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Chromosome banding in amphibia

V. Highly differentiated ZW/ZZ sex chromosomes and exceptional genome size in Pyxicephalus adspersus (Anura, Ranidae)

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Abstract

Highly differentiated heteromorphic sex chromosomes were found in the karyotypes of Pyxicephalus adspersus (= Rana adspersa) and analysed with the various banding methods. The W chromosome is considerably smaller than the Z chromosome and consists to a great proportion of constitutive heterochromatin. The chromosome lengths and the DNA content of this species have the lowest values determined in the Ranidae to date. The nucleolus organizer regions in the chromosomes reveal a high frequency of inter-individual variations (duplications, triplications) and aberrations. In one female animal, a translocation between the W chromosome and a nucleolus organizer was identified. Preliminary results indicate, that the same chromosome pair which in P. adspersus constitutes the heteromorphic sex chromosomes is still in an initial stage of morphological differentiation in P. delalandii. Although the ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes in Pyxicephalus have developed independently of the ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes in birds and reptiles, they seemed to have passed through identical stages of morphological differentiation. In this process, the heterochromatinization of the W chromosome had a decisive function.

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  1. M. Schmid

    Present address: Institut für Humangenetik, University of Göttingen, Nikolausberger Weg 5a, 3400, Göttingen, Federal Republic of Germany

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  1. Abteilung Humangenetik, University of Ulm, Federal Republic of Germany

    M. Schmid

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Schmid, M. Chromosome banding in amphibia. Chromosoma 80, 69–96 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00327567

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