Polytene chromosome mapping in Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae)
Polytene chromosome reference maps of the five autosomes of Ceratitis capitata from male pupal orbital bristle trichogen cells are presented and a correlation is established between two of them and the two largest of the five autosomes in the haploid mitotic complement. Characteristic features of each chromosome are described identifying areas that are difficult to analyze and noting the existence of common alternative band expression. A quantitative analysis of the mitotic karyotype of C. capitata indicates that the two smallest autosome pairs cannot be reliably distinguished. This may present problems with future attempts to establish homologies between the remaining mitotic and polytene chromosomes. A comparison of polytene chromosome banding patterns from salivary gland and trichogen cells failed to find any homologous regions, or even to identify homologous chromosomes. The banding differences are not explained by variation in puffing patterns, heterochromatin expression, or polyteny levels, but appear to reflect fundamental differences in banding patterns of the chromosomes in each tissue. Key words: Ceratitis capitata, polytene chromosome map, mitotic chromosome measurements.