[An unusual heteromorphic bivalent in the common vole (Microtus arvalis) from Byelarus]

Electron microscopic analysis was carried out on the synaptonemal complexes of ten male common voles (Microtus arvalis) caught of 1990 in Byelorussia. In the early pachytene stage of spermatocytes of four males heteromorphic bivalent has been found in one of five large autosomes. In the central region of the bivalent one of the lateral elements is in the form of a D-loop, characteristic of insertion/deletion heterozygotes. However, high-resolution G-band staining of mitotic chromosomes from fibroblasts showed no significant differences in the G-band patterns between homologues.