Chromosome complement and meiosis in three species of the Neotropical bug genus Antiteuchus (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae, Discocephalinae)

Abstract

Orcein staining of spermatocytes was used to study the meiotic behavior of holocentric chromosomes in three member of the genus Antiteuchus (commonly known as stink bugs). We describe and illustrate the karyotype of Antiteuchus mixtus, A. sepulcralis and A. macraspis which were cytogenetically characterized as having a diploid number of 2n = 14 and an XY sex chromosome system showing pre-reductional meiosis for autosomes and post-reductional meiosis for sex chromosomes. These species were also shown to have a long diffuse stage during meiotic prophase I and aberrant harlequin-type meiocytes. The chiasma frequency was also analyzed for two of the three species studied.

Meiotic behaviour of chromosomes in three predator species of the subfamily Asopinae (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

“…In Pentatomidae, sex chromosomes usually associate during the diffuse stage although there is much variation with respect to degree of association between X and Y among different species (Rebagliati et al, 2001;Lanzone, Souza, 2006). In the present three predator species, X and Y chromosomes associate closely to form a single heteropycnotic body during the diffuse stage as has been observed in other species of Asopinae (Montgomery, 1906;Heizer, 1950Heizer, , 1951 and Pentatomidae in general (Camacho et al, 1985;Satapathy, Patnaik, 1988, 1991.…”

“…The degree of decondensation of the autosomes during the diffuse stage varies among different species of Heteroptera -from species with high degree of decondensation to species whose chromosomes do not decondense at all and diffuse stage is absent (Lanzone, Souza, 2006). Andrallus spinidens and C. furcellata showed high degree of decondensation as was observed in species from different subfamilies of Pentatomidae such as Nezara viridula (Linnaeus 1758) of the subfamily Pentatominae (Camacho et Comp.…”

Morphological patterns of the heteropycnotic chromatin and nucleolar material in meiosis and spermiogenesis of some Pentatomidae (Heteroptera)

“…Multilobed testes are a characteristic of the Pentatomidae, but the number of lobes observed in the species analyzed herein was smaller than that typically found in the family, which is seven. In addition, the three species differed from the other 27 species of the same family and subfamily (Pentatominae) already studied by the absence of a harlequin lobe (Rebagliati et al, 2005;Lanzone and Souza, 2006;Souza et al, 2007a). The Pentatomidae Antiteuchus tripterus also showed less lobes (six) than the typical seven, but one of them was harlequin (Souza et al, 2007a).…”

“…The sex chromosome system is XX/XY, except in three species: Macropygium reticulare (X 1 X 2 Y); Rhytidolomia senilis (Neo-XY) and Thyanta calceata (X 1 X 2 Y) (Rebagliatti et al, 2005). Pentatomidae karyotypes typically lack microchromosomes (Rebagliati et al, 2005, Lanzone andSouza, 2006;Souza et al, 2007a).…”

Spermatogenesis and nucleolar activity in Triatoma klugi (triatomine, Heteroptera)

“…The sex chromosomes of T. klugi were univalent and pseudobivalent at metaphase I and were predominantly univalent at metaphase II. The sex chromosomes appeared as univalents at metaphase I of the Antiteuchus species of heteropterans, while in metaphase II they were pseudobivalents (Lanzone and Souza, 2006). Nevertheless, a pseudobivalent XY was observed in both the first and second meiotic divisions in the Heteroptera Graphosoma italicum (González-García et al 1996).…”