title: Intraspecific polymorphism of sex chromosome heterochromatin in two species of the Anopheles gambiae complex.
abstract: The Hoechst 33258 banding pattern of the mitotic chromosomes of several laboratory and natural populations of the sibling species A. gambiae and A. arabiensis has been analyzed. A clear intraspecific polymorphism of sex chromosome heterochromatin has been observed. Nevertheless in each species heterochromatic variations fall within a characteristic species-specific pattern. Moreover, while laboratory polulations tend to be monomorphic for a given heterchromatic variant, natural populations exhibit a high degree of intrapopulation polymorphism. The possible role of sex chromosome heterochromatin in controlling fertility and mating behaviour of Anopheles mosquitoes is discussed.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics*; D002871:Chromosome Banding; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012730:Sex Chromosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D006570:Heterochromatin