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Published on: December 14, 2013
Unusual chromosomal polymorphism of the common shrew, Sorex araneus L., in southern Belarus
Iryna A Kryshchuk1, Victor N Orlov2, Elena V Cherepanova2
1Scientific and Practical Center for Bioresources, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Akademicheskaya St. 27, 220072 Minsk, Belarus National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Minsk Belarus.
Abstract:
Analysis of the frequency of karyotypes and chromosomal rearrangements in the distributional ranges of four metacentric races of Sorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758 has revealed features that are not typical for polymorphic populations of this species. The frequency of the acrocentric karyotype and heterozygotes for fusion of acrocentric chromosomes turned out to be significantly higher than expected in case of random crossing. As an explanation for the unusual polymorphism, it has been suggested that metacentric races may hybridize with acrocentric populations that remained from the ancient chromosomal form.
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