红翅皱膝蝗减数分裂染色体的螺旋与轴结构

用低渗处理和苯酚品红染色,在经过卡诺液(甲醇3∶冰醋酸1)固定和未经固定的红翅皱膝蝗减数分裂染色体上都看到了螺旋结构。观察和测量结果表明,每条染色单体都是由430nm左右的染色线螺旋形成的。由染色线到染色体的压缩率为4∶1。低渗处理后固定的材料经过银染,则显示了染色体轴结构。同样,未经低渗处理直接固定的材料银染时也出现了轴结构。银染的轴结构位于每个染色单体的中央,并贯穿整个染色单体。在光镜下,这个轴并不是直径均一的棒状结构,而似乎是由许多大小相近的颗粒相连而成。本文对染色体结构的有关模型、骨架和轴结构的真实性以及轴和螺旋的关系等问题进行了讨论。     

红翅皱膝蝗减数分裂染色体轴的形成与联会复合体

本文通过延长低渗处理、压片和硝酸银染色技术,对红翅皱膝蝗减数分裂中期Ⅰ染色体轴的形成过程及其联会复合体(Synaptonemal complex,SC)与染色体轴形成的关系进行了研究。我们的结果表明,中期Ⅰ染色体轴是在晚双线期到终变期的过程中逐渐在染色体中形成的。染色体轴形成的动态行为,一方面暗示了这种结构在染色体集缩和维持中期染色体的形态方面起某种重要作用;另一方面说明了轴是染色体中存在的一种真实结构。同时,本文的结果还指出,SC在早双线期到中双线期就解体了,而中期Ⅰ染色体轴是在晚双线期才开始形成。这两种轴结构之间很明显不是连续的。染色体轴的形成与SC的侧轴无直接的相关性。它们是减数分裂染色体中先后出现的两种不同的轴结构。     

棕色田鼠性染色体联会复合体配对的形态学研究

以界面铺展———硝酸银染色方法制备棕色田鼠性染色体联会复合体标本,电镜观察了性染色体联会复合体的形成过程。性染色体轴深染加粗,在早粗线期开始联会;中粗线期Ｙ轴以其全长与Ｘ轴约３／８配对,Ｘ轴形成发夹状结构;晚粗线期先于常染色体解联会。并对性染色体间同源性与非同源性配对机制作了探讨     

四种猕猴属动物精母细胞联会复合体的比较研究

本工作采用去污剂微铺展——硝酸银染色技术研究熊猴、平顶猴、藏酋猴、恒河猴及其亚种毛耳猴的精母细胞联会复合体（SC）核型、SC的结构及其在减数分裂中的行为。结果表明这几种动物的SC核型以及SC的发育过程基本一致。SC的形成开始于偶线期,成熟于粗线期,解体于双线期。在减数分裂前期,性染色体轴呈强嗜银性,配对明显落后于常染色体。根据减数分裂前期性染色体的形态和行为,性染色体的配对可分为五种类型。此外,本文还对XY染色体的同源性和侧轴加粗等现象进行了讨论。     

蒜有丝分裂前期和前中期染色体的螺旋结构

本文研究了蒜(Allium sativum)根端细胞有丝分裂前期和前中期染色体的螺旋结构及其形成过程。在光镜和电镜下都看到前期核内存在螺旋化的染色线。从早前期到晚前期染色线的螺旋化是逐渐进行的。开始只有部分染色线螺旋化,螺幅直径约为1.2-1.5微米,以后螺幅增大,达1.8～2微米,并且螺旋结构变得更为紧密。前中期染色体中可见由直径600 nm左右的染色线形成的螺旋结构,螺旋比晚前期更加紧密。本文对中期染色体的高层次结构进行了讨论。     

染色体分带技术及其现状

染色体分带技术是一种用染料对染色体进行分化染色的方法。用一般细胞学染色法,染色体着色是均匀的,但若经过某些物理、化学等条件如:温度、酸碱等处理后再以染料染色,或单经某些荧光染料染色就可以染出深浅不同的带纹的纵向结构。由于这些带     

用改良苯酚品红染色液替代醋酸洋红染色液的研究

以往在动物遗传学实验“果蝇唾液腺染色体标本的制作和观察”中,采用醋酸洋红染色液对染色体染色。本文对用改良苯酚品红染色液替代醋酸洋红染色液对果蝇唾液腺染色体染色的问题进行了研究。结果表明,改良苯酚品红染色液对果蝇唾液腺染色体的染色效果与醋酸染洋红染色液的染色效果是相同的。而且用改良苯酚品红染色液还人提高工效,简易节约的优点。因此认为,在对果蝇唾液腺染色体染色中,用改良苯酚品红染色液替代酸酸洋红染色液     

