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Zur Evolution des Karyotyps bei den Lepidopteren. Die Chromosomenzahlen der Noctuiden

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Abstract

An analysis of the haploid chromosome numbers of 97 species of the familyNoctuidae was performed. These numbers added to those formerly known, give the picture of an astonishing stability in the whole family with the exception of one genus,Orthosia, in which a wide variation was found. In 105 out of 112 species of non-Orthosia noctuids the haploid number is 31, which is thus the modal number of the family. In sharp contrast to this pattern, inOrthosia each of the 8 species investigated gives a different chromosome count, ranging from 14 to 120, and none has 1he number 31. The chromosomes are large in the speciesOrthosia gracilis, which has 14 chromosomes, smaller in the species with intermediate numbers, and smallest in the speciesO. rorida, possessing 120 chromosomes. The differences in number are therefore interpreted as mainly due to fusion and fragmentation processes, which should be facilitated by the holokinetic organisation of the Lepidoptera chromosomes. In non-Orthosia noctuids the volumes of chromosome complements differ as much as 1∶5 in spite of the constant chromosome number. The existence of a mecanism is postulated which prevents easy fusion and fragmentation in non-Orthosia noctuids and many of the other Lepidoptera lines.

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  1. Zoologisches Institut der Universität des Saarlandes, Saarlandes, Deutschland

    L. Werner

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Werner, L. Zur Evolution des Karyotyps bei den Lepidopteren. Die Chromosomenzahlen der Noctuiden. Genetica 45, 377–395 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01508313

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01508313

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