The Genetic Differentiation of (Teleostei, Characiformes) Species is Likely Influenced by Both Geographical Distribution and Chromosomal Rearrangements.

Allopatry is generally considered to be one of the main contributors to the remarkable Neotropical biodiversity. However, the role of chromosomal rearrangements including neo-sex chromosomes for genetic diversity is still poorly investigated and understood. Here, we assess the genetic divergence in five species using population genomics and combined the results with previously obtained cytogenetic data, highlighting that molecular genetic diversity is consistent with their chromosomal features. The results of a principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) indicated a clear difference among all species while showing a closer relationship of the ones located in the same geographical region. This was also observed in genetic structure analyses that only grouped and , which were also recovered as sister species in a species tree analysis. We observed a contradictory result for the relationships among the three species from the Amazon basin, as the phylogenetic tree suggested and as sister species, while the PCoA showed a high genetic difference between and all other species. These results suggest a potential role of sex-related chromosomal rearrangements as reproductive barriers between these species.