Cytogenetic studies of Poecilia (Pisces)

Natural populations of triploid females resembling the gynogenetic teleost, Poecilia formosa (Girard), occur in northeastern Mexico where they intermingle with diploid populations of this species and the members of congeneric bisexual species such as P. mexicana or P. latipinna. Mitotic configurations from gill epithelial cells show 46 chromosomes for the diploid fishes, but 69 chromosomes for members of the triploid clones associated with P. formosa. Triploid females have erythrocytes that are significantly larger than those from diploid specimens and also show a roughly 50% elevation in the average DNA content of their somatic nuclei. Similar analyses of two functionally incompetent males of P. formosa, of a number of bisexual F₁ and F₂ hybrid offpsring from P. latipinna x P. mexicana, and of females from several other poeciliid species consistently show only diploid DNA levels and somatic chromosome complements where 22N=46. Demonstration of cytogenetic criteria by which females from triploid clones may be clearly distinguished from sympatric diploid specimens of P. formosa or P. mexicana leaves unresolved, for the present, problems of an appropriate systematic designation for natural populations of triploid gynogenetic fishes. The role of sympatric speciation in the evolution of poeciliid genomes is discussed in terms of alternative mechanisms to account for the persistence in nature of a vertebrate triploid of hybrid origin.This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (GB 7393) and from the U.S. Public Health Service (GM 14644).Recipient of a Research Career Development Award from the U.S. Public Health Service (1 K3 GM 3455).     

Sex Determination and Polyploid Gigantism in the Dwarf Surfclam (Mulinia Lateralis Say)

Mulinia lateralis, the dwarf surfclam, is a suitable model for bivalve genetics because it is hardy and has a short generation time. In this study, gynogenetic and triploid. M. lateralis were successfully induced. For gynogenesis, eggs were fertilized with sperm irradiated with ultraviolet light and subsequently treated with cytochalasin B to block the release of the second polar body (PB2). Triploidy was induced by blocking PB2 in normally fertilized eggs. The survival of gynogenetic diploids was very low, only 0.7% to 8 days post-fertilization (PF), compared with 15.2% in the triploid groups and 27.5% in the normal diploid control. Larvae in all groups metamorphosed at 8-10 days PF, and there was no significant post-larval mortality. At sexual maturation (2-3 months PF), all gynogenetic diploids were female, and there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in sex ratio between diploids and triploids. These results suggested that the dwarf surfclam may have an XX-female, XY-male sex determination with Y-domination. Compared with diploids, triploids had a relative fecundity of 59% for females and 80% for males. Eggs produced by triploid females were 53% larger (P < 0.001) in volume than those from diploid females. In both length and weight measurements at three months PF, the gynogenetic diploids were not significantly (P > 0.33) different from normal diploid females, suggesting that inbreeding depression was minimal in meiosis II gynogens. Triploid clams were significantly larger (P < 0.001) than normal diploids. We hypothesize that the increased body-size in triploids was caused by a polyploid gigantism due to the increased cell volume and a lack of cell-number compensation.     

A genetic test of the mechanism of Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility in Drosophila

Cytoplasmic bacteria of the genus Wolbachia are best known as the cause of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI): many uninfected eggs fertilized by Wolbachia-modified sperm from infected males die as embryos. In contrast, eggs of infected females rescue modified sperm and develop normally. Although Wolbachia cause CI in at least five insect orders, the mechanism of CI remains poorly understood. Here I test whether the target of Wolbachia-induced sperm modification is the male pronucleus (e.g., DNA or pronuclear proteins) or some extranuclear factor from the sperm required for embryonic development (e.g., the paternal centrosome). I distinguish between these hypotheses by crossing gynogenetic Drosophila melanogaster females to infected males. Gynogenetic females produce diploid eggs whose normal development requires no male pronucleus but still depends on extranuclear paternal factors. I show that when gynogenetic females are crossed to infected males, uniparental progeny with maternally derived chromosomes result. This finding shows that Wolbachia impair the male pronucleus but no extranuclear component of the sperm.     