豚鼠精母细胞联会复合体的电镜观察

以微铺展法制备豚鼠精母细胞联会复合体标本,经硝酸银染色后作电镜观察,建立了SC组型．与有丝分裂染色体组型比较,发现二者有良好的一致性．在粗线期,X,Y轴的配对区很短,配对区的X轴和Y轴没有明显变细．未发现银染SC具有着丝粒,并对可能的原因作了分析讨论．     

石貂的染色体研究

本文对分布在我国的石貂北方亚种染色体进行了较详细的研究。结果表明２ｎ＝３８,核型为１４（Ｍ）＋４（ＳＭ）＋１８（ＳＴ）,ＸＹ（Ｍ,Ａ）。Ｃ－带显示该亚种的一些染色体着丝粒区域结构异染色质弱化或消失。Ｎｏ,９染色体的短臂完全异染色质化;Ｘ染色体长臂丰出现插入杂色质带;Ｙ为完全结构异染色质组成。     

黑眉锦蛇的有丝分裂染色体和减数分裂联会复合体的观察

本工作以C带、硝酸银染色、对黑眉锦蛇(Elaphe taeniura)的有丝分裂染色体进行了显微观察。其二倍体染色体数目2n=36,核型组成为16(8m+6sm+2t)大染色体+20微小染色体。C带显现于几乎所有染色体的着丝粒区,有一对插入型C带位于第6对端着丝粒染色体。一个银染核仁组织区(NORs)位于No.12小染色体。同时以界面铺张——硝酸银染色技术,对黑届锦蛇减数分裂精母细胞联会复合体(SC)的结构进行了亚显微观察。发现黑眉锦蛇的SC结构与其他动物的SC相似,是由两股平行的侧线组成,SC组型与有丝分裂染色体组型有较好的一致性。     

Silver staining of histone-depleted metaphase chromosomes

To investigate a possible relationship between the core-like structures seen in silver-stained chromosomes (prepared by standard cytogenetic methods) and the scaffolds observed in histone-depleted chromosomes, the ability of the scaffold to stain with silver has been examined. Isolated chromosomes were histone-depleted by washing in ammonium acetate or by spreading the chromosomes on an ammonium acetate hypophase. The residual chromosome structures were carbon-platinum shadowed or stained with silver, and then examined by electron microscopy. The results provide clear evidence that the scaffold structure has a high affinity for silver and is therefore similar in its silver-staining potential to the core structure in standard chromosomes. This suggests that the silver core in standard chromosomes may represent the scaffold visualized by histone depletion. The peripherally dispersed DNA radiating from the scaffold also proved to be silver-reactive, and additional experiments demonstrated that purified DNA is capable of binding silver. This result indicates that cytological silver staining is not simply a matter of staining protein, as has previously been thought, but may also involve the staining of chromosomal DNA. In the ammonium acetate-treated and carbon-platinum-shadowed preparations, the scaffold structure was highly variable in its morphology and appeared to be composed of undispersed or incompletely dehistonized chromatin fibers. The silver-stained scaffold reflected this variability. Taken together with other evidence, these findings lead to a questioning of the reality of chromosome core structures.     

Immunofluorescent staining of human metaphase chromosomes with monoclonal antibody to histone H2B

A mouse monoclonal IgM antibody against the core histone H2B has been shown, by indirect immunofluorescence, to stain metaphase chromosomes from a variety of cultured cell types. Experiments carried out with human HeLa cells showed that the intensity of staining varied along the length of chromosome arms giving in some cases a rudimentary banded staining pattern. Considerable variation in staining intensity was noted between individual chromosomes and between different metaphase spreads. It was noted that chromosomes having a more swollen appearance stained more intensely than those with a more compact structure, which were often unstained. Preincubation of unfixed metaphase chromosomes in buffered salt solutions virtually eliminated the cell to cell and chromosome to chromosome variation in staining, even when no visible effect on chromosome morphology was caused by such treatment. It is concluded that the determinant recognised by antibody HBC-7 is ubiquitous but is inaccessible in some chromosomes or chromosome regions. Digestion of purified chromatin (primarily interphase) with DNAase 1 or micrococcal nuclease resulted in a several-fold increase in the binding of antibody HBC-7 measured by solid-phase radioimmunoassay. This increase was abolished by subsequent treatment with trypsin, which suggests that the antigenic determinant recognised by antibody HBC-7 lies in the trypsin-sensitive N-terminal region of nucleosomal H2B. As the cationic N-terminal regions of the core histones are involved in DNA binding, it is likely that the accessibility of the determinant recognised by antibody HBC-7 is influenced by the relationship between the core histones and their associated DNA.     

