Chromosomal Polymorphism of Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Rodentia: Muridae) in Central Anatolia

Abstract

In this study, conventionally stained, C- and Ag-NOR banded karyotypes of Rattus rattus from Central Anatolia are presented. The karyotype of the specimens from Ankara and Cankiri provinces consist of 2n=38, NF=60 and NFa=58 while the karyotype of Kirikkale specimens consist of 2n=38 and NFa=59 due to a heteromorphic autosome pair. The X is a large to medium sized acrocentric and the Y chromosome is a small acrocentric in all examined specimens. Constitutive heterochromatin is located in the centromeric regions of all pairs of autosomes and the X chromosome. Nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) are located only in 3 autosome pairs.