Abstract
Chiarelli and Capanna (1973) point out the significance of karyotypes as a species-specific aspect of the phenotype. They also discuss the potential of a species' karyotype to evolve largely independent of the genotype thereby providing an additional suite of characters for karyological analysis. This paper presents the first description of the karyotype of the White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica). Karyotypes were prepared and examined from three populations of White-winged Doves in southwestern Texas. These included locations in Apline (Brewster County), Pharr (Hidalgo County), and the Sierra Vieja Mountains (Presidio County). Standard mitotic karyotypes were prepared from bone marrow cells following the techniques of Patton (1967), Hsu and Patton (1969), and Lee (1969). Additional material was prepared from spleen tissue. Chromosomes were subsequently stained in 2% Giemsa solution. Elevation of the mitotic index was accomplished following the yeast technique described by Lee and Elder (1980). Differential staining of nucleolus organizer regions (NORs) of mitotic chromosomes was accomplished following the technique of Howell and Black (1980). Meiotic chromosome spreads, from testicular tissue of reproductively active males, were prepared in much the same manner as the mitotic except that a 1% sodium citrate solution was used for the hypotonic incubation phase following homogenization in several drops of 2.2% sodium citrate solution. Karyotypes of members of the genus Zenaida have a diploid chromosome number range of 2n = 76 (for Z. auriculata) (De Lucca and De Aguiar 1976) to 2n = 78 (for Z. macroura) (Benirschke and Hsu 1971). Analysis of well-spread metaphase chromosome sets from White-winged Doves establishes a diploid chromosome number that ranges from 2n = 76 to 2n = 80 (Fig. 1). This variation was noted within individuals as well as between individuals. The karyotype of the White-winged Dove contains five macrochromosomal autosome pairs that are biarmed with the remainder being acrocentric. These macrochromosome pairs (#1, #2, #4, #5, and the Z sex chromosome) are all classified as submetacentric (more metacentric). The #3 chromosome pair is classified as acrocentric. The remainder of the chromosome pairs and the W sex chromosome were small acrocentric microchromosomes. These designations were made on the basis of centromere indices and follow the terminology ofLevan et al. (1964). The fundamental number for the White-winged Dove ranged from 84 (when 2n = 76) to 88 (when 2n = 80). Haploid chromosome numbers ranged from n = 38 to n = 40. No occurrences of abnormal synapsis were observed. The mitotic chromosomes ranged in mean length from 7.7 tm to 4 tm. Group 2 consists of chromosome pairs #4, #5, and the Z sex chromosome, all of which have a mean
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