Here's something I received today that I thought you all might find
interesting. Plant-ed list folks, this is an interesting follow-up to
our recent discussion of ploidy in plants vs. animals.
Jon Greenberg
First Tetraploid Mammal Reported
The first ever tetraploid mammal is described in the latest issue of
Nature. Researchers at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and the
Instituto de Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Austral to Chile
(Valdivia, Chile) found that the red viscacha rat (Tympanoctomys
barrerae), common in arid Argentina, has twice the normal number of
chromosomes, twice the amount of genomic DNA, and a cell size larger
than the typical mammalian cell.
http://www2.bioresearchonline.com/read/nl19990929/13062
--
Jon Greenberg, Ph.D. Curriculum Development
Science Education Consultant Program Evaluation
719-477-0160 Preservice & Inservice Teacher Education
mailto:jongreen at bluemarble.net
