A karyological analysis on six Italian populations the slow worm (Anguis veronensis Pollini, 1818) was performed and their genetic differentiation at the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene fragment from a Spanish sample has been assessed. The Italian populations were karyologically uniform, all showing 2n= 44 elements, of which 20 were macrochromosomes and24 microchromosomes. Comparison with literature data on Central European populations showed a difference on the morphology of the 10th chromosome pair: Submetacentric in Italian populations and telocentric in the Central European ones. Our analysis showed the presence of a fragile site on chromosomes of this pair, suggesting its propensity for structuralrearrangements. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene fragment showed uniformity among Italian populations (uncorrected genetic distance of 0.4%), and their genetic distinctness from theSpanish individual (uncorrected genetic distance of 4.2%). Our results confirm the existence of two different Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758 lineages, each one characterized by adifferent cytotype. © Marcello Mezzasalma et al.
CITATION STYLE
Mezzasalma, M., Guarino, F. M., Aprea, G., Petraccioli, A., Crottini, A., & Odierna, G. (2013). Karyological evidence for diversification of Italian slow worm populations (Squamata, Anguidae). Comparative Cytogenetics, 7(3), 217–227. https://doi.org/10.3897/CompCytogen.v7i3.5398
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