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Ultrastructure variation in the spermatozoa of Pseudopaludicola frogs (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae), with brief comments on its phylogenetic relevance
Author(s) -
dos Santos Julio Sérgio,
Introíni Gisele Orlandi,
VeigaMecello Ana Cristina Prado,
ReccoPimentel Shirlei Maria
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/jmor.20438
Subject(s) - biology , spermatozoon , leptodactylidae , ultrastructure , phylogenetic tree , zoology , phylogenetics , genus , taxonomy (biology) , clade , anatomy , evolutionary biology , genetics , gene
The taxonomic history of the small frogs of the genus Pseudopaludicola from South America has been controversial. Phylogenetic inferences based on molecular data have identified four Pseudopaludicola clades, correlating with the known variation in karyotypes (2 n = 22, 20, 18, and 16). In this study, the ultrastructure of the spermatozoa was analyzed in 12 species of the Pseudopaludicola , with the aim of describing their morphology and identifying characters that may contribute to a better understanding of the phylogenetic relationships. The spermatozoa presented marked differences in tail structures. The tails of the spermatozoa of the species with 2 n = 22 chromosomes ( Pseudopaludicola sp. 1 [ P. pusilla group], Pseudopaludicola falcipes, P. mineira , and Pseudopaludicola saltica ), as well as Pseudopaludicola ameghini and Pseudopaludicola ternetzi (2 n =20), have juxta‐axonemal fibers, undulating membranes and axial fibers. In contrast, in the species with 2 n = 18 ( P. facureae, P. giarettai , Pseudopaludicola canga, P. atragula , and Pseudopaludicola sp. 2) and 2 n = 16 ( Pseudopaludicola mystacalis ), there are no evident axial or juxta‐axonemal fibers, but a paraxonemal rod with a thick undulating membrane, which is shorter than that found among Pseudopaludicola species. The ultrastructural morphological differences observed in the spermatozoa of these species may be phylogenetically informative, given that they coincide with the consensus phylogeny of the group and appear to represent a progressive simplification of the spermatozoon. J. Morphol. 276:1495–1504, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.