Meiotic parthenogenesis and heterochromatization in a soft scale,pulvinaria hydrangeae (Coccoidea: Homoptera)

Summary Meiotic parthenogenesis of a type not previously described was found in Pulvinaria hydrangeae Steinweden. During diakinesis 8 bivalents were formed. At prometaphase the spindle was tripolar but anaphase I was bipolar and normal. After completion of division of the primary oocyte, the following sequence occurred: 1. polar body I divided, usually into 3 products; 2. the secondary oocyte divided to yield the egg pronucleus and polar body II; 3. the egg pronucleus divided into its two haploid products; and 4. the second polar body divided. The products of the egg pronucleus fused while dividing to restore the diploid chromosome number; this division may be equated to the first cleavage division. The products of the polar bodies did not take part in the formation of the embryo proper or the mycetocytes.Among the embryos produced by females of two out of the three populations studied some of the embryos showed a heterochromatic chromosome set, characteristic of males in this and related families. The reproductive system of the females as well as the eggs did not contain any sperm; thus the male embryos were apparently produced parthenogenetically.The euchromatic and heterochromatic chromosome sets were genetically identical, since they both originated from the egg pronucleus by mitosis. The heterochromatization of one set but not the other might be due in part to a previous difference in their position in the cytoplasm.The females were completely homozygous yet they produced male and female embryos. Thus it appears that sex determination in the group does not depend on the segregation of genetic factors in either males or females.In addition to male and female embryos, three types of degenerating embryos were observed. It is believed that these embryos were formed by polyploid somatic cells which invaded abnormal eggs and embryos and took over development.     

Fertility of triploid hybrids of Prussian carp (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Carassius gibelio</Emphasis>) with common carp (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyprinus carpio</Emphasis> L.)

Fertility of backcross triploid hybrids containing one genome of Prussian carp and two genomes of common carp is investigated. The females of hybrids of Prussian carp and common carp (Prussian × common carp) are prolific and produce diploid gametes. Since males of such hybrids are sterile, their reproduction is realized by means of induced gynogenesis. Triploid progeny is obtained by backcrossing female Prussian × common carp with carp males. Among triploids obtained from hybrids F₁ and among hybrids of the first gynogenetic generation, there were no prolific specimens. However, in reproduction of diploid hybrids by means of gynogenesis during six generations, the female fertility in the backcross progeny is restored. From backcross triploid females (daughters of Prussian × common carp of the sixth gynogenetic generation), a viable triploid gynogenetic progeny and a tetraploid backcross (by carp) progeny are obtained. The obtained data may be considered as the experimental proof of the hypothesis of reticular speciation.     

Gonadal morphology of female diploid gynogenetic and triploid rainbow trout

Chromosome sets of fishes can be manipulated; this practice includes the production of triploid and gynogenetic salmonids. Such chromosomal modifications often result in abnormal ovarian development. In rainbow trout (RBT), triploid females have string-like gonads lacking significant developing oocytes and are suggested to be sterile due to the odd set of chromosomes disrupting oogenesis. Aberrant ovarian development is reported to occur in about 30% of gynogenetic females. It has been suggested that gynogenetic fish are more prone to expressing developmental abnormalities due to either increased homozygosity or to incomplete inactivation of the paternal chromatin. This investigation was done to compare the ovarian morphology of female triploid and induced gynogenetic diploid RBT. The objective was to determine whether the presence of supernumerary chromosomal fragments, potentially generated during the process of sperm genome inactivation, would result in abnormal gonadal development in gynogens comparable to that observed in triploid females. Gonadal morphology was observed and karyotypical analysis was completed on 21 gynogenetic fish. In 90% of the fish examined, the presence of chromosomal fragments was positively correlated with irregular ovarian development. The atypical gonadal morphology observed in the gynogens resembled triploid RBT ovarian morphology. The results of this investigation support the hypothesis that disruption of the normal diploid chromosomal complement alters germ cell development in gynogenetic female RBT due to the unbalanced nature of the genome. J. Exp. Zool. 286:505-512, 2000.     

Triploid females and diploid males: underreported phenomena in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Polistes</Emphasis> wasps?

Summary In hymenopteran species, males are usually haploid and females diploid. However, in species that have complementary sex determination (CSD), diploid males arise when a female produces offspring that are homozygous at the sex-determining locus. Although diploid males are often sterile, in some species they have been shown to produce diploid sperm, thus producing triploid daughters if they mate successfully. Diploid males have been observed in very few species of social wasps, and we know of no published reports of triploid females. In this paper, we review the existing literature on diploid males and triploid females in the Hymenoptera, and report the observation of triploid females in three species of Polistes paper wasps. Although polyploid offspring may be produced parthenogenetically, the more likely scenario is that Polistes wasps have CSD and produce diploid males via homozygosity at the sex-determining locus. Therefore, female triploidy indicates that diploid males do exist in Polistes species where they are presumed to be absent, and are likely to be even more frequent among species that have experienced a genetic bottleneck. We conclude by cautioning against the assumption of a selective advantage to the production of early males, and by discussing the implications of male diploidy and female triploidy for measurement of sex ratio investment and assumptions of reproductive skew theory.Received 5 December 2003; revised 20 March 2004; accepted 19 April 2004.     

