Rapid Chromosome Preparations from Solid Tissues of Fishes

A technique is described for obtaining well-spread metaphases from solid tissues of fishes without the use of methodologies that rely on tissue grinders, centrifuges, digestive enzymes, or tissue culture. This procedure involves the formation of a cell suspension from acetic alcohol fixed tissues using 50% acetic acid. The suspension is applied to a warm (50 °C) slide using a micropipette.Solid tissue preparations may be stained by any of the conventional dyes or treated to reveal Q-bands, C-bands, and nucleolar organizers. Large numbers of slides offish chromosomes can be made easily and rapidly using this procedure.