ABSTRACT There are two species of Neotropical Round-eared bats, Tonatia bidens Spix, 1823 and Tonatia saurophila Koopman & Williams, 1951, which present highly similar morphological characteristics that can lead to errors of identification. Specimens originally identified as T. bidens have recently been reclassified as T. saurophila, and the only karyotype documented previously for these species was 2n = 16, FN = 20. In the present study, specimens of Tonatia collected in the municipality of Barra do Garças, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, were analyzed morphologically, using conventional cytogenetic techniques (C-banding, Ag-NOR, and CMA3), and through sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. In the specimens morphologically identified as T. bidens, the diploid number (2n) was 26, and the fundamental number (FN), 38, while in T. saurophila, 2n = 16 and FN = 20, which is the karyotype also described previously for T. bidens. The dendograms obtained with sequences of the COI marker resulted in the formation of two distinct groups between T. bidens and T. saurophila, consistent with the two species, with a high sequence divergence value (14.22%). Distinct clades were also observed between T. bidens and the other phyllostomines analyzed in this study, with T. bidens also close to Phyllostomus hastatus (14.18% of sequence divergence).

Os alelos mutantes alc e rin retardam o processo de amadurecimento do tomate (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), interferindo principalmente na síntese de pigmentos carotenóides e na firmeza dos frutos. Com este trabalho, objetivou-se avaliar e comparar os efeitos dos alelos mutantes alc e rin, em heterozigose (alc+/alc e rin+/rin) sobre características químicas, bioquímicas e físicas de frutos de tomateiro em três estádios de maturação. Os alelos alc e rin em heterozigose não exerceram influência marcante sobre o teor de sólidos solúveis totais dos frutos nos estádios de maturação apropriados para o consumo. O genótipo rin+/rinatuou mais intensamente no sentido de reduzir os teores de licopeno e, conseqüentemente, promover maior deficiência na coloração vermelha dos frutos quando comparado ao efeito do genótipo alc+/alc. Nos frutos maduros, a atividade da enzima pectinametilesterase sofreu maior redução pela ação do genótipo rin+/rin. O genótipo alc+/alc foi mais eficiente em reduzir a atividade da poligalacturonase. No estádio breaker, não houve influência dos alelos em heterozigose sobre os teores de celulose, hemicelulose e pectina dos frutos. No estádio intermediário, o genótipo rin+/rin promoveu redução na fração hemicelulose. No estádio maduro, o alelo rin em heterozigose promoveu redução significativa nos teores de celulose e pectina do material da parede celular.

The ripening mutants alc and rin delay tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) ripening and affect synthesis of carotenoids pigments and fruit firmness. This paper reports on the comparative effects of heterozygous alc and rin genotipes (alc+/alc and rin+/rin) on chemical, biochemical and physical aspects of tomato fruit during three ripening stages. Neither alc+/alc nor rin+/rin influenced total solids contents in the intermediary or fully ripe stages. The genotype rin+/rin brought about a more marked reduction in lycopene than alc+/alc, relative to the normal genotype. In mature fruit, pectinmethylesterase activity was more markedly by rin+/rin, whereas alc+/alc was more effective in reducing polygalacturose activity. In the breaker stage, neither mutant affected cellulose, hemicellulose or pectin contents. In the intermediary stage hemicellulose was reduced by rin+/rin and, in mature stage, rin+/rin reduced cell wall cellulose and pectin fractions. Both alc+/alc and rin+/rin can be efficiently deployed in breeding long shelf life tomato hybrids.

The purpose of this work was to verify the ability of the enzyme Alu I to cleave and/or remove satellite DNA sequences from heterochromatic regions in chromosomes of bats, by identifying the occurrence of modifications in the pattern of fluorescence in situ hybridization with telomeric DNA. The localization and fluorescence intensity of the telomeric DNA sites of the Alu-digested and undigested chromosomes of species Eumops glaucinus, Carollia perspicillata, and Platyrrhinus lineatus were analyzed. Telomeric sequences were detected at the termini of chromosomes of all three species, although, in C. perspicillata, the signals were very faint or absent in most chromosomes. This finding was interpreted as being due to a reduced number of copies of the telomeric repeat, resulting from extensive telomeric association and/or rearrangements undergone by the chromosomes of Carollia. Fluorescent signals were also observed in centromeric and pericentromeric regions in several two-arm chromosomes of E. glaucinus and C. perspicillata. In E. glaucinus and P. lineatus, some interstitial and terminal telomeric sites were observed to be in association with regions of constitutive heterochromatin and ribosomal DNA (NORs). After digestion, these telomeric sites showed a significant decrease in signal intensity, indicating that enzyme Alu I cleaves and/or removes part of the satellite DNA present in these regions. These results suggest that the telomeric sequence is a component of the heterochromatin, and that the C-band- positive regions of bat chromosomes have a different DNA composition.