PARENTAL ORIGIN OF THE EXTRA HAPLOID CHROMOSOME SET IN TRIPLOIDIES DIAGNOSED PRENATALLY

The parental origin of the additional chromosome complement in a total of 17 cases of triploidy was determined mainly using highly polymorph ic microsatellites. Maternal origin of the triploidy was demonstrated in most cases. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systema tic evaluation of the parental origin of chromosome sets in fetuses wh o survived until a cytogenetic diagnosis was established. In contrast to previous investigations this study documented a predominance of mat ernal origin of the extra haploid set mainly due to longer survival ti me for digynic triploidies. The concept of 2 distinct fetal phenotypes in triploidy is clearly supported by this study. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.