Argentophilic structures of spermatogenesis in the yellow fever mosquito.

Application of the silver-staining technique to air-dried chromosome preparations of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, revealed the following: 1) intensely stained pericentromeric regions in all chromosomes including the Y chromosome in spermatogonia, and during the primary and secondary spermatocytes; 2) the presence of prepachytene that were not reported earlier; 3) a nucleolus organizing region that persisted up to the late pachytene stage; and 4) rod or ring-like centrioles in pachytene and diplotene stages. In addition, varying numbers (1-4) of silver-stained, ring-like structures were observed during spermiogenesis. The exact nature and function of these ring-like structures is not understood.