鲤鲫人工多倍体谱系中同工酶和蛋白的基因表达

通过对红鲤、红鲫、镜鲤、鲤鲫杂种二倍体一代,二代,鲤鲫杂种三倍体,鲤鲫复合三倍体,鲤鲫杂种四倍体一代,二代的同工酶及蛋白电泳谱型和扫描数据分析表明,在鲤鲫人工多倍体谱系中,亲代的等位基因在杂交子代中共有四种表达模式;（1）两亲本基因在子代中共同表达,即共显表达;（2）父本的基因表达受到部分或完全的抑制,即母本的基因优先得到表达;（3）母本的基因表达受到抑制,父本的基因得到表达;（4）双亲本的基因表达均受到一定程度的抑制或都不表达。其中第一种表达模式是主要的模式。根据以上基因在杂交子代中的表达特点,可用同工酶和蛋白电泳图谱将鲤鲫人工多倍体谱系的各种生物型逐一加以区分。     

Unusual triploid males in a microchromosome-carrying clone of the Amazon molly, Poecilia formosa

The Amazon molly, Poecilia formosa, is an all-female fish of hybrid origin which reproduces by gynogenesis, i.e. it depends on sperm of males of closely related species to trigger parthenogenetic development of the embryo. Therefore the offspring is clonal and identical to the mother. In rare cases the exclusion mechanism fails and paternal introgression occurs. This may result either in triploid offspring - if the whole haploid chromosome set of the sperm fuses with the diploid egg nucleus - or in siblings with microchromosomes - if only subgenomic amounts of paternal DNA are included. In one of our diploid, microchromosome-carrying laboratory stocks we observed eight triploid individuals which all developed into males. We investigated the mitotic and meiotic chromosomes, the synaptonemal complex (SC), and sperm production of these males, and compared them to males of the gonochoristic parental species (P. latipinna and P. mexicana) and their hybrids. This comparison revealed that P. formosa males are functional males with reduced effective fertility. They show a deviation from the typical 23 bivalents in the synaptonemal complexes as well as in diakinesis due to the triploid state. They produced offspring but only with gynogenetic Amazon molly females. This shows that the probably aneuploid sperm from P. formosa males can trigger parthenogenetic development of unreduced eggs.     

A Tripolar Spindle Formed at Meiosis I Assures the Retention of the Original Ploidy in the Gynogenetic Triploid Crucian Carp, Ginbuna Carassius auratus langsdorfii

A triploid crucian carp, ginbuna ( Carassius auratus langsdorfii ), reproduces by gynogenesis, in which sperm of diploid ginbuna or of other species triggers the development of the triploid eggs, but a male genome makes no contribution to the zygotic genome. Gynogenesis is maintained by two mechanisms: exclusion of male genome during fertilization and retention of somatic ploidy levels during oogenesis. We examined the mechanisms responsible for producing unreduced eggs. Microfluorometry with a DNA staining dye showed that DNA content in the ginbuna oocytes was not reduced in half during meiosis I. Cytological observations revealed that a tripolar spindle was formed at meiosis I and the first polar body was not extruded, whereas an ordinary bipolar spindle was formed and the second polar body was extruded at meiosis II. Activity of histone H1 kinase (as an indicator of maturation-promoting factor) decreased transiently between meiosis I and II, strongly suggesting a "normal" meiotic cycle progression in the ginbuna oocytes. These results have indicated that in the gynogenetic ginbuna the somatic ploidy levels are maintained by inhibiting the first polar body extrusion via the formation of the tripolar spindle at meiosis I.     

