RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DNA VALUE AND CHROMOSOME VOLUME IN COLEOPTERAN GENUS DERMESTES

DNA values and chromosome volumes were determined for six species of the coleopteran genus Dermestes which have very similar karyotypes. Large differences in DNA value occur which give no indication of a geometric series. DNA value is approximately proportional to chromosome volume, indicating that the DNA differences lie in the chromosomes. Evidence from the variation in volume of the sex chromosomes, along with the DNA values, cannot be interpreted in terms of a chromosome model with a variable number of strands. DNA values are often at variance with the taxonomic grouping of species within the genus. © 1969 Springer-Verlag.