Chromosome breakage in low birth weight newborns.

The frequency of chromosome aberrations in cells cultured from umbilical cord blood was determined for 50 low birth weight (LBW) and 50 normal birth weight (NBW) euploid newborns matched for sex, race, and maternal age. The metaphase spreads had been prepared in the course of an earlier study of frequency of aneuploidy and results are from 72-h cultures, i.e., presumably, at the second division in vitro. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the frequency of cells with chromosome breakage, chromosome gaps, or hyperdiploid cells. There was, however, a significantly higher frequency of hypodiploid cells in the LBW group. The present findings differ from those of others who have reported an increase in chromosome breakage in premature newborns.

Q-, C-, and G-banding patterns in the germ-line and somatic chromosomes of Miastor sp. (Diptera: Cecidomyidae).

Q-, C-, and G-banding patterns are described for the germ-line and somatic chromosomes of Miastor sp. The chromosome number in the germ line is 36, which is 3 less than that previously reported for the same cultured line 18 years ago. There are 8 chromosome groups: 8 large acrocentrics, 11 large and medium submetacentrics, 4 medium metacentrics, 4 medium subtelocentrics, 6 medium telocentrics, one medium acrocentric, one small submetacentric, and one small telocentric. All 8 large acrocentrics have a Q-band and an interstitial C-band in the short arm, suggesting that these chromosomes are at least partially homologous (or homeologous) and that the germ line originally was polyploid. Only one other germ-line chromosome, the small submetacentric, has a Q-band and an interstitial C-band. In somatic cells there are 8 chromosomes, 28 chromosomes having been eliminated during early cleavage. Three of the four pairs of somatic chromosomes are heteromorphic, despite the indications of a polyploid origin of the germ-line chromosomes and despite the presence of somatic pairing. Furthermore, there is a great deal of restriction on which chromosomes are retained in somatic cells, and it may be that the same 8 chromosomes are retained by all embryos. The G-banding pattern is not as clear as the other two banding patterns. The findings are discussed in relation to observations in other cecidomyids, and a model for the evolution of the chromosome system of Miastor is presented.