Structure of a frequently rearranged rRNA-encoding chromosome in Giardia lamblia.

It has been shown previously that the rRNA encoding chromosomes in Giardia lamblia undergo frequent rearrangements with an estimated rate of approximately 1% per cell per division (Le Blancq et al., 1992, Nucleic Acids Res., 17, 4539-4545). Following these observations, we searched for highly recombinogenic regions in one of the frequently rearranged rRNA encoding chromosomes, that is chromosome 1, a small, 1.1 Mb chromosome. Chromosome 1 undergoes frequent rearrangements that result in size variation of 5-20%. We analyzed the structure of chromosome 1 in clonal lineages from the WB strain. The two ends of chromosome 1 comprise telomere repeat [TAGGG] arrays joined to a truncated rRNA gene and a sequence referred to as '4e', respectively. Comparison of the structure of four polymorphic versions of chromosome 1, resulting from independent rearrangement events in four cloned lines, located a single polymorphic region to the variable rDNA-telomere domain. Chromosome 1 is organized into two domains: a core region spanning approximately 850 kb that does not exhibit size heterogeneity among different chromosome 1 and a variable region that spans 185-450 kb and includes the telomeric rRNA genes, referred to as the variable rDNA-telomere domain. The core region contains a conserved region, spanning approximately 550 kb adjacent to the telomeric 4e sequence, which is only present in the 4e containing chromosomes and a 300 kb region of repetitive sequences that are also components of other chromosomes as well. Changes in the number of rDNA repeats accounted for some, but not all, of the size variation. Since there are four chromosomes that share the core region of chromosome 1, we suggest that the genome is tetraploid for this chromosome.     

The bending rigidity of mitotic chromosomes

The bending rigidities of mitotic chromosomes isolated from cultured N. viridescens (newt) and Xenopus epithelial cells were measured by observing their spontaneous thermal bending fluctuations. When combined with simultaneous measurement of stretching elasticity, these measurements constrain models for higher order mitotic chromosome structure. We measured bending rigidities of B approximately 10(-22) N. m(2) for newt and approximately 10(-23) N. m(2) for Xenopus chromosomes extracted from cells. A similar bending rigidity was measured for newt chromosomes in vivo by observing bending fluctuations in metaphase-arrested cells. Following each bending rigidity measurement, a stretching (Young's) modulus of the same chromosome was measured in the range of 10(2) to 10(3) Pa for newt and Xenopus chromosomes. For each chromosome, these values of B and Y are consistent with those expected for a simple elastic rod, B approximately YR(4), where R is the chromosome cross-section radius. Our measurements rule out the possibility that chromosome stretching and bending elasticity are principally due to a stiff central core region and are instead indicative of an internal structure, which is essentially homogeneous in its connectivity across the chromosome cross-section.     

Visualization of early chromosome condensation: a hierarchical folding, axial glue model of chromosome structure

Current models of mitotic chromosome structure are based largely on the examination of maximally condensed metaphase chromosomes. Here, we test these models by correlating the distribution of two scaffold components with the appearance of prophase chromosome folding intermediates. We confirm an axial distribution of topoisomerase IIalpha and the condensin subunit, structural maintenance of chromosomes 2 (SMC2), in unextracted metaphase chromosomes, with SMC2 localizing to a 150-200-nm-diameter central core. In contrast to predictions of radial loop/scaffold models, this axial distribution does not appear until late prophase, after formation of uniformly condensed middle prophase chromosomes. Instead, SMC2 associates throughout early and middle prophase chromatids, frequently forming foci over the chromosome exterior. Early prophase condensation occurs through folding of large-scale chromatin fibers into condensed masses. These resolve into linear, 200-300-nm-diameter middle prophase chromatids that double in diameter by late prophase. We propose a unified model of chromosome structure in which hierarchical levels of chromatin folding are stabilized late in mitosis by an axial "glue."     

