XV.—“Ectopic” Pairing and the Distribution of Heterochromatin in the X-Chromosome of Salivary Gland Nuclei of Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

The problem to be presented here emerges from the following groups of facts and more or less generally accepted opinions.As heterochromatin we may define those parts of chromosomes which reach maximum nucleic acid charge in mitosis or meiosis in times other than metaphase. In salivary gland chromosomes (which are more conveniently called polytene chromosomes) of Drosophila melanogaster the proximal heterochromatic parts of all chromosomes come together and form a central undifferentiated mass, the chromocentre. Genetically heterochromatin forms the so-called inert regions of the chromosomes.