Abstract
The family Plethodontidae is the largest and most diverse salamander family (Wake, 1966). Nevertheless, as in other groups of salamanders, divergent lineages show few if any differences in chromosome number and morphology (Morescalchi,1975; Sessions and Kezer, 1987, 1991). Approximately 90% of plethodontid species have uniformly biarmed chromosomes despite pronounced genetic differentiation both within and between genera, representing tens of millions of years of divergence time (Larson et al., 1984; Sessions and Kezer, 1987). This information has led to the conclusion that salamanders show exceptionally slow rates of karyological evolution in comparison to other vertebrates (Maxson and Wilson, 1979). It is not known whether this karyological “stasis” reflects intrinsic constraints on chromosomal rearrangement or the absence of the kinds of genomic and population structures that can generate and maintain chromosomal variants. This question may be resolved by examining exceptions to the chromosomal stasis within the Plethodontidae.
This chapter is dedicated to James Kezer, pioneer of plethodontid cytogenetics, on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
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Keywords
- Chromosomal Rearrangement
- Pericentric Inversion
- Chromosomal Polymorphism
- Inversion Polymorphism
- Telocentric Chromosome
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Sessions, S.K., Wiktorowski, J.L. (2000). Population Cytogenetics of the Plethodontid Salamander Eurycea Wilderae . In: Bruce, R.C., Jaeger, R.G., Houck, L.D. (eds) The Biology of Plethodontid Salamanders. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4255-1_16
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