Q-band karyotype of the goat (Capra hircus) and the relation between goat and bovine Q-bands

Abstract

The modal chromosome number of the goat (Capra hircus) is 60. The autosomes are acrocentric or telocentric, the X chromosome acrocentric, and the Y chromosome submetacentric. Quinacrine-mustard staining and fluorescence microscopy make it possible to identify 28 out of 30 chromosome pairs. The X chromosome is one of the largest chromosomes, the Y chromosome the smallest. Homologous chromosomes vary considerably in length. The Q-band pattern of the autosomes in goats and cattle seem to be identical. The X chromosomes in goats and cattle presumably contain equal amounts of DNA and the same number of Q-bands, but the sequence of the latter are different.