Karyotyping of Amoeba proteus

Abstract

In this paper, we have developed a method to prepare spreads of mitotic chromosomes of Amoeba proteus and described the process of Amoeba proteus karyotyping. This protocol allows obtaining spread chromosomes with a characteristic pattern of chromomeres on individual chromosomes. It is shown that, in the metaphase of mitosis, amoebas of strain B (one of the type strains of A. proteus in the Amoebae Cultures Collection of the Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences) contain 27 pairs of chromosomes. It is established that the pattern of chromomeres is a chromosome-specific feature. A typical karyogram and image bank of DAPI- and YoYo1-banded individual chromosomes of A. proteus, strain B composed of five different spreads of mitotic cells are presented.