A first report of the genome size for the freshwater-crab family Trichodactylidae (Decapoda: Brachyura)

Abstract

The evaluation of genome size has emerged as a resource for populational, biogeographic, and evolutionary interpretations. Still, little has been recorded on the size of the genomes of decapod crustaceans, mainly freshwater species. Using flow cytometry, we aimed to provide new data on the genome size of the freshwater crabs Trichodactylus fluviatilis Latreille, 1828 and T. petropolitanus (Göldi, 1886) in São Paulo state, southern Brazil. We analyzed 12 individuals with a c-value of 8.0-9.6 picograms. We observed a tendency for freshwater crabs with direct development to have a higher genome-size value than those decapods with indirect development, which links the possible relationship of genome size with the developmental pattern.