A. Sanchez et al., CYTOGENETIC PECULIARITIES IN THE ALGERIAN HEDGEHOG - SILVER STAINS NOT ONLY NORS BUT ALSO HETEROCHROMATIC BLOCKS, Heredity, 75, 1995, pp. 10-16
Hedgehogs belong to one of the several mammalian taxa in which karyoty
pe differences are based on variations in heterochromatin content. Fur
thermore, the number and location of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs
) can also vary widely In the present study these cytogenetic features
were investigated in the Algerian hedgehog, Erinaceus (Aethechinus) a
lgirus. The heterochromatin and NOR distribution patterns in the karyo
type of this species are new among hedgehogs, whereas the euchromatic
regions, including their G-band pattern, are similar to those reported
by others. In addition, silver staining revealed a cytogenetic featur
e exclusive to the heterochromatic blocks of E. algirus: their silver
staining with standard cytogenetic procedures. Because no similar phen
omenon has been described previously in a mammalian species, several h
ypotheses about the significance and specificity of silver staining to
NOR sites are discussed. Finally, the existence of different types of
heterochromatin in the species analysed here, lead us to propose that
what hedgehogs have inherited from their common ancestor is a mechani
sm which permits the accumulation of heterochromatin on specific chrom
osomes, rather than the heterochromatin itself.