Genome size differences in<i>Hyalella</i>cryptic species

Abstract

The Hyalella azteca (Saussure) complex includes numerous amphipod cryptic species in freshwater habitats in America as revealed by DNA barcoding surveys. Two ecomorphs (small and large) have evolved numerous times in this complex. Few phenotypic criteria have been found to differentiate between the numerous species of this complex. The present study aims to explore genome size differences between some species of the H. azteca complex co-occurring in a Canadian boreal lake using flow cytometry. Nuclear DNA content was estimated for 50 individuals belonging to six COI haplotypes corresponding to four provisional species of the H. azteca complex. Species from the large ecomorph had C-values significantly larger than species from the small ecomorph, whereas slight differences were found among species of the small ecomorph. These differences in genome sizes might be linked to ecological and physiological differences among species of the H. azteca complex.