HETEROCHROMATIC CONNECTIVES BETWEEN THE CHROMOSOMES OF SECALE CEREALE

1975 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane E. Godin ◽  
Stephen M. Stack

A Giemsa staining technique that is thought to indicate the site of constitutive heterochromatin and repetitive DNA was used to stain the telomeres of Secale cereale (rye) chromosomes. Heterochromatic telomeres are visible throughout the mitotic cycle, and fusions and connections were observed between telomeres during prophase and metaphase. These observations are consistent with an earlier report of heterochromatic connections between telomeres of Allium cepa chromosomes and support the hypothesis that constitutive heterochromatin and repetitive DNA may be involved in chromosome associations.

1973 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 619-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Stack ◽  
C. R. Clarke

We have used a Giemsa staining technique, which is thought to indicate the site of repetitive DNA and constitutive heterochromatin, to stain the telomeres of Allium cepa chromosomes differentially. These differentially stained telomeres are equally visible throughout the mitotic cycle including interphase. We observed fusions of telomeres that included both homologous and non-homologous associations. Evidence that repetitive DNA plays a role in chromosome pairing is presented.


1973 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Stack ◽  
C. R. Clarke

By using a modified Giemsa staining technique, which is thought to indicate the presence of repetitive DNA, pericentric heterochromatin was stained in the chromosomes of two plant species, Plantago ovata and Allium cepa. Apparently in plants, just as in animals, there is a tendency for constitutive heterochromatin and repetitive DNA to associate with chromosome centromeres.


The incidence of C-bands (constitutive heterochromatin), as determined by differential Giemsa staining, was studied in the chromosomes of 56 species, varietal forms and subgenera of Fritillaria and 30 of them are illustrated. With the exception of the subgenera Korolkowi , a supposed link between lilies and fritillaries, the chromosome complements of all plants contained bands. There were wide differences in the size and number of these bands among species both within and between groups. In those with the largest and most abundant bands, there was a pronounced tendency for centromeric localization, both in Old and New World species. The Giemsapositive centromeres were masked when this occurred. Heteromorphy in respect of banding occurred in most species. The relation of repetitive DNA sequences with heterochromatin is discussed, as is also the problem of evolution in Fritillaria .


Chromosoma ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Ranjekar ◽  
J. G. Lafontaine ◽  
D. Pallotta

Chromosoma ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Lakhotia ◽  
J. K. Roy ◽  
Mahesh Kumar

1984 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-120
Author(s):  
I. Schubert ◽  
R. Rieger ◽  
P. Dobel

Similarities and differences become evident from comparisons of centromeric and non-centromeric banding patterns in plant and animal chromosomes. Similar to C and G-banding in animals (at least most of the reptiles, birds and mammals), centromeric and nucleolus-organizing region bands as well as interstitially and/or terminally located non-centromeric bands may occur in plants, depending on the kind and strength of pretreatment procedures. The last group of bands may sometimes be subdivided into broad regularly occurring ‘marker’ bands and thinner bands of more variable appearance. Non-centromeric bands in plants often correspond to blocks of constitutive heterochromatin that are rich in simple sequence DNA and sometimes show polymorphism; they thus resemble C-bands. However, most of these bands contain late-replicating DNA. Also they are sometimes rich A X T base-pairs, closely adjacent to each other and positionally identical to Feulgen+ and Q+ bands, thus being comparable to mammalian G-bands. Although banding that is reverse to the non-centromeric bands after Giemsa staining is still uncertain in plants, reverse banding patterns can be obtained with Feulgen or with pairs of A X T versus G X C-specific fluorochromes. It is therefore concluded that not all of the plant Giemsa banding patterns correspond to C-banding of mammalian chromosomes. Before the degree of homology between different Giemsa banding patterns in plants and G and/or C-bands in mammals is finally elucidated, the use of the neutral term ‘Giemsa band’, specified by position (e.g. centromeric, proximal, interstitial, terminal), is suggested to avoid confusion.


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