Sex-dependent meiotic behaviour of B chromosomes in the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans

Abstract

The meiotic behaviour of B chromosomes differs strongly between males and females of Eyprepocnemis plorans. In anaphase I of oogenesis the Bs always divide equationally though this segregation may become more or less aborted and a number of different secondary oocytes can be formed. In contrast, equational divisions of accessories in male meiosis are rare. This peculiar behaviour of B chromosomes in the females does not seem to be associated with accumulation or loss. © 1989, The Genetical Society of Great Britain.