engleski

Karyotype investigations in the European crayfish Austropotamobius torrentium (Decapoda, Astacidae)

This study reports on the chromosome number and karyological characteristics of the endangered species of European crayfish, Austropotamobius torrentium (Decapoda, Astacidae), native to Croatian freshwater habitats. The karyotipe of A. torrentium consists of 2n=174 chromosomes. The haploid chromosome complement consists of 39 metacentric, 8 submetacentric, and 1 telocentric chromosomes. The telocentric chromosome pair is the largest in the complement. In A. torrentium, one chromosome pair was highly heteromorphic, exhibiting more than two-fold size difference. Fluorochrome staining with 4, 6-diamino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) has revealed that the karyotype of A. torrentium is characterised by large heterochromatic blocks. The majority of heterochromatc blocks are located in the centromeric position and some in the intercalary positions on chromosomes. This study is the first to provide the detailed information on the chromosome number and karyotype of A. torrentium.

stone crayfish; chromosome number

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