Zoological Studies

Nuclear DNA and Remarks on Chromatin Diminution in Cyclopoid Copepods

Andrey Konstantinovich Grishanin, Hans-Uwe Dahms and Alexey Pavlovitch Akifiev (2004) The sizes of chromosomes and nuclear DNA were determined for German populations of Acanthocyclops viridis, Eucyclops macruroides, E. serrulatus, Cyclops insignis, and A. viridis and Russian populations of Macrocyclops albidus and Thermocyclops crassus. In contrast to German populations, the Russian populations of C. insignis show no chromatin diminution (CD). The absence of CD in Russian populations of C. insignis elicited the supposition that these 2 populations are probably at the early stages of speciation on the path towards speciation events. In P. affinis, we noted a striking difference in the chromosomes and nuclear DNA contents of embryonic cells compared to somatic cells of adults.