciata</italic> as sister species, while the PCoA showed a high genetic difference between <italic>P. semifasciata</italic> and all other species. These results suggest a potential role of sex-related chromosomal rearrangements as reproductive barriers between these species.</p>