Mammalian chromosomes contain cis-acting elements that control replication timing, mitotic condensation, and stability of entire chromosomes

Recent studies indicate that mammalian chromosomes contain discrete cis-acting loci that control replication timing, mitotic condensation, and stability of entire chromosomes. Disruption of the large non-coding RNA gene ASAR6 results in late replication, an under-condensed appearance during mitosis, and structural instability of human chromosome 6. Similarly, disruption of the mouse Xist gene in adult somatic cells results in a late replication and instability phenotype on the X chromosome. ASAR6 shares many characteristics with Xist, including random mono-allelic expression and asynchronous replication timing. Additional "chromosome engineering" studies indicate that certain chromosome rearrangements affecting many different chromosomes display this abnormal replication and instability phenotype. These observations suggest that all mammalian chromosomes contain "inactivation/stability centers" that control proper replication, condensation, and stability of individual chromosomes. Therefore, mammalian chromosomes contain four types of cis-acting elements, origins, telomeres, centromeres, and "inactivation/stability centers", all functioning to ensure proper replication, condensation, segregation, and stability of individual chromosomes.     

The development of chromosome-specific composite DNA probes for the mouse and their application to chromosome painting

The speed and ease of human cytogenetic analysis has been greatly enhanced by the technique of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Non-radioactive fluorescently tagged complex DNA probes specific for individual chromosomes can be hybridized to conventionally obtained metaphase chromosome spreads. Several chromosomes may be painted concurrently by using combinations of different labeled probes. Surveys of chromosome breakage and rearrangement may be performed very quickly by avoiding the time consuming process of GTG-banding. The application of FISH to mouse cytogenetics would allow large scale molecular toxicology studies to be conducted on the effects of such environmental insults as potential carcinogens, mutagens and radiation. Progress has been hampered, however, as the Mus musculus karyotype consists of 40 acrocentric chromosomes of approximately the same size, making the recognition and separation of individual chromosomes very difficult. We now describe the successful production and application of chromosome-specific composite DNA probes for M. musculus chromosomes 2 and 8. Stable Robertsonian translocated chromosomes were isolated on a flow sorter and their DNA subsequently amplified by degenerate oligonucleotide primer (DOP) PCR. Small pools (300 copies) of each chromosome were denatured at 94° C then annealed with the primer at 30°C for 15 cycles. This was followed by 20 cycles at an annealing temperature of 62° C. Additional amplification was performed at an annealing temperature of 62° C. The chromosome-specific DNA was labeled with biotin 11-dUTP by nick translation and used for FISH. The usefulness of the technique for translocation detection is demonstrated by analyzing chromosome exchanges induced in mice irradiated with ¹³⁷Cs rays.     

The supernumerary chromosome of Nectria haematococca that carries pea-pathogenicity-related genes also carries a trait for pea rhizosphere competitiveness

Fungi are found in a wide range of environments, and the ecological and host diversity of the fungus Nectria haematococca has been shown to be due in part to unique genes on different supernumerary chromosomes. These chromosomes have been called "conditionally dispensable" (CD) since they are not needed for axenic growth but are important for expanding the host range of individual isolates. From a biological perspective, the CD chromosomes can be compared to bacterial plasmids that carry unique genes that can define the habits of these microorganisms. The current study establishes that the N. haematococca PDA1-CD chromosome, which contains the genes for pea pathogenicity (PEP cluster) on pea roots, also carries a gene(s) for the utilization of homoserine, a compound found in large amounts in pea root exudates. Competition studies demonstrate that an isolate that lacks the PEP cluster but carries a portion of the CD chromosome which includes the homoserine utilization (HUT) gene(s) is more competitive in the pea rhizosphere than an isolate without the CD chromosome.     

Rye cytology,cytogenetics and genetics — current status

Summary Progress in rye karyology is reviewed with respect to chromosome structure, recognition and chromosome nomenclature. Considerable contributions have been brought about by molecular techniques which have even revealed nucleotide sequences of some of the ribosomal DNA. DNA sequence organization correlates with the distribution of major Giemsa C-band regions as well as with N-bands and the binding sites of fluorescent dyes. The several banding patterns permit the classification of rye chromosomes. The increased data and widespread application of banding analysis require a consistent system of chromosome and/or band designation. Therefore, a standard band nomenclature is proposed with reference to the recommendations of the Paris Conference on Standardization in Human Cytogenetics. In addition, advances in genetics are summarized and discussed. Based on the original accepted standard karyogram and banding patterns of the rye chromosomes, meanwhile, 120 genes determining several characters have been associated with individual chromosomes and/or chromosome arms, including linkage studies for about 19 arrangements. Most results were obtained using wheat-rye addition lines as well as test crosses with defined translocations. Moreover, genetical studies based on appropriate trisomic and telotrisomic material resulted in the localization of 19 genes, including their linkage relationships.     

