C-banding characterization of centric fusion and heterochromatin polymorphisms in the water-hyacinth grasshopper, Cornops aquaticum (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Abstract The water-hyacinth grasshopper, Cornops aquaticum (Orthoptera: Acrididae), shows a clinal variation for 3 Robertsonian translocation (centric fusion) polymorphisms in the southern extreme of its wide geographical distribution. It is a Neotropical semiaquatic grasshopper that lives, feeds, and lays eggs exclusively on floating plants of the family Pontederiaceae, or water-hyacinths, between 23° N (Southern Mexico) and 35° S (Central Argentina and Uruguay). Given the invasive-species status of Pontederia (formerly Eichhornia) crassipes and the voraciousness of these grasshoppers, they were considered as a potential biological control agent in addition to other natural enemies. We already described the association of the rearrangements with geographical and climatic variables, phenotypic variation, trivalent orientation, effects on recombination, and relationship with microsatellite variability. Here we analyze the distribution of constitutive heterochromatin in 2 populations of C. aquaticum in order to (i) provide consistent markers for a better distinction between all chromosomes, those which are involved in the centric fusions, and those which are not, and (ii) describe possible polymorphisms for C-positive supernumerary segments, given that, on conventional staining analysis, it was frequent to find heteromorphic autosomal bivalents. The cytogenetic analysis allowed us to get a detailed characterization of the constitutive heterochromatin distribution, providing unmistakable chromosome markers of the large, fusion-bearing chromosomes as well as the C-positive, polymorphic supernumerary segments.