Taxonomy of Microtus savii (Rodentia, Arvicolidae) in Italy: Cytogenetic and Hybridization Data
- 18 November 1994
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Mammalogy
- Vol. 75 (4) , 1040-1044
- https://doi.org/10.2307/1382487
Abstract
Crosses between two subspecies of Microtus savii produced litters of F1 hybrids without any apparent fertility reduction. However, crosses between F1 individuals produced no offspring. Results from backcrosses and histological examination of testes of hybrids show that the absence of the F2 offspring is due to male sterility. Karyological differences exist between these subspecies, but they are limited to sex chromosomes. Large heterochromatin blocks were present on both sex chromosomes of the subspecies M. s. brachycercus and absent on the sex chromosomes of M. s. savii. The M. savii complex presents a useful model to analyse the relationships between differences in sex chromosomes and speciation.Keywords
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