Biodiversity of Arctic fishes: First karyological information on Gaidropsarus argentatus (Reinhardt, 1837), a new piece to the puzzle

Here we provide the first karyological characterization of the Arctic gadoid fish Gaidropsarus argentatus (Arctic rockling), through conventional and molecular cytogenetics. The analysis of six specimens collected along the coasts of Greenland during TUNU-MAFIG (Marine Fishes of North East Greenland - diversity and adaptation) expeditions, consistently indicated 48 chromosomes, with the karyotypic formula 12 m/sm+36 st/t and Fundamental Number (FN)=60. The description of the species-specific karyotype for a fish living in Arctic marine waters per se adds a significant piece of information to the necessary biological baseline for monitoring of biodiversity changes in polar regions. In addition, comparison of our data on the Arctic G. argentatus with those of the Mediterranean co-generic G. mediterraneus revealed a surprisingly high level of cytogenetic diversity between the two species (2n=48 vs. 2n=28), laying the basis for future analyses aimed at tracing the chromosomal evolution and diversification within this geographically widespread genus. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.