Evolution of karyotype, sex chromosomes and gene clusters in selected taxa of araneomorph spiders

Spiders (Araneae) are a diverse group with various sex chromosome systems. The most common is X1X20 sex determination, X1X2 denotes two non-homologous X chromosomes and 0 the absence of Y. The presence of Y chromosome is rare among spiders and has been described mainly in Synspermiata, X1X2Y is probably ancestral constitution for this clade. The family Sicariidae was chosen to elucidate the evolution of sex chromosomes in Synspermiata. Karyotypes of 10 species whose 2n ranged from 19 to 23 were investigated in this study. The most common finding was X1X2Y in all studied Loxosceles species. The derived XY system was discovered in Sicarius. Furthermore, the distributional pattern of molecular cytogenetic markers (genes for 18S rRNA, 5S rRNA, histone H3 and U2 snRNA) was analysed using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). These markers were found exclusively on autosomes, on one or two pairs. FISH with whole-genome probes of both sexes was performed to reveal distribution of Y specific sequences. Various patterns of Y differentiation were found in certain species. Y chromosome was small in all Sicariidae. A larger Y with a pronounced accumulation of Y-specific sequences has been detected in previous works - in the X1X2Y system of a synspermiate Pholcus phalongoides (Pholcidae). Pilot..