Obtaining Polytene, Meiotic, and Mitotic Chromosomes from Mosquitoes for Cytogenetic Analysis

Abstract

Chromosome visualization is a key step for developing cytogenetic maps and idiograms, analyzing inversion polymorphisms, and identifying mosquito species. Three types of chromosomes—polytene, mitotic, and meiotic—are used in cytogenetic studies of mosquitoes. Here, we describe a detailed method for obtaining high-quality polytene chromosome preparations from the salivary glands of larvae and the ovaries of females forAnophelesmosquitoes. We also describe how to obtain mitotic chromosomes from imaginal discs of fourth-instar larvae and meiotic chromosomes from the testes of male pupae for all mosquitoes. These chromosomes can be used for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), a fundamental technique in cytogenetic research that is used for physical genome mapping, detecting chromosomal rearrangements, and studying chromosome organization.

Discovery and characterization of chromosomal inversions in the arboviral vector mosquito Aedes aegypti

“…Chromosomal preparations were followed as described elsewhere (S harakhova et al . 2011a; Liang et al . 2022).…”

“…Chromosomal preparations were followed as described elsewhere (Sharakhova et al 2011a;Liang et al 2022). Imaginal discs were dissected from 4 th instar larvae.…”