Comparative analysis of chromosomal localization of ribosomal and telomeric DNA markers in three species of Pyrgomorphidae grasshoppers

Abstract. The karyotypes of three species of Pyrgomorphidae grasshoppers were studied: Zonocerus elegans (Thunberg, 1815), Pyrgomorpha guentheri (Burr, 1899) and Atractomorpha lata (Mochulsky, 1866). Data on karyotypes of P. guentheri and Z. elegans are reported here for the first time. All species have karyotypes consisting of 19 acrocentric chromosomes in males and 20 acrocentric chromosomes in females (2n♂=19, NF=19; 2n♀=20, NF=20) and X0/XX sex determination system. A comparative analysis of the localization of C-heterochromatin, clusters of ribosomal DNA, and telomere repeats revealed inter-species diversity in these cytogenetic markers. These differences indicate that the karyotype divergence in the species studied is not associated with structural chromosome rearrangements, but with the evolution of repeated DNA sequences.