Cytogenetic studies in gomphocerine grasshoppers. I. Comparative analysis of chromosome C-banding pattern

Abstract

Chromosome C-banding pattern have been studied in 20 species of gomphocerine grasshoppers. Paracentromeric C-bands were present in the chromosomes of all species analysed, which favours the equilocal model of heterochromatin distribution. Interstitial or distal C-bands, on the other hand, appeared, at most, in two different chromosome pairs within the same chromosome complement, which is not expected on the equilocal model. Interspecific comparisons of C-banding patterns reveal the existence of differences between species of either the same or of different genera, which emphasises the dynamic nature of heterochromatin. The X chromosome shows more similarities for C-banding between the species of the genera Stenobothrus, Euchorthippus, and Omocestus than between these species and those of Chorthippus, which seem to indicate the existence of a close relationship between these three genera. © The Genetical Society of Great Britain.