Massive production of all-female diploids and triploids in the crucian carp

In many species of aquaculture importance, all-female and sterile populations possess superior productivity due to faster growth and a relatively homogenous size of individuals. However, the production of all-female and sterile fish in a large scale for aquaculture is a challenge in practice, because treatments necessary for gynogenesis induction usually cause massive embryonic and larval mortality, and the number of induced gynogens is too small for their direct use in aquaculture. Here we report the massive production of all-female triploid crucian carp by combining artificial gynogenesis, sex reversal and diploid-tetraploid hybridization. Previously, we have obtained an allotetraploid carp population (4n = 200) by hybridization between red crucian carp (Carassius auratus red var; ♀) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio; ♂). We induced all-female diploid gynogens of the Japanese crucian carp (Carassius cuvieri; 2n = 100). We also generated male diploid gynogens of the same species treated gynogenetic fry with 17-α-methyltestosterone, leading to the production of sex-revered gynogenetic males. Finally, these males were used to cross with the female diploid Japanese crucian carp gynogens and the allotetraploid females, resulting in the production of fertile all-female diploid Japanese crucian carp (2n=100) and sterile all-female triploid hybrids (3n = 150), respectively. Therefore, diploid crucian carp gynogenetic females and sex-reversed male together with an allotetraploid line provide an opportunity to produce all-female triploid populations in a large scale to meet demands in aquaculture industry.     

Evidence for the Formation of the Male Gynogenetic Fish

The females and unexpected males of gynogenetic red crucian carps (GRCC) with the 1:1 sex ratio were found in the progeny of the distant crossing of red crucian carp (RCC; ♀, 2n?=?100) × blunt snout bream (BSB; ♂, 2n?=?48). The females and males of GRCC were fertile, and they mated each other to generate the red crucian carps (GRCC₁) and another variational gray crucian carps (GGCC). The GRCC and their offspring were proved to be diploids (2n?=?100) with one to three microchromosomes by examining the chromosomal metaphases. The evidences for the male’s genetic effect in GRCC were provided by means of fluorescence in situ hybridization, Sox-HMG DNA markers, and microsatellite DNA markers. The genotypic variances of GRCC resulted in their phenotypic variances which were quite different from their maternal parent. It was concluded that the formation of the male gynogenetic fish in GRCC resulted from the genetic leakage of the paternal fish in the form of the microchromosomes including the paternal male-determining gene. After being activated by the sperm of BSB, which was inactivated and finally degraded but left the microchromosomes, the egg of RCC, in which the 50 chromosomes were spontaneously doubled to 100 chromosomes, developed into the diploid male gynogenetic fish. The formation of the bisexual GRCC and their progeny indicated that the distant hybridization could generate the bisexual diploid gynogenetic fish with genetic variation derived from the paternal fish, which is of great significance in both fish genetic breeding and evolutionary biology.     

Experiments inducing prospective polar body nuclei to participate in embryogenesis of the sawfly Athalia rosae (Hymenoptera)

Summary Mature eggs dissected from ovaries of unmated females of Athalia rosae (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), if placed on a filter-paper soaked with distilled water, are activated and develop to haploid males. Occasionally, however, diploid females develop from these artificially activated eggs. Treatment of mature unfertilized eggs dissected from diploid females with ice-cold temperatures immediately before activation and with a high temperature (36° C) upon and immediately after activation resulted in the production of diploid males, diploid females, triploid females and gynandromorphs at high frequency. The same treatment of mature unfertilized eggs dissected from triploid females resulted in the production of only triploid survivors. These results, together with the results on the segregation of a marker mutation, yellow fatbody (yfb), appear to indicate that meiotic divisions were complete in the treated eggs, and that all four nuclei became potentially capable of participating in development with or without automictic fusion.Studies on the sawfly, Athalia rosae (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae), part V     

Two unisexual artificial polyploid clones constructed by genome addition of common carp (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyprinus carp</Emphasis>) and crucian carp (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Carassius auratus</Emphasis>)

A polyploid hybrid fish with natural gynogenesis can prevent segregation and maintain their hybrid vigor in their progenies. Supposing the reproduction mode of induced polyploid fish being natural gynogenesis, allopolyploid hybrid between common carp and crucian carp into allopolyploid was performed. The purpose of this paper is to describe a lineage from sexual diploid carp transforming into allotriploid and allotetraploid unisexual clones by genome addition. The diploid hybrid between common carp and crucian carp reproduces an unreduced nucleus consisting of two parental genomes. This unreduced female pronucleus will fuse with male pronucleus and form allotriploid zygote after penetration of related species sperms. Allotriploid embryos grow normally, and part of female allotriploid can produce unreduced mature ova with three genomes. Mature ova of most allotriploid females are provided with natural gynogenetic trait and their nuclei do not fuse with any entrance sperm. All female offspring are produced by gynogenesis of allotriploid egg under activation of penetrating sperms. These offspring maintain morphological traits of their allotriploid maternal and form an allotetraploid unisexual clone by gynogenetic reproduction mode. However, female nuclei of rare allotriploid female can fuse with penetrating male pronuclei and result in the appearance of allotetraploid individuals by means of genome addition. All allotetraploid females can reproduce unreduced mature eggs containing four genomes. Therefore, mature eggs of allotetraploid maintain gynogenetic trait and allotetraploid unisexual clone is produced under activation of related species sperms.     