The behavior of allocyclic chromosomes in Bloom's syndrome

The behavior of individual allocyclic chromosomes has been analyzed in lymphocytes of a sister and a brother with Bloom's syndrome. Of 4,633 diploid cells, 115 showed allocyclic chromosomes, and 74 of these had 44, 45 or 46 normal metaphase chromosomes accompanied by one or two allocyclic chromosomes. Of 56 tetraploid cells, 9 contained such chromosomes. The allocyclic chromosomes appeared pulverized or extended corresponding to S or G₂ PCC. We have proposed the hypothesis that individual allocyclic chromosomes do not, as a rule, come from micronuclei, as has often been assumed, but have been left behind in their cycle. This would be caused by a mutation or deletion of a hypothetical coiling center situated near the centromere of each chromosome arm. The following observations agree with our explanation but less well or not at all with the idea of micronuclei: (1) In only 9.6% of the cells does the allocyclic chromosome lie at the edge of the metaphase plate. (2) In 24 cells a part of a chromosome is pulverized while the rest is in metaphase. (3) Both a pulverized and an extended chromosome were present in the same cell. (4) A pulverized acrocentric is often nose-to-nose with a normal D or G chromosome. (5) No allocyclic chromosomes corresponding to G₁ PCC have been found in our material. (6) When a ring is replaced by an allocyclic chromosome, it is usually a member of a 46-chromosome complement. Furthermore, the occurrence of allocyclic chromosomes is correlated with that of other chromosome anomalies which do not follow a Poisson distribution. Allocyclic chromosomes are also more frequent (16%) in tetraploid than in diploid cells (2%).     

DNA image-fluorimetry of individual human chromosomes

A microfluorimetric method has been developed for determination of DNA content in individual human chromosomes. The method is based on a preliminary identification of chromosomes with Hoechst 33258 followed by staining of the chromosomes with Feulgen reaction by using Schiff’s reagent type ethidium bromide-SO₂ and then by measuring the fluorescence intensity of the chromosomes by using an image analyzer. The method allows determining the DNA content of individual chromosomes with an accuracy up to 4.5 fg. The DNA content of individual human chromosomes and their p-and q-arms, as well as homologous chromosomes, were measured by using the developed method. It has been shown that the DNA content in chromosomes of the normal human karyotype is unstable and can fluctuate in some chromosomes within 35–40 fg.     

The length of silver-stained human autosomal pachytene chromosomes

Summary The length of 44 silver-stained human autosomal pachytene complements was shown to vary from about 300 m to at least 535 . The lengths of the individual 22 autosomal chromosomes of eight complements representing this interval was measured and the relative lengths calculated. For most of the chromosomes a 1:1 relationship was found between the relative length and the corresponding relative DNA content (Mendelsohn et al. 1973). For some of the chromosomes this ratio seemed to deviate systematically from the 1:1 ratio. The data indicate a different organization of certain stages of the meiotic and the mitotic chromosomes (Bak et al. 1979).     

The frequency of aneuploidy among individual chromosomes in 6,821 human sperm chromosome complements

The human sperm/hamster egg fusion technique has been used to analyse 6,821 human sperm chromosome complements from 98 men to determine if all chromosomes are equally likely to be involved in aneuploid events or if some chromosomes are particularly susceptible to nondisjunction. The frequency of hypohaploidy and hyperhaploidy was compared among different chromosome groups and individual chromosomes. In general, hypohaploid sperm complements were more frequent than hyperhaploid complements. The distribution of chromosome loss in the hypohaploid complements indicated that significantly fewer of the large chromosomes and significantly more of the small chromosomes were lost, suggesting that technical loss predominantly affects small chromosomes. Among the autosomes, the observed frequency of hyperhaploid sperm equalled the expected frequency (assuming an equal frequency of nondisjunction for all chromosomes) for all chromosome groups. Among individual autosomes, only chromosome 9 showed an increased frequency of hyperhaploidy. The sex chromosomes also showed a significant increase in the frequency of hyperhaploidy. These results are consistent with studies of spontaneous abortions and liveborns demonstrating that aneuploidy for the sex chromosomes is caused by paternal meiotic error more commonly than aneuploidy for the autosomes.     

Isolation of chromosome clusters from metaphase-arrested HeLa cells

We have developed a simplified approach for the isolation of metaphase chromosomes from HeLa cells. In this method, all the chromosomes from a cell remain together in a bundle which we call a metaphase chromosome cluster. Cells are arrested to 90–95% in metaphase, collected by centrifugation, extracted with non-ionic detergent in a low ionic strength buffer at neutral pH, and homogenised to strip away the cytoskeleton. The chromosome clusters which are released can then be isolated in a crude state by pelleting or they can be purified away from nearly all the interphase nuclei and cytoplasmic debris by banding in a Percoll^TM density gradient. — This procedure has the advantages that it is quick and easy, metaphase chromatin is recovered in high yield, and Ca⁺⁺ is not needed to stabilise the chromosomes. Although the method does not yield individual chromosomes, it is nevertheless very useful for both structural and biochemical studies of mitotic chromatin. The chromosome clusters also make possible biochemical and structural studies of what holds the different chromosomes together. Such information could be useful in improving chromosome isolation procedures and for understanding suprachromosomal organisation of the nucleus.     

