Karyotype of Acanthocephalus lucii: the first record of supernumerary chromosomes in thorny-headed worms.
The karyotype of Acanthocephalus lucii(Müller, 1776), a parasite of perch, consists of six autosomal biarmed chromosomes and two subtelocentric sex X chromosomes in females or one X in males. The sex determining mechanism is of the XX-X0 type. Most of the acanthocephalans (85%) exhibit small supernumerary metacentric B chromosomes, the number of which varies from one to five. Our data represent the first record of B chromosomes in thorny-headed worms. A possible relationship between the occurrence of B chromosomes and a heavy metal accumulation in acanthocephalan tissue from contaminated aquatic environments is briefly discussed.
Parasitological Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 04001 Kosice, Slovak Republic. spakulma@saske.sk
M
M
Spakulová
I
I
Králová-Hromadová
V
V
Dudinák
P V
PV
Reddy
D000049:Acanthocephala / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000469:parasitology; D007621:Karyotyping; D008297:Male; D008540:Meiosis; D012730:Sex Chromosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013045:Species Specificity; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000648:ultrastructure