Heterochromatin variation among the populations of Mus terricolor Blyth, 1851 (Rodentia, Muridae) chromosome type I

Abstract

Twenty five to thirty specimens each from ten populations of Mus terricolor of the Terai and the Dooars regions of the Darjeeling foothills of West Bengal were cytogenetically analyzed using C-banding. Results showed intra- and inter- population variation of C-band positive heterochromatin ranging from very large blocks to minute amounts or even complete absence of heterochromatin. Large blocks of centromeric C-bands were found in Bidhan Nagar, Garidhura, Malbazar, Nagrakata and Maynaguri populations in most of the autosomes, while the rest of the populations had large blocks of C-bands on a few autosomes only. Such intra- and inter- population variation may be due to accumulation of C-positive heterochromatin, which has not got fixed homogeneously in all autosome pairs. X-chromosomes invariably possess a C-banded short arm a telomeric C-band at the distal end of the long arm in all populations. The entire Y-chromosome was C-band positive with slight population differences in staining intensity. The results suggest quantitative as well as qualitative variation of C-positive heterochromatin.