Summary
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1.
Male germ cells ofPseudaulacaspis pentagona (TARG.), an exceptional species of the coccid subfamilyDiaspinae, contain only approximately half as much DNA (measured by Feulgen cytophotometry) as do those ofChrysomphalus ficus Ash. — a typical representative of the group.
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2.
Reversing this relationship, the chromosomes ofP. pentagona number 16 in the female, 8 in the male — whileC. ficus has the basic complement of the subfamily, numbering 8 in the female, 4 in the male (Brown andBentsnett 1957).
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3.
The total mass of the chromosomes in the 2 complements is roughly proportional to the DNA values. It is concluded that 2 downward shifts in the level of chromosomal polyteny have been associated with the doubling of the chromosome number inPseudaulacaspis pentagona.
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4.
The cytology of the diaspines is discussed in relation to the evolutionary origin of male haploidy in coccids.
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This investigation was supported in part by grant RG-4370 from the U.S. Public Health Service.
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Hughes-Schrader, S. Differential polyteny and polyploidy in diaspine coccids (Homoptera: Coccoidea). Chromosoma 8, 709–718 (1956). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01259529
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01259529