Behavior of the chromosome core in mitosis and meiosis

A simple method has been described for the visualization of chromosome cores with light microscopy in conventional chromosome preparations. The technique is relatively simple, highly reproducible and can be used effectively on fresh and aged slides. The following observations have been made: (1) a core existed in mitotic chromosomes in all the materials employed, confirming the findings of Howell and Hsu (1979). (2) The microchromosomes of the chicken and double minutes of a human carcinoma cell line also exhibited the core structure. (3) The core structure of meiotic chromosomes appear weak, disorganized, and disintegrating.     

A Meiotic Chromosomal Core Consisting of Cohesin Complex Proteins Recruits DNA Recombination Proteins and Promotes Synapsis in the Absence of an Axial Element in Mammalian Meiotic Cells

The behavior of meiotic chromosomes differs in several respects from that of their mitotic counterparts, resulting in the generation of genetically distinct haploid cells. This has been attributed in part to a meiosis-specific chromatin-associated protein structure, the synaptonemal complex. This complex consist of two parallel axial elements, each one associated with a pair of sister chromatids, and a transverse filament located between the synapsed homologous chromosomes. Recently, a different protein structure, the cohesin complex, was shown to be associated with meiotic chromosomes and to be required for chromosome segregation. To explore the functions of the two different protein structures, the synaptonemal complex and the cohesin complex, in mammalian male meiotic cells, we have analyzed how absence of the axial element affects early meiotic chromosome behavior. We find that the synaptonemal complex protein 3 (SCP3) is a main determinant of axial-element assembly and is required for attachment of this structure to meiotic chromosomes, whereas SCP2 helps shape the in vivo structure of the axial element. We also show that formation of a cohesin-containing chromosomal core in meiotic nuclei does not require SCP3 or SCP2. Our results also suggest that the cohesin core recruits recombination proteins and promotes synapsis between homologous chromosomes in the absence of an axial element. A model for early meiotic chromosome pairing and synapsis is proposed.     

Overall DNA methylation and chromatin structure of normal and abnormal X chromosomes

DNA methylation patterns were studied at the chromosome level in normal and abnormal X chromosomes using an anti-5-methylcytosine antibody. In man, except for the late-replicating X of female cells, the labeled chromosome structures correspond to R- and T-bands and heterochromatin. Depending on the cell type, the species, and cell culture conditions, the late-replicating X in female cells appears to be more or less undermethylated. Under normal conditions, the only structures that remain methylated on the X chromosomes correspond to pseudoautosomal regions, which harbor active genes. Thus, active genes are usually hypomethylated but are located in methylated chromatin. Structural rearrangements of the X chromosome, such as t(X;X)(pter;pter), induce a Turner syndrome-like phenotype that is inconsistent with the resulting triple-X constitution. This suggests a position effect controlling gene inactivation. The derivative chromosomes are always late replicating, and their duplicated short arms, which harbor pseudoautosomal regions, replicate later than the normal late-replicating X chromosomes. The compaction or condensation of this segment is unusual, with a halo of chromatin surrounding a hypocondensed chromosome core. The chromosome core is hypomethylated, but the surrounding chromatin is slightly labeled. Thus, unusual DNA methylation and chromatin condensation are associated with the observed position effect. This strengthens the hypothesis that DNA methylation at the chromosome level is associated with both chromatin structure and gene expression.     

Dispensable chromosomes in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici

The genomes of many filamentous fungi consist of a ‘core’ part containing conserved genes essential for normal development as well as conditionally dispensable (CD) or lineage‐specific (LS) chromosomes. In the plant‐pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, one LS chromosome harbours effector genes that contribute to pathogenicity. We employed flow cytometry to select for events of spontaneous (partial) loss of either the two smallest LS chromosomes or two different core chromosomes. We determined the rate of spontaneous loss of the ‘effector’ LS chromosome in vitro at around 1 in 35 000 spores. In addition, a viable strain was obtained lacking chromosome 12, which is considered to be a part of the core genome. We also isolated strains carrying approximately 1‐Mb deletions in the LS chromosomes and in the dispensable core chromosome. The large core chromosome 1 was never observed to sustain deletions over 200 kb. Whole‐genome sequencing revealed that some of the sites at which the deletions occurred were the same in several independent strains obtained for the two chromosomes tested, indicating the existence of deletion hotspots. For the core chromosome, this deletion hotspot was the site of insertion of the marker used to select for loss events. Loss of the core chromosome did not affect pathogenicity, whereas loss of the effector chromosome led to a complete loss of pathogenicity.