An extreme example of nonrandom rearrangements, especially inversion breaks, is described in the polytene chromosomes of the black fly Simulium bergi Rubtsov, 1956 from Armenia and Turkey. A total of 48 rearrangements was discovered, relative to the standard banding sequence for the subgenus Simulium Latreille, 1802. One rearrangement, an inversion (IIS-C) in the short arm of the second chromosome, was fixed. Six (12.5%) of the rearrangements were autosomal polymorphisms, and the remaining 41 (85.4%) were sex linked. More than 40 X- and Y-linked rearrangements, predominantly inversions, were clustered in the long arm of the second chromosome (IIL), representing about 15% of the total complement. The pattern conforms to a nonrandom model of chromosome breakage, perhaps associated with an underlying molecular mechanism.
Keywords: Caucasus Mountains; nonrandom breakage; polytene chromosomes; sex linkage.