Contribuição citogenética e molecular para a caracterização da peracuca (Kalyptodoras bahiensis: Siluriforme), coletada no Médio e Baixo Paraguaçu

Abstract

The Paraguaçu river is the only exclusively from Bahia. It’s economically very important for supplying with fish the metropolis and give subsidy for many families that depend on fishing as living. Several species have great commercial interest in the region, one of them is Kalyptodoras bahiensis, a catfish from Doradidae family and Siluriforme order, known as "peracuca." I’ts morphology is peculiar and it may reach up to 80 cm long. This species is endemic of the Paraguaçu watershed, mostly in the lower course of the Paraguaçú river. It’s currently listed as an endangered species due of overfishing and constructions of dams in the region. This work aims to create a DNA database maintained "in vitro" and to recognize cytogenetic and molecular patterns of Kalyptodoras bahiensis species, enabling genetic monitoring of wild stocks that are under pressure from environmental exploration. This research revealed that it’s still possible to find the peracuca in the middle and lower portions of Paraguaçú River, which presents a karyotypic number equal to 58 chromosomes, among which 38 metacentric, 8 submetacentric, 8 subtelocentric and 4 acrocentric In addition the pair of sex chromosome, showing that this species presented little variation in their intra-specific genetic patterns.