ANALYSIS OF CONSTITUTIVE HETEROCHROMATIN OF AOTUS (CEBIDAE, PRIMATES)BY RESTRICTION ENZYME AND FLUOROCHROME BANDS

The current classification of genus Aotus includes nine species, four of which occur above the Amazon River and five below it. The position of several of these taxa as a valid species has been questioned. Recen tly, we described the chromosomal constitution of a population in the state of Rondonia, Brazil, whose karyotype typically presented a consi derable accumulation of constitutive heterochromatin. To best characte rize these heterochromatins, in this work we subjected the metaphases of these animals to banding using AluI, HaeIII, HinfI, RsaI, DdeI, Mbo I and MspI restriction enzymes and CMA(3) and DAPI fluorochromes. The banded metaphases were also submitted to sequential C-banding. RsaI, D deI and MboI enzymes showed, in all chromosomes, a banding pattern of C type, similar to that obtained using barium hydroxide. This banding was also seen with AluI, HinfI and MspI, but with reduction or elimina tion of the C-bands in the chromosome pairs 1, 3-7 and 9. MspI also re duced the C-band of pairs 11, 16-21 and 23. HaeIII induced intermediat e bands between G and C. Considering the data of the different bands p roduced, it was possible to characterize at least three distinct types of constitutive heterochromatin in Aotus from Rondonia: (a) centromer ic bands, (b) bands of the heterochromatic short arms and (c) intersti tial bands.