Distribution and Cytogenetic Features of Triploid Males of Crucian Carp in Azov Basin

When studying uni-bisexual crucian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) populations in the Azov basin in 1995–2000, we found triploid males, which constituted 2.5%, on average, of the total numbers of studied samples. The areas of nuclei of erythrocytes of triploid males were, on average, 1.35 times those in diploid males. At the same optical density of DNA, the sizes of mature spermatozoon heads in triploid males were, on average, 1.8 times smaller than in diploid males, as follows from the data obtained in summer 1996. The results of similar studies carried out during the period of natural spawning activity in 1997–1999 suggest that the sizes of spermatozoon heads in triploid males were, on the contrary, 1.5 those in diploid males. Triploid males were characterized by mosaicism of spermatozoon sizes and chromosome mosaicism in somatic cells. Electrophoretic analysis for the locus of transferrin confirmed the triploid status of this genetic group. The results of comparative crosses of crucian carps with different ploidy suggest a high fertilizing capacity of triploid males, as well as normal viability of their progenies. A distinct positive correlation (r = 0.73) was found between the numbers of triploid females and triploid males in mixed di-triploid populations. No significant correlation was found between males and females within di- and triploid forms.     

Paternal chromosome incorporation into the zygote nucleus is controlled by maternal haploid in Drosophila

maternal haploid (mh) is a strict maternal effect mutation that causes the production of haploid gynogenetic embryos (eggs are fertilized but only maternal chromosomes participate in development). We conducted a cytological analysis of fertilization and early development in mh eggs to elucidate the mechanism of paternal chromosome elimination. In mh eggs, as in wild-type eggs, male and female pronuclei migrate and appose, the first mitotic spindle forms, and both parental sets of chromosomes congress on the metaphase plate. In contrast to control eggs, mh paternal sister chromatids fail to separate in anaphase of the first division. As a consequence the paternal chromatin stretches and forms a bridge in telophase. During the first three embryonic divisions, damaged paternal chromosomes are progressively eliminated from the spindles that organize around maternal chromosomes. A majority of mh embryos do not survive the deleterious presence of aneuploid nuclei and rapidly arrest their development. The rest of mh embryos develop as haploid gynogenetic embryos and die before hatching. The mh phenotype is highly reminiscent of the early developmental defects observed in eggs fertilized by ms(3)K81 mutant males and in eggs produced in incompatible crosses of Drosophila harboring the endosymbiont bacteria Wolbachia.     

Life‐history traits of the Whiting polyploid line of the parasitoid Nasonia vitripennis

In hymenopterans, males are normally haploid (1n) and females diploid (2n), but individuals with divergent ploidy levels are frequently found. In species with ‘complementary sex determination’ (CSD), increasing numbers of diploid males that are often infertile or unviable arise from inbreeding, presenting a major impediment to biocontrol breeding. Non‐CSD species, which are common in some parasitoid wasp taxa, do not produce polyploids through inbreeding. Nevertheless, polyploidy also occurs in non‐CSD Hymenoptera. As a first survey on the impacts of inbreeding and polyploidy of non‐CSD species, we investigate life‐history traits of a long‐term laboratory line of the parasitoid Nasonia vitripennis (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) (‘Whiting polyploid line’) in which polyploids of both sexes (diploid males, triploid females) are viable and fertile. Diploid males produce diploid sperm and virgin triploid females produce haploid and diploid eggs. We found that diploid males did not differ from haploid males with respect to body size, progeny size, mate competition, or lifespan. When diploid males were mated to many females (without accounting for mating order), the females produced a relatively high proportion of male offspring, possibly indicating that these males produce less sperm and/or have reduced sperm functionality. In triploid females, parasitization rate and fecundity were reduced and body size was slightly increased, but there was no effect on lifespan. After one generation of outbreeding, lifespan as well as parasitization rate were increased, and a body size difference was no longer apparent. This suggests that outbreeding has an effect on traits observed in an inbred polyploidy background. Overall, these results indicate some phenotypic detriments of non‐CSD polyploids that must be taken into account in breeding.     

