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Relationship between chromosome content and nuclear diameter in early spermatids of Drosophila melanogaster

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2009

Cayetano González ,
José Casal  and
Pedro Ripoll
Cayetano González*
Affiliation:
Centro de Biología Molecular (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
José Casal
Affiliation:
Centro de Biología Molecular (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Pedro Ripoll
Affiliation:
Centro de Biología Molecular (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
*
Corresponding author: Cayetano González.
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We have studied, using light microscopy, the relationship between chromosome content and nuclear diameter in early spermatids of males carrying different combinations of wild-type and compound chromosomes in Drosophila melanogaster. By using these genotypes we have been able to observe spermatid nuclei bearing various numbers of chromosomes ranging from only one sex chromosome and no major autosomes to almost twice the normal chromosome complement. We have found that variations in the chromosome content are accompanied by increasing the variance in early spermatid nuclear diameter; the more gametic classes produced, the higher the variance of nuclear diameters. These results indicate that measuring nuclear diameters in early spermatids represents a useful way to estimate the levels of meiotic non-disjunction and thereby to improve the characterization of lethal or male sterile mutants in which analysis of meiotic chrosome non-disjunction cannot be achieved by conventional genetic methods.

Type
Research Article
Information
Genetics Research , Volume 54 , Issue 3 , December 1989 , pp. 205 - 212
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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