HETEROCHROMATIN AND CYTOGENETIC POLYMORPHISMS IN CEBUS-APELLA (CEBIDAE, PLATYRRHINI)

Cytogenetic studies have been carried out in 39 specimens of C. apella of different origins. Three different morphologies, one affecting the long arm of chromosome 4 and two affecting pair 17, have been detecte d. In each case, they can be related by paracentric inversions. Hetero chromatin polymorphisms affecting terminal or interstitial C+ regions have also been observed. The length of the terminal heterochromatic re gion in the long arms of chromosome 11 is variable in C. apella sp., i n C. a. paraguayanus and absent in the C. a. nigritus specimens studie d. Interstitial C+ bands can be observed in the long arms of the biarm ed chromosomes 4 and 6, and in the long arms of the acrocentric pairs 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21. Interstitial C+ bands in the long arms of chromosomes 4, 12, 17, and 19 are present in all animals studied, although their size is variable, especially in the case of chromosomes 17 and 19. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.