Genome size and cell division phases in Typton distinctus Chace, 1972 (Decapoda, Palaemonidae), a sponge-dwelling shrimp from the Brazilian coast

Abstract Several approaches have been adopted to assess the evolutionary patterns and life history of different animal and plant species worldwide. Quantitative analysis application to assess genome size (GS) or nuclear DNA content, based on flow cytometry, is a new tool used to investigate evolutionary patterns in several animal species. However, it remains relatively poorly explored when it comes to invertebrates. The “ c -value” enigma requires building an effective and robust DNA picogram database about as many species as possible, since conclusive hypotheses are only possible when accurate data are available in the literature. Therefore, the current study aims to provide new information about both the genome size and the biology of the sponge-dwelling shrimp species Typton distinctus Chace, 1972, which is a symbiotic/parasite to sea sponges and provides the accuracy of flow cytometry technique in registering DNA and cell cycle division. All GS estimates were based on analyses of more than 1k propidium iodide-stained nuclei per sample. The mean genome size ( c -value) of the herein investigated species reached 10.79 ± 0.008 pg DNA. We were able to estimate the G2 phase information in cell division visually. This GS value is acknowledged as the mean value of all other Caribbean shrimp in tropical regions. The current study has suggested and addressed the hypothesis that caridean shrimp’s genome size can directly correlate to species’ latitudinal distribution and life history adaptation to each location. Thus, registering these new findings about this typical tropical Palaemonidae species is essential.