Comparison of the chromosome banding patterns in three species of social voles Microtus irani karamani M schidlovskii M anatolicus from Turkey

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The karyotypes of three species of social voles recently discovered in Turkey (Microtus irani karamani, M. schidlovskii, and M. anatolicus) were investigated. All specimens examined revealed similar karyotypes comprising 60 chromosomes in the diploid complement. All autosomes and the X chromosome were acrocentric. The subtelocentric Y chromosome was recorded in M. anatolicus but it was acrocentric in the other species. Dark C-bands were observed in centromeric/pericentromeric areas of all the acrocentric autosomes. The X chromosome had a centromeric C-positive area and the Y chromosome was completely heterochromatic in all specimens examined. AgNORs were recorded in the pericentromeric region of seven autosome pairs in M. irani karamani, ten autosome pairs in M. schidlovskii, and eight autosome pairs of M. anatolicus. Differences in the NOR distribution between the species were quantified in a neighbor-joining tree. The individuals of M. anatolicus appeared as the basal branch in relation to the derived sister group of M. schidlovskii and M. irani karamani.