Karyotypic Characterization оf the Harvest Mouse Micromys minutus ( Pallas , 1771 ) ( Rodentia : Muridae ) from Upper Thracian Valley , South Bulgaria

This study presents the first cytogenetical studies of the harvest mouse Micromys minutus (Pallas, 1771) in Bulgaria. A population of harvest mice from the rice fields near Plovdiv in the Bulgarian part of the Thracian Valley was examined. Five individuals (3 males and 2 females) were cytogenetically analyzed. The diploid chromosome number was found to be 2n = 68. Autosomes consisted of 1 pair of large and 1 pair of small metacentric chromosomes, 2 pairs of middle-sized submetacentric chromosomes, 28 pairs of subtelocentric chromosomes and 1 pair of acrocentric chromosomes. The X chromosome was the largest subtelocetric chromosome, whereas the Y chromosome was found to be the smallest acrocentric chromosome. The FN of the chromosomes was estimated to be 133, as the NFa was 130. All chromosomes, except the largest metacentric pair, exhibited well-expressed heterochromatin blocks in the cetromeric regions, which also extended into the short arms of the most bi-armed chromosomes. Block of centromeric heterochromatin was also found on the X chromosome, while the Y chromosome appeared to be entirely heterochromatic.

[1]  Tze-Ho Chen,et al.  Genomic analyses of the Formosan harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) and comparisons to the brown Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) and the house mouse (Mus musculus). , 2013, Zoology.

[2]  Y. K. Lin,et al.  Polymorphic Microsatellite Markers for the Harvest Mouse (Micromys minutus) in Taiwan , 2009 .

[3]  Y. Matsuda,et al.  Chromosome homology between mouse and three Muridae species, Millardia meltada, Acomys dimidiatus and Micromys minutus, and conserved chromosome segments in murid karyotypes , 2007, Chromosome Research.

[4]  M. Schmid,et al.  The chromosomes of Micromys minutus (Rodentia, Murinae) , 1984 .

[5]  R. Trout.  A review of studies on populations of wild Harvest mice (Micromys minutus (Pallas) , 1978 .

[6]  S. Bloom,et al.  Visualization of nucleolar organizer regions in mammalian chromosomes using silver staining , 1975, Chromosoma.

[7]  S. Makino.  Studies on the Murine Chromosomes, IV , 1944 .

[8]  U. Jüdes.  G- and C-band karyotypes of the harvest mouse, Micromys minutus , 2004, Genetica.

[9]  G. L. Gabor Miklos,et al.  Restriction endonuclease and molecular analyses of three rat genomes with special reference to chromosome rearrangement and speciation problems , 2004, Chromosoma.

[10]  B. Özkan.  A Study on Micromys minitus (Pallas, 1771) (Mammalia: Rodentia) in Turkish Thrace , 2003 .

[11]  V. Popov,et al.  Epigeobiont animal assemblages from two landscapes of the Bulgarian black sea coast: relationship to environmental gradients, assemblage structure and biodiversity. I. Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). , 2000 .

[12]  K. Tsuchiya.  A Contribution to the Chromosome Study in Japanese Mammals , 1979 .