Cytogenetic study on Artemia from Urmiyah Lake

To determine the chromosome numbers of artemia brine-shrimp in Urmiyah Lake (Azarbaijan-e- Gharhi province), cytogenetic studies were carried out on artemia cysts. In order to identify the collected samples, each sample of cysts, first incubated in sea water (35 ppt salinity) and then to determine the reproduction mode, the cyst samples were feed with Dunaliella tertiolecta, for three generations (F3) up to adult. The results showed that there were two types of anemia in terms of reproduction mode, namely bisexual and parthenogenesis. Chromosome spreads were prepared from freshly hatched nauplius squashing method. The results of counting 100 metaphases plates from bisexual artemia and 35 metaphases plates of parthenogenetic specimen, it was found that the number of chromosomes in these 2 types of artemia were the same, 2n=42. In these population, very small chromosomes with metacentric, submetacentric, telocentric and acrocentric types were observed. Karyotype formulas of bisexual and parthenogenetic artemia were determined as 2n=30 M / SM+12 A/T and 2n=32 M / SM+10 A/T, respectively. All studied samples in Interphase stage lacked and chromocenter. Due to very small size of chromosomes, it was difficult to do precise determination of the type of chromosomes and in this regard various C.banding experiments were performed. Also, since chromosomes in artemia lacked any chromocenter, the differentiation of chromosomes based on the types of C.banding was impossible