Preferential bivalent formation in tetraploid male of Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas Thunberg

Artificially induced tetraploid Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas Thunberg, produces more aneuploid gametes than normal diploid one, although they showed a comparable fecundity to diploidy. The meiotic chromosome configuration of 3 tetraploid and 1 tetraploid/triploid mosaic males were analyzed through direct chromosome observation. A majority of metaphase I spermatocytes contained both bivalents and quadrivalents. The chromosome configuration of these males was characterized by preferential formation of bivalents to quadrivalents. Bivalents appeared in all spermatocytes and consisted of 86% of all chromosome aggregates. In comparison, quadrivalents occurred in 91% spermatocytes and consisted of only 12.6% of all chromosome aggregates. The mean bivalent frequency per spermatocyte varied between 14.4 and 17.2; while that of quadrivalents varied between 2.2 and 2.7. Most quadrivalents were tandemly chained (58%) or circled (39%). The total number of chromosome aggregates per spermatocyte ranged from 13 to 20 with an average of 17.6; while 18 (16 bivalents and 2 quadrivalents) was the most frequent. Univalents and trivalents appeared in very low frequency. Aneuploid (hypotetraploid) spermatocytes were observed in a low frequency. The chromosome configuration of in the mosaic individual was similar to that of tetraploid individuals. The percentage of triploid spermatocytes (2%) of the mosaic individual was significantly lower (χ2 =30, P < 0.01) than that of triploid cells (46%) in its somatic tissue.