Abstract
Autopolyploids are traditionally used to demonstrate multivalent pairing and unstable inheritance. However, the autotetraploid fish (4nRR) (RRRR, 4n = 200) derived from the distant hybridization of Carassius auratus red var. (RCC) (RR, 2n = 100) (♀) × Megalobrama amblycephala (BSB) (BB, 2n = 48) (♂) exhibits chromosome number (or ploidy) stability over consecutive generations (F1-F10). Comparative analysis based on somatic and gametic chromosomal loci [centromeric, 5S rDNA, and Ag-NORs (silver-stained nucleolar organizer regions)] revealed that a substantial loss of chromosomal loci during genome doubling increases the divergence between homologous chromosomes and that diploid-like chromosome pairing was restored during meiosis in the first generation of 4nRR lineages. In addition, a comparative analysis of genomes and transcriptomes from 4nRR (F1) and its diploid progenitor (RCC) exhibited significant genomic structure and gene expression changes. From these data, we suggest that genomes and genes diverge and that expression patterns change in the first generations following autotetraploidization, which are processes that might contribute to the stable inheritance and successful establishment of autotetraploid lineages.