Open AccessGenome size variation in the common frog Rana temporaria
Author(s) -
Matsuba Chikako,
Merilä Juha
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
hereditas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1601-5223
pISSN - 0018-0661
DOI - 10.1111/j.2006.0018-0661.01919.x
Subject(s) - biology , heterogametic sex , genome , rana , population , genome size , x chromosome , genetics , zoology , evolutionary biology , chromosome , gene , anatomy , demography , sociology
Genome size variation in the common frog ( Rana temporaria ) was investigated with flow cytometry in three latitudinally separated populations in Sweden to see whether it could provide a useful tool for sex‐identification in this species. Depending on the sex and population, per cell DNA content (2C value) varied from 8.823 to 11.266 pg with a mean (± SE) 2C value of 9.961±0.083 pg. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences in genome size among populations and between sexes. Females had ca 3% larger genomes (x=10.133±0.068 pg) than males (x=9.832±0.068 pg) in all of the populations (sex×population interaction: P>0.10). Individuals from the southernmost population had significantly (x=9.330±0.081 pg) smaller genomes than those from the more northern populations (x=10.032±0.085 and x=10.584±0.085 pg, respectively). These results are in line with the interpretation that males in the common frog are the heterogametic sex, and that there exists large (up to 12%) geographic variation in genome size in this species. However, the sex differences in the genome size are too small to be useful in individual sex identification.