Meiosis in chromosomally heteromorphic goitered gazelle, Gazella subgutturosa (Artiodactyla, Bovidae)

Chromosomal-pairing behaviour was studied in the spermatocytes of individual goitered gazelles which were heteromorphic for a 14/15 Robertsonian translocation and which possessed an autosome-to-X translocation. Both translocations exhibited trivalent pairing configurations in pachytene and diakinesis/metaphase I nuclei. Synapsis of the sex chromosomes during pachynema was followed by end-to-end association of the X and Y during diakinesis/metaphase I. The only univalents identified were of the Y chromosome; Y univalency ranged from 15.9% at pachynema to 5.7% at diakinesis/ metaphase I, Robertsonian trivalents exhited evidence of synaptic adjustment in the paracentromeric region, Chiasmata were formed in most bivalents and trivalents; chiasmata were restricted to the autosomal portion of the autosome-to-XY trivalent. Analysis of metaphse II configurations ( secondary spermatocytes) revealed no nondisjunction in individuals homozygous or heterozygous for the Robertsonian translocation. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that neither the autosomal nor the gonosomal heteromorphism reduces the meiotic fitness of male goitered gazelles.