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X and Y chromosomes of Aedes aegypti (L.) distinguished by Giemsa C-banding

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Abstract

A Giemsa C-banding technique applied to the mosquito, Aedes aegypti, has revealed a distinctive banding pattern which is described as a reliable means of distinguishing between the morphologically similar X and Y chromosomes during all stages of mitosis and meiosis. The essential difference is that the Y chromosome, unlike the X and the autosomes, is not C-banded in the centromere region. An intercalary band is also present in one arm of all X chromosomes and some Y chromosomes. The distribution of these cytological markers throughout meiosis indicates that the sex locus occurs somewhere within a pericentric region, the minimum extent of which includes both the intercalary band and the centromere.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Manchester, UK

    M. E. Newton, D. I. Southern & R. J. Wood

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  1. M. E. Newton
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  2. D. I. Southern
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  3. R. J. Wood
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Newton, M.E., Southern, D.I. & Wood, R.J. X and Y chromosomes of Aedes aegypti (L.) distinguished by Giemsa C-banding. Chromosoma 49, 41–49 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00284986

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00284986

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