Cytogenetics of Flesh Flies of the Genus Boettcherisca (Sarcophagidae: Diptera)

Abstract

The present study comprises a description of mitotic chromosomes and the distribution of AT-rich DNA in the complements of 9 species of flesh flies of the genus Boettcherisca, B. koimani, B. karnyi, B. nepalensis, B. invaria, B. septentrionalis, B. peregrina, B. timorensis, B. nathani and B. javanica. All the species have 12 chromosomes in their diploid complement with 5 pairs of meta/submetacentric autosomes and a pair of small dot-like sex chromosomes-XX in the females and XY in the males. Staining with fluorochrome DAPI/AMD reveals distinct fluorochrome bright areas on centromeric regions of some chromosomes of each species. However, the distributions of AT-rich heterochromatic areas do not follow any regular pattern among the 9 species.