title: High heterochromatin content in somatic chromosomes of two unrelated species of Diplopoda (Myriapoda).
abstract: For the first time, a conventional analysis of C-banded karyotypes was carried out in two distantly related diplopod species; this revealed an impressive percentage of heterochromatin in both genomes. In Acanthopetalum sicanum (Order Callipodida) (2n = 12), heterochromatin constitutes about 60% of the total DNA in females and 56% in males, whereas in Enologus oxypygum (Order Julida) (2n = 22) it is about 67% in both sexes. Heterochromatin of the two species was found to be similar in base composition (AT rich) and heterochromatin distribution, indicating that it has accumulated in a species-specific manner. Sex-determining mechanisms of the XY type were detected in both A. sicanum and E. oxypygum. In A. sicanum, the Y presented the lowest heterochromatic content of all chromosomes in the karyotype, whereas the X presented the highest.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Università di Palermo, Italy. zuvitcol@mbox.unipa.it
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vitturi
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Colomba
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Caputo
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sparacio
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barbieri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D004171:Diploidy; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007211:Indoles; D007621:Karyotyping; D008297:Male; D013194:Staining and Labeling
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006570:Heterochromatin; D007211:Indoles; C007293:DAPI