Karyotyping of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amoeba proteus</Emphasis>

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.     

Karyotype studies in the genusNotopterus (Lacepede). the occurrence and fate of univalent chromosomes in spermatocytes ofN. Chitala

The present report is based on the karyotype studies of two species of fishes,Notopterus chitala andN. notopterus, collected from the river Jumna, Delhi, India. Both species possess a diploid number of 48 chromosomes, 12 of which are metacentric. The primary and secondary spermatocytes of one individual ofN. chitala have been found to possess varying numbers of univalent chromosomes. The possible origin and fate of the univalents are discussed.     

利用RFLP标记分析一对水稻籼粳交双单倍体的基因型

对一对籼(Oryza sativa ssp.indica)粳(O.sativa ssp.japonica)(“圭630”/“02428”)杂种进行花药培养获得81个双单倍体(DH),构建了有233个RFLP标记的水稻遗传连锁图谱。对各DH系的“圭630”等位基因组频率及图示基因型进行了分析。结果表明,该DH群体的平均基因组频率为49％,各DH系分布在29.3％～78.6％之间,集中分布在44％～49％之间;有130个RFLP标记出现显著的偏分离,偏父本与偏母本分离的标记数基本相等;同向偏分离的标记常集中在一些染色体或染色体的某些区段;各染色体的平均基因组频率分布在29％～65％之间,出现明显的偏父或偏母分离;一些DH中出现其特征完全来于某一亲本的染色体,可能与这些染色体在减数分裂期的同源配对和交换有关。     

Chromosome polymorphism in a human newborn population. II. Potentials of polymorphic chromosome variants for characterizing the idiogram of an individual.

Replicate chromosome preparations of umbilical-cord-blood leukocytes from 376 neonates born at the Albert Einstein College Hospital, Bronx, New York, were stained with C-, Q-, and G-banding methods to determine the frequencies and distributions of the variable chromosome bands. The C-band variants of primarily chromosomes 1, 9, and 16, as well as those of the remaining C, E, and F-group chromosomes, and the brightly fluorescing Q-band variants of chromosomes 3 and 4 and all of the acrocentrics, including the Y, were similarly analyzed. Polymorphism of these chromosome regions was so extensive that the idiogram of each of the 376 newborns of this study had a unique variant pattern, even when only the C- or only the Q-band patterns were compared. The distribution of polymorphic Q-bands in the population sampled was consistent with the expectations of the Hardy-Weinberg law, with the exception of chromosomes 3 and 22, where some deficiency of individuals with "homozygous" Q-band patterns was found. The baseline data presented here reinforce the view that polymorphic chromosome characteristics are very useful markers for characterizing the karyotype of an individual, for pedigree studies, for prenatal chromosome analyses, for population studies, for attempts at gene localizations, and for identifying specific cells or their chromosomes in somatic cell genetic studies.     

Identification of C-banded chromosomes in meiosis and the analysis of nucleolar activity in Avena byzantina C. Koch cv ‘Kanota’

Summary The Giemsa C-banding technique was used to identify individual meiotic and somatic chromosomes in 21 monosomic lines of Avena byzantina C. Koch cv Kanota (genome designation AACCDD). The hexaploid complement is composed of three sets of seven chromosome pairs. The heterochromatin in the putative diploid progenitors is located at the telomeres (genome A), at the centromeric and interstitial regions (genome C), or more evenly spread throughout the set (genome D). Comparisons based on C-banding between A. byzantina and its diploid progenitor species allowed us to allocate individual chromosomes into specific genomes. The C-banding technique may be useful for interspecific chromosome pairing analyses. Nucleolar activity and competition were studied using a silver-staining procedure. Only three chromosome pairs showed nucleolar organizer regions, thus indicating that nucleolar competition occurs naturally in hexaploid oats.     

