M Mohammad Sh.Sh., Vsevolodov E.B., Sharipov I.K., Aliev L. The obtaining of the sheep with odd number of chromosomes and the possibility of its inheritance

Al-Farabi Kazakh national university, Almaty, Kazakhstan 2Institute of general genetics and cytology, Almaty, Kazakhstan 3Shymkent zoo, Shymkent, Kazakhstan *E-mail: eduardvsevolodov@mail.ru

Аннотация

The inheritance of the sheep karyotype with odd number of chromosomes was analyzed basing on
the results of interspecies crosses in Shymkent Zoo and the data of other researchers. As the sheep wild
species (or subspecies) populations have different “even” number of chromosomes in their karyotype
(Ovis ammon musimon – muflon 54 and O. ammon nigrimontana – arhar 56) their crosses have odd
chromosome number (54/2 + 56/2 = 55) the hybrids being principally fertile. The progeny of interspecies hybrids with odd chromosome number (2n=55) can inherit such karyotype at least for 3 generations
without obligate transfer to “even” chromosome number (2n=54 or 56). The mechanisms of karyotype
transfer to “even” chromosome number within the stable natural population is not clear. We can suppose
that fertility of animals with odd chromosome number is somewhat lower than of normal animals with
“even” chromosome number and the latter after all outnumber animals with odd chromosome number
in several generations up to elimination of the animals with odd chromosome number.
Key words: wild sheep species, chromosomes number, sheep interspecies hybrids, inheritance of
odd chromosome number.