Date of Award

1996

Degree Name

Biological Sciences

College

College of Science

Type of Degree

M.S.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Michael Little

Second Advisor

Marcia Harrison

Third Advisor

Ronald Gain

Abstract

Nocomos micropoqon and Rhinichthys cataractae are species of cyprinid fishes that may hybridize to produce a nominally described species Rhynichthys bowersi. Rhynichthys bowersi is a rare fish endemic to a few watersheds mostly in West Virginia, especially the Cheat River drainage. The resolution of its proper taxonomic status is presently a concern to state and federal regulatory agencies. A number of investigators have determined relatedness of cyprinid fishes by examining chromosomal structure. Telomeres and nucleolar organizer regions are chromosome structures used in inter and intraspecific phylogeny. In this study, fibroblasts from N. micropoqon and R. cataractae were first cultured. Cell extracts from these cultures were analyzed for lactate dehydrogenase (LOH), malate dehydrogenase (MOH) and phosphoglucomutase (PGM) activities. Chromosomes were obtained from cell cultures of both species and stained for telomeric and ribosomal DNA (NORs). Telomeric probing revealed that both species had telomeric and non-telomeric hybridization sites. The NOR analysis showed that N. micropoqon and B. cataractae contained three to four NOR genes present per specimen. The isoelectric focusing of cell extracts followed by LOH, MOH and PGM staining revealed that cell extracts contained heteropolymers for muscle tissues and homopolymers of the heart tissues for LOH-A and LDH-B. No evidence of MOH or PHM activity was found in cell extracts.

Subject(s)

Fishes -- Cytogenetics.

Nocomis -- Cytogenetics.

Rhinichthys -- Cytogenetics.

Chromosomes -  Analysis.

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