Abstract
In a population of Melanoplus femur-rubrum 13.9% of the males and 9.1% of the females sampled possessed a metacentric B chromosome (B). In crosses of females with one B (1 B females) and 0 B males 0.82 ± 0.05 of the offspring received the B. The value expected from Mendelian segregation is 0.5. In crosses of 1 B males and 0 B females the frequency of offspring receiving the B was 0.53 ± 0.02. The B is heterochromatic during prophase I of spermatogenesis but is euchromatic during prophase I of oogenesis. The observation that in 1 B females only one B was present in metaphase I of oogenesis suggested strongly that the high rate of transmission of the B by the females resulted from preferential segregation of the B into the secondary oocyte. The maintenance of the B in the species in discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Battaglia, E.: Cytogenetics of B-Ohromosomes. Caryologia (Firenze) 17, 245–299 (1964).
Bruck, D.: Male segregation ratio advantage as a factor in maintaining lethal alleles in wild populations of house mouse. Proc. nat. Aead. Sci. (Wash.) 43, 152–158 (1957).
Church, K.: Meiosis in the grasshopper. II. The preleptotene spiral stage during oogenesis and spermatogenesis in Melanoplus femur-rubmm. Canad. J. Genet. Cytol. 14, 397–401 (1972).
Hartl, D. L.: A mathematical model for recessive lethal segregation distorters with differential viabilities in the sexes. Genetics 66, 147–163 (1970).
Hewitt, G.: Variable transmission rate of a B-chromosome in Myrmeleotettix maculatus (Thumb.) (Acrididae: Orthoptera). Chromosoma (Berl.) 40, 83–106 (1973).
Hewitt, G. M., John, B.: The B chromosome system of Myremeleotettix maculatus (Thumb.) III. The statistics. Chromosoma (Berl.) 21, 140–162 (1967).
Kayano, H.: Cytogenetic studies in Lilium callosum. III. Preferential segregation of a supernumerary chromosome in EMCs. Proc. Jap. Acad. 33, 553–558 (1957).
Kayano, H.: Accumulation of B chromosomes in the germ line of Locusta migratoria. Heredity 27, 119–123 (1971).
Kimura, J., Kayano, K.: The maintenance of supernumerary chromosomes in wild populations of Lilium callosum by preferential segregation. Genetics 46, 1699–1712 (1961).
McNabb, J. W.: A study of the chromosomes in meiosis, fertilization and cleavage in the grasshopper egg (Orthoptera). J. Morph. 45, 47–93 (1928).
Mohr, O. L.: Sind die Heterochromosomen wahre Chromosomen? Untersuchungen über ihr Verhalten in der Ovogenese von Leptophyes punctatissima. Arch. Zellforsch. 14, 151–176 (1915).
Müntzing, A.: Cytological studies of extra fragment chromosomes in rye. II. Transmission and multiplication of standard fragments and isofragments. Hereditas (Lund) 31, 457–477 (1945).
Müntzing, A.: Effects of accessory chromosomes in diploid and tetraploid rye. Hereditas (Lund) 49, 361–426 (1963).
Nur, U.: A supernumerary chromosome with an accumulation mechanism in the lecanoid genetic system. Chromosoma (Berl.) 13, 249–271 (1962a).
Nur, U.: Population studies of supernumerary chromosomes in a mealy bug. Genetics 47, 1679–1690 (1962b).
Nur, U.: A mitotically unstable supernumerary chromosome with an accumulation mechanism in a grasshopper. Chromosoma (Berl.) 14, 407–722 (1963).
Nur, U.: Harmful supernumerary chromosomes in a mealy bug population. Genetics 54, 1225–1238 (1966a).
Nur, U.: The effect of supernumerary chromosomes on the development of mealy bugs. Genetics 54, 1239–1249 (1966b).
Nur, U.: Mitotic instability leading to an accumulation of B-chromosomes in grasshoppers. Chromosoma (Berl.) 27, 1–19 (1969a).
Nur, U.: Harmful B chromosomes in a mealy bug: Additional evidence. Chromosoma (Berl.) 28, 280–297 (1969b).
Östergren, G.: Parasitic nature of extra fragment chromosomes. Bot. Notiser 1945, 157–163 (1945).
Östergren, G.: Heterochromatic B chromosomes in Anthoxanthum. Hereditas (Lund) 33, 261–269 (1947).
Stephens, R. T., Bregman, A. A.: The B-chromosome system of the grasshopper Melanoplus femur-rubrum. Chromosoma (Berl.) 38, 297–311 (1972).
White, M. J. D.: Animal cytology and evolution, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1954.
Wilson, E. B.: The cell in development and heredity, 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan 1925.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported by Grant GB 23665 from the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lucov, Z., Nur, U. Accumulation of B-chromosomes by preferential segregation in females of the grasshopper Melanoplus femur-rubrum . Chromosoma 42, 289–306 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00284776
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00284776