Abstract
The eucalyptus snout beetle, Gonipterus scutellatus (Gyllenhal), introduced to South Africa from Australia, causes extensive damage to eucalyptus plantations in colder regions where biological control is less effective. A cytogenetic study was undertaken to assess the weevil's genetic recombination potential and thereby its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. During this study we investigated: (i) the sequence of meiosis; (ii) the weevil's karyotype; and (iii) the number and position of chiasmata on the bivalents. Squashes of male testes revealed a normal, chiasmate meiosis, a sex chromosome complement of Xyp and an autosome complement of three large, and two medium-sized, sub-metacentric pairs and seven small acrocentric pairs. The diploid chromosome number (2n = 26) is marginally higher than the ancestral chromosome number of the Curculionidae (2n = 22). Chiasmata were absent from the proximal regions of the bivalents, occurring mostly in the distal regions and less frequently in the ...
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