Heterochromatic chromosomes and satellite DNAs of Drosophila nasutoides

Abstract

Drosophila nasutoides is distinguished from other Drosophila species in that the metaphase karyotype shows a pair of very large V-shaped chromosomes. With Giemsa, a distinctive C-banding pattern is revealed along the arms of this large chromosome, indicating a largely heterochromatic nature. Furthermore, the banding patterns of the arms are symmetrical, indicating that it is an iso-chromosome. A comparison between the metaphase karyotype and polytene chromosomes suggests that the large V chromosome appears as the dot chromosome in polytene squash. One autosome has twice the arm length of typical Drosophila polytene chromosomes and arose either by centric fusion and a pericentric inversion, or by translocation connecting distal ends with a subsequent loss of one centromere. This chromosome appears to have a short arm which ectopically pairs with the proximal region of the long arm, representing a duplication of about ten bands. When the nuclear DNA is examined by neutral CsCl gradient, four satellites are observed. As much as sixty percent of the total DNA appears as satellites in the lysate of larval brains. No satellite was detectable in the lysate of salivary glands. These observations led us to suggest that the heterochromatic nature of the large V chromosome is due to the presence of all four satellites in this chromosome and that this large chromosome appears as the dot because of the under-reduplication of the satellites during polytenization.