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Meiotic chromosome pairing in Stethophyma grossum spermatocytes studied by a surface-spreading and silver-staining technique

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Abstract

Spermatocytes of Stethophyma grossum were prepared for light microscope examination by a surface-spreading and silver-staining technique adapted with very little modification from a mammalian procedure. Very clear preparations of a variety of prophase I stages were obtained which revealed many details of chromosome and nuclear organisation. These observations and preliminary observations on two other grasshopper species demonstrate the ready applicability of these techniques to Orthopteran spermatocytes. A detailed study of six pachytene stage spermatocytes gave conclusive confirmation that three bivalents achieve full pairing in male meiosis of Stethophyma grossum, the other eight bivalents being partially paired at their procentric ends only.

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Jones, G.H., Wallace, B.M.N. Meiotic chromosome pairing in Stethophyma grossum spermatocytes studied by a surface-spreading and silver-staining technique. Chromosoma 78, 187–201 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328391

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328391

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