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Mitotic chromosome preparations of the interspecific hybrids Chlamys farreri (Jones & Preston, 1904) × Patinopecten yessoensis (Jay, 1857), C. farreri × Argopecten irradians (Lamarck, 1819) and C. farreri × Mimachlamys nobilis (Reeve, 1852) were used to compare two different scallop genomes in a single slide. Although genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) using genomic DNA from each scallop species as probe painted mitotic chromosomes of the interspecific hybrids, the painting results were not uniform; instead it showed species-specific distribution patterns of fluorescent signals among the chromosomes. The most prominent GISH-bands were mainly located at centromeric or telomeric regions of scallop chromosomes. In order to illustrate the sequence constitution of the GISH-bands, the satellite Cf303 sequences of C. farreri and the vertebrate telomeric (TTAGGG)n sequences were used to map mitotic chromosomes of C. farreri by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The results indicated that the GISH-banding pattern presented by the chromosomes of C. farreri is mainly due to the distribution of the satellite Cf303 DNA, therefore suggesting that the GISH-banding patterns found in the other three scallops could also be the result of the chromosomal distribution of other species-specific satellite DNAs.

Interspecific crossing was artificially carried out between Chlamys farreri (Jones & Preston, 1904) ♀ and Argopecten irradians irradians (Lamarck, 1819) ♂, two of the dominant cultivated scallop species in China. Genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) was used to examine the chromosome constitution and variation in hybrids at early embryonic stage. The number of chromosomes in 66.38% of the metaphases was 2n = 35 and the karyotype was 2n = 3 m + 5 sm + 16 st + 11 t. After GISH, two parental genomes were clearly distinguished in hybrids, most of which comprised 19 chromosomes derived from their female parent (Chlamys farreri) and 16 chromosomes from their male parent (Argopecten irradians irradians). Some chromosome elimination and fragmentation was also observed in the hybrids.