Distribution and reproductive capacity of natural triploid individuals and occurrence of unreduced eggs as a cause of polyploidization in the loach,Misgurnus anguillicaudatus

Loaches (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) were collected from 35 localities in Japan and assayed by flow cytometry to determine ploidy status. No tetraploids were found, with samples from 33 localities having no or few (1.2–3.2%) triploids. Samples collected from Ichinomiya Town, Aichi Prefecture, showed a relatively high rate of triploidy (7.7%). Samples collected from a fish farm in Hirokami Village, Niigata Prefecture, also showed high proportions of triploids (2.0–15.8%), these triploid males being sterile, but the females producing both large-sized triploid and small-sized haploid eggs. Such eggs developed bisexually rather than gynogenetically, giving rise to viable tetraploid and diploid offspring after normal fertilization. Of eight diploid females obtained from the same locality, one produced a high incidence of viable diploid gynogens (55%) after gynogenetic induction by fertilization with UV-irradiated spermatozoa. These observations indicated the presence of diploid fish which produced both diploid and haploid eggs. Thus, triploid and diploid individuals were also produced after fertilization with haploid spermatozoa. These results suggested that the occurrence of such unreduced eggs may be a cause of natural polyploidization in this species.     

四类不同倍性鲫鱼在胚胎发育期间同工酶基因表达的比较分析

用聚丙烯酰胺梯度凝胶电泳比较分析了单倍体、二倍体、三倍体和复合四倍体4类不同倍性鲫鱼以及单倍体和二倍体鲤鱼在胚胎发育时期4种同工酶(EST,LDH,MDH,SOD)酶谱。结果表明,单倍体鲫鱼和单倍体鲤鱼胚胎与各自的二倍体胚胎相比,同工酶酶谱看不出差异;天然三倍体银鲫胚胎的MDH和SOD同工酶酶谱与二倍体鲫相似,但EST和LDH同工酶比二倍体增多了酶带,有的酶带如EST5和EST6还可在鲤鱼胚胎中找到相应的表达产物,提供了天然雌核发育三倍体银鲫杂交起源的证据;复合四倍体由于含有鲤鱼的一个外来基因组,其胚胎的基因表达有些与杂种类似,在所分析的4种同工酶酶谱中,都可观察到来自鲤鱼基因的影响。此外,在由源于不同复合四倍体个体的卵子发育形成的胚胎间,还观察到同工酶基因表达的异质性。     

四类不同倍性鲫鱼在胚胎发育期间同工酶基因表达的比较分析

Isozyme zymograms of esterase (EST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were analysed by polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis at different developmental stages of embryogenesis in 4 types of various ploidy crucian carp embryos, including haploids, diploids, natural triploids, and multiple tetraploids, and 2 types of haploid and diploid common carp embryos. Haploid embryos of crucian carp (Carassius auratus) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) were produced by treating eggs with UV-irradiated milt from blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala). Natural triploid embryos were obtained from the eggs of gynogenetic silver crucian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) inseminated with milt from red common carp. Multiple tetraploid embryos were also produced by gynogenesis from eggs of the newly discovered multiple tetraploid females inseminated with milt from red common carp. Gradient gel electrophoresis indicated that the band types and staining intensity of 4 isozymes expressed in haploid embryos of crucian carp and red common carp were similar to that in the correlative diploid embryos. In natural triploid silver crucian carp embryos, the zymograms of MDH and SOD isozymes were identical with that of diploid crucian carp embryos, but the EST and LDH isozymes manifested more new enzyme bands in comparison with diploid embryos. The corresponding expressed products of some bands in the triploid embryos, such as EST5 and EST6, could be observed also in red common carp embryos, which provided evidence for hybrid origin about the gynogenetic fish. The multiple tetraploids incorporated one foreign genome of red common carp, therefore, the effects of genes from the foreign genome could be observed in the multiple tetraploid embryos. Gene expression of the isozymes in the tetraploid embryos was somewhat similar to that in hybrids. Owing to interaction of triploid silver crucian carp genomes and common carp haploid genome, some isozyme bands, such as EST5 and EST6, changed in quantity, and some bands increased, such as s-SOD1, s-SOD2, s-SOD3 and s-SOD4 in the tetraploid embryos. Moreover, the heterogeneity was revealed among embryos developed from gynogenetic eggs of 3 different multiple tetraploid individuals.