Aspects of Germ Line Somatic and Meiotic Chromosomes in Diabetic Mystromys albacaudatus

Abstract

Gonial somatic and meiotic karyotypes of male diabetic and normal Mystromys albacaudatus both show acrocentric X and Y chromosomes paired in meiotic pro-phase end-to-end, short-arm-to-short-arm. We have not seen the long submeta-centric X of Taitz (1954) and Srivastava, et al. (1974) nor the submetacentric Y of Srivastava, et al. (1974). No differences in karyotypes of normal and diabetic animals have been seen. Pachytene chromosome length varies by a factor of 3.16 among four different preparation techniques. The sex vesicle in pachytene is attached to the eighth chromosome pair. Different stages of meiosis require slightly Different preparation techniques for best results.