Use of flow-sorted canine chromosomes in the assignment of canine linkage, radiation hybrid, and syntenic groups to chromosomes: refinement and verification of the comparative chromosome map for dog and human

The mapping of the canine genome has recently been accelerated by the availability of chromosome-specific reagents and publication of radiation hybrid (RH), genetic linkage, and dog/human comparative maps, but the assignment of mapping groups to chromosomes is incomplete. To assign published radiation hybrid, linkage, and "syntenic" groups to chromosomes, individual markers found within each group have been amplified from canine and vulpine flow-sorted, chromosome-specific DNAs as templates. Here a further 102 type I genetic markers (previously mapped in human) and 21 further type II markers are assigned to canine chromosomes using marker-specific PCR. We have assigned all linkage, RH, and syntenic groups in the two most recently published canine genome maps to chromosomes. This demonstrates directly that there is at least one published mapping group for each of the 38 canine autosomes and thus that the coverage of the canine chromosome map is approaching completion. The dog/human comparative map is one of the most complex so far described, with 90 separate segments of chromosomal homology previously seen in dog-on-human cross-species chromosome-painting studies. The total of 142 type I markers now placed on canine chromosomes using this method of marker mapping has allowed us to confirm the placement of the great majority (83) of the 90 homologous segments. The positions of the remaining homologous segments were confirmed in new cross-species chromosome-painting experiments (dog-on-human, fox-on-human).     

Imaginal discs--a new source of chromosomes for genome mapping of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti

Background

The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the primary global vector for dengue and yellow fever viruses. Sequencing of the Ae. aegypti genome has stimulated research in vector biology and insect genomics. However, the current genome assembly is highly fragmented with only ∼31% of the genome being assigned to chromosomes. A lack of a reliable source of chromosomes for physical mapping has been a major impediment to improving the genome assembly of Ae. aegypti.

Methodology/Principal Findings

In this study we demonstrate the utility of mitotic chromosomes from imaginal discs of 4^th instar larva for cytogenetic studies of Ae. aegypti. High numbers of mitotic divisions on each slide preparation, large sizes, and reproducible banding patterns of the individual chromosomes simplify cytogenetic procedures. Based on the banding structure of the chromosomes, we have developed idiograms for each of the three Ae. aegypti chromosomes and placed 10 BAC clones and a 18S rDNA probe to precise chromosomal positions.

Conclusion

The study identified imaginal discs of 4^th instar larva as a superior source of mitotic chromosomes for Ae. aegypti. The proposed approach allows precise mapping of DNA probes to the chromosomal positions and can be utilized for obtaining a high-quality genome assembly of the yellow fever mosquito.     

Genotypic Mapping Using RFLP Markers on Doubled Haploids Derived from a Cross Between indica and japonica Rice

A rice RFLP map with 233 loci based on a population of 81 doubled haploids (DH) from the indica/japonica hybrid of "Gui 630'/"02428" was used to analyse the genome ratios and graphical genotypes of DH lines. The “Gui 630” genome ratio of the individual DH lines varied from 29.3% to 78.6% with an average of 49% while the ratios of most DH lines ranged between 44% and 49%. Of the mapped RFLP markers 130 showed skewed segregations with a significant deviation from the expected monogenic ratio, but the numbers of the markers deviated towards male and female parent were approximately equal. It was found that the markers with the segregation deviation in the same direction tend to cluster on some chromosomes and some of their regions. The average "Gui 630' genome ratios of different chromosomes in the DH population varied greatly between 29% and 65 %. In addition, several chromosomes were inherited completely from either one of the parents in some DH lines, indicating the rare occurrence of crossover along the pairing homologous chromosomes during meiosis.     

A high-resolution karyotype of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica rapa</Emphasis> ssp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">pekinensis</Emphasis> revealed by pachytene analysis and multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization

A molecular cytogenetic map of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis, 2n=20) was constructed based on the 4-6-diamino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride-stained mitotic metaphase and pachytene chromosomes and multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (McFISH), using three repetitive DNA sequences, 5S rDNA, 45S rDNA, and C11-350H. The lengths of mitotic metaphase chromosomes ranged from 1.46 m to 3.30 m. Five 45S and three 5S rDNA loci identified were assigned to different chromosomes. The C11-350H loci were located on all the mitotic metaphase chromosomes, except chromosomes 2 and 4. The pachytene karyotype consisted of two metacentric (chromosomes 1 and 6), five submetacentric (chromosomes 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10), two subtelocentric (chromosomes 7 and 8), and one acrocentric (chromosome 2) chromosome(s). The mean lengths of ten pachytene chromosomes ranged from 23.7 m to 51.3 m, with a total of 385.3 m, which is 17.5-fold longer than that of the mitotic metaphase chromosomes. In the proposed pachytene karyotype, all the chromosomes of B. rapa ssp. pekinensis can be identified on the basis of chromosome length, centromere position, heterochromatin pattern, and the location of the three repetitive sequences. Moreover, the precise locations of the earlier reported loci of 5S rDNA, 45S rDNA, and Chinese cabbage tandem DNA repeat C11-350H were established using McFISH analysis. We also identified a 5S rDNA locus on the long arm of pachytene bivalent 7, which could not be detected in the mitotic metaphase chromosomes in the present and earlier studies. The deduced karyotype will be useful for structural and functional genomic studies in B. rapa.