Chromosomal pairing in deer mice heterozygous for the presence of heterochromatic short arms

Genome ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Hale ◽  
Ira F. Greenbaum

The pattern of chromosomal pairing was analyzed in male deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus and Peromyscus sitkensis) heterozygous for the presence of heterochromatic short arms. G- and C-banding of somatic metaphases indicated that the presence of heterochromatic short arms increased the length of chromosome 4 by 15% in P. sitkensis and that of chromosome 8 by 9% in P. maniculatus. Analysis of silver-stained late zygotene and early pachytene nuclei revealed a low frequency of unequal axial lengths in the synaptonemal complexes corresponding to the heteromorphic bivalents. All mid- and late pachytene nuclei, however, exhibited fully paired synaptonemal complexes with equalized axial lengths. These observations suggest the existence of an adjustment mechanism which functions to equalize the lengths of the two axes of the heteromorphic synaptonemal complex.Key words: synaptonemal complex, Peromyscus, heterochromatin, chromosomal polymorphism, synaptic adjustment.

Genome ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 697-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Bojko

Synaptonemal complex abnormalities are frequent in reconstructed meiotic prophase nuclei of Neurospora crassa and Neurospora intermedia. Three kinds of synaptonemal complex anomalies were seen: lateral component splits, lateral component junctions, and multiple complexes. The anomalies apparently are formed during or after the pairing process, as they were not seen in the largely unpaired early zygotene chromosomes. Their presence at all the other substages from mid-zygotene to late pachytene indicates that they are not eliminated before the synaptonemal complex decomposes at diplotene. Abnormal synaptonemal complexes were seen in all 19 crosses of N. crassa and N. intermedia that were examined, including matings between standard laboratory strains, inversions, Spore killers, and strains collected from nature. The frequency of affected nuclei and degree of abnormality within a nucleus varied in different matings. No abnormalities were present in the homothallic species Neurospora africana and Neurospora terricola. Structural chromosome aberrations, introgression, and heterozygosity have been eliminated as causes for pairing disorder. The abnormal synaptonemal complexes seemingly do not interfere with normal ascus development and ascospore formation. The affected nuclei are not aborted during meiotic prophase, nor are they eliminated by abortion of mature asci. The abnormal meiocytes do not lead to aneuploidy, as judged by the low frequency of white ascospores in crosses between wild type strains that have many abnormalities. Thus, the abnormal synatonemal complexes do not appear to prevent chiasma formation between homologues.Key words: Neurospora, meiosis, synaptonemal complex.


1973 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-93
Author(s):  
LESLEY WATSON COGGINS

Early oogenesis in the toad Xenopus laevis has been investigated at the ultrastructural level, with particular reference to the formation of extrachromosomal DNA. Thymidine incorporation was localized by electron microscope radioautography. In oogonia, the nucleus is irregular in outline and may contain several nucleoli. Oocytes, from premeiotic interphase to late pachytene, are found in cell nests which are estimated to consist of about 16 cells each. Adjacent oocytes within a nest are connected by intercellular bridges and develop synchronously. Each premeiotic interphase-leptotene oocyte has a round nucleus which contains one or two centrally located, spherical nucleoli. Electron-microscope radioautography showed that all nuclei in a cell nest incorporate thymidine synchronously during premeiotic S-phase. In zygotene oocytes, axial cores and synaptonemal complexes are observed in the nucleus and abut against the inner nuclear membrane in the region nearest the centre of the cell nest. The nucleolus is still more-or-less round in outline, but is asymmetrically positioned in the nucleus. It lies near the nuclear envelope on the side of the nucleus furthest away from the attachment of the chromosome ends, that is, nearest the outside of the cell nest. Each nucleolus is surrounded by a fibrillar ‘halo’ of nucleolus-associated chromatin into which a low level of thymidine incorporation occurs during zygotene. This is thought to represent the start of the major period of amplification of the ribosomal DNA. Pachytene is characterized by the presence of synaptonemal complexes in the nucleus. The nucleolus becomes very irregular in outline. The fibrillar area around it, which represents the extrachromosomal DNA, increases in size and thymidine is incorporated over the whole of this region. In late pachytene, many small fibrogranular bodies, the multiple nucleoli, are formed in it. The members of a cell nest become separated from one another at this time and begin to develop asynchronously. In diplotene, synaptonemal complexes are no longer observed in the nucleus. The most prominent structures in the nucleus are now the multiple nucleoli, which increase greatly in number in early diplotene. A large increase in cytoplasmic volume occurs and the oocyte grows in size.


Genome ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 930-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. White ◽  
G. Jenkins ◽  
J. S. Parker

The ultrastructure and pairing behaviour of the chromosomes of two diploid cytotypes and a triploid of Scilla autumnalis were investigated using the techniques of three-dimensional reconstruction from serial electron micrographs and whole-mount surface spreading of synaptonemal complexes. The diploids, designated AA and B7B7, have karyotypes that are virtually identical in appearance at mitotic metaphase but differ in length by 47% and in DNA content by 66%. All the chromosomes were identified during meiotic prophase in both diploids, enabling construction of accurate karyotypes, which were the same as those derived from root tip metaphases. Chromosome pairing was largely regular with very few structural chromosome rearrangements. These two observations permitted confident interpretations of multivalent configurations observed in polyploids containing multiples of the A and B7 genomes. In the triploid (AB7B7) during meiotic prophase lateral components are associated in groups of three, either as trivalents with several exchanges of pairing partners, or as bivalents and univalents in close alignment. The overall difference in length between A and B7 chromosomes is close to expected, but varies to some degree depending on the extent of pairing between the two chromosome types. Most of the synaptonemal complexes between A and B7 homoeologues are ineffective in terms of chiasma formation, as revealed by the low frequency of multivalents and heteromorphic bivalents at metaphase I. In other words, there is an elimination of multivalents during meiotic prophase in the triploid.Key words: Scilla autumnalis, synaptonemal complex, multivalents, elimination.


Genome ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Garriga-Calderé ◽  
D J Huigen ◽  
E Jacobsen ◽  
M S Ramanna

With a view to assess the possibility of homoeologous pairing and crossing-over between the chromosomes of potato (Solanum tuberosum) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), a somatic fusion hybrid and two monosomic alien tomato addition genotypes were investigated through genomic in situ hybridisation (GISH). The somatic fusion hybrid, C31-17-51, was near hexaploid (2n = 6x - 4 = 68) possessing 46 potato chromosomes + 20 tomato chromosomes + 2 translocated chromosomes. The two alien addition genotypes were near tetraploids (2n = 4x + 1 = 49) and consisted of monosomic alien additions for tomato chromosome 1 in genotype 2103-1, and tomato chromosome 8 in genotype 2301-2. In the fusion hybrid the tomato pachytene chromosome identification revealed that the chromosomes 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, and 12 were in diploid condition whereas among those that were in haploid condition, three could be identified viz., 4, 9, and 11. The remaining three chromosomes could not be cytologically identified. Although the chromosomes with translocated segments could not be identified at the pachytene stage due to technical difficulties, there was clear evidence for the presence of a reciprocal translocation observed at diakinesis and metaphase I stages. Because of autosyndetic pairing of the translocated segments, it gave a false impression as if there was a high frequency (86.0%) of allosyndetic pairing. In contrast to the fusion hybrid, the two alien monosomic addition genotypes showed a very low frequency of allosyndetic pairing, namely 1.1 and 1.3% respectively for the monosomic additions 1 and 8. In the genotype 2301-2, monosomic addition for tomato chromosome 8, crossing-over between the homoeologous chromosomes was estimated to occur in 0.8% of the meiotic cells investigated. Despite this low frequency of homoeologous pairing and crossing-over, there is a possibility for introgressing tomato chromosomal DNA into the potato genome through intergenomic recombination.Key words: Solanum, Lycopersicon, chromosome additions, GISH, introgression.


Author(s):  
Kit W. Lee

The structure of the polycomplexes has been extensively studied in recent years (1,2,3). Theres structures are usually described as stacks or aggregates of the tripartite synaptonemal complexes. Although the presence of the synaptonemal complexes is a consistent feature in the late zygotene or pachytene stages of chlasmate meiosis and Its role in the processes of chromosome synapsis and crossing over has been suggested (4), the function of the polycomplexes remains obscure. Most of our understandings of the polycomplexes are obtained from the observations during the gametogenesis of the insects, and only a few examples of this structure in fungi and higher plants have been reported. The present study examines the occurrence of polycomplexes during the sporogenesis in the primitive vascular plant. Sporangia at different developmental stages were fixed with 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M phosphate buffer, and postflxed in 2% osmium tetroxide. Dehydration was carried out with the ethanol series followed by embedding in Epon 812. Ultrathln sections were stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate.


2008 ◽  
Vol 52 (11) ◽  
pp. 4089-4097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea M. McCollum ◽  
Leonardo K. Basco ◽  
Rachida Tahar ◽  
Venkatachalam Udhayakumar ◽  
Ananias A. Escalante

ABSTRACT Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) resistance in Plasmodium falciparum is encoded by a number of mutations in the dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr) and dihydropteroate synthetase (dhps) genes. Here, we have characterized point mutations in dhfr and dhps and microsatellite loci around dhfr on chromosome 4 and dhps on chromosome 8 as well as neutral markers on chromosomes 2 and 3 in 332 samples from Yaoundé, Cameroon. The triple mutant dhfr haplotype that originated in Southeast Asia is the most predominant in this sample set, but we also find additional independent haplotypes at low frequency and an incipient process of genetