title: Karyotypical characteristics of two allopatric African populations of anhydrobiotic Polypedilum Kieffer, 1912 (Diptera, Chironomidae) originating from Nigeria and Malawi.
abstract: The African chironomid Polypedilumvanderplanki Hinton, 1951 is the only chironomid able to withstand almost complete desiccation in an ametabolic state known as anhydrobiosis. The karyotypes of two allopatric populations of this anhydrobiotic chironomid, one from Nigeria and another from Malawi, were described according to the polytene giant chromosomes. The karyotype from the Nigerian population was presented as the reference chromosome map for Polypedilumvanderplanki. Both populations, Nigerian and Malawian, showed the same number of chromosomes (2n=8), but important differences were found in the band sequences of polytene chromosomes, and in the number and the arrangement of active regions between the two populations. Such important differences raise the possibility that the Malawian population could constitute a distinct new species of anhydrobiotic chironomid.
authors.affiliation: Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia.
authors.forename: Ninel A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Petrova
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, 1-2 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8634, Japan.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cornette
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, 1-2 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8634, Japan.
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimura
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, 1-2 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8634, Japan ; Institute of Fundamental Biology and Medicine, Kazan Federal University, Kremlevskaya ul., 18, Kazan, 420008 Russia.
authors.forename: Oleg A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Gusev
authors.affiliation: Biological Sciences Department Chancellor college, University of Malawi, P.O.Box 280, Zomba, Malawi.
authors.forename: Dylo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pemba
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, 1-2 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8634, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kikawada
authors.affiliation: Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia.
authors.forename: Sergey V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Zhirov
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, 1-2 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8634, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okuda
keywords: Chironomidae; Malawi; Nigeria; Polypedilumvanderplanki; allopatric populations; anhydrobiosis; polytene chromosomes