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A cytogenetic study performed on a population of the South American leptodactylid frog Eleutherodactylus maussi revealed multiple sex chromosomes of the X1X1X2X2 female/X1X2Y male (= XXAA female/XXAY male) type. The diploid chromosome number is 2n = 36 in all females and 2n = 35 in most males. The multiple sex chromosomes originated by a centric fusion between the original Y chromosome and a large autosome. In male meiosis the X1X2Y (= XXAY) multiple sex chromosomes form a classical trivalent configuration. E. maussi is the first species discovered in the class Amphibia that is distinguished by a system of multiple sex chromosomes. Only one single male was found in the population with 2n = 36 chromosomes and lacking the Y-autosomal fusion. This karyotype (XYAA male) is interpreted as the ancestral condition, preceding the occurrence of the Y-autosome fusion.

High-resolution replication banding patterns were induced in prometaphase and prophase chromosomes of Xenopus laevis by treating kidney cell lines with 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and deoxythymidine (dT) in succession. Up to 650 early and late replicating bands per haploid karyotype were demonstrated in the very long prophase chromosomes. This permits an exact identification of all chromosome pairs of X. laevis. Late replicating heterochromatin was located by analysing the time sequence of replication throughout the second half of S-phase. Neither heteromorphic sex chromosomes nor sex chromosome-specific replication bands were demonstrated in the heterogametic ZW females of X. laevis. A detailed examination of the BrdU/dT-labelled prometaphases and prophases revealed that the X. laevis chromosomes can be arranged in groups of four (quartets), most of which show conspicuous similarities in length, centromere position, and replication pattern. This is interpreted as further evidence for an ancient allotetraploid origin of X. laevis.