title: Karyotype analysis of four jewel-beetle species (Coleoptera, Buprestidae) detected by standard staining, C-banding, AgNOR-banding and CMA3/DAPI staining.
abstract: The male karyotypes of Acmaeodera pilosellae persica Mannerheim, 1837 with 2n=20 (18+neoXY), Sphenoptera scovitzii Faldermann, 1835 (2n=38-46), Dicerca aenea validiuscula Semenov, 1895 - 2n=20 (18+Xyp) and Sphaerobothris aghababiani Volkovitsh et Kalashian, 1998 - 2n=16 (14+Xyp) were studied using conventional staining and different chromosome banding techniques: C-banding, AgNOR-banding, as well as fluorochrome Chromomycin A3 (CMA3) and DAPI. It is shown that C-positive segments are weakly visible in all four species which indicates a small amount of constitutive heterochromatin (CH). There were no signals after DAPI staining and some positive signals were discovered using CMA3 staining demonstrating absence of AT-rich DNA and presence of GC-rich clusters of CH. Nucleolus organizing regions (NORs) were revealed using Ag-NOR technique; argentophilic material mostly coincides with positive signals obtained using CMA3 staining.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology of Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, P. Sevak 7, Yerevan 0014, Armenia.
authors.forename: Gayane
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Karagyan
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lachowska
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kalashian
keywords: Ag-banding; Buprestidae; C-banding; CMA3-staining; Coleoptera; DAPI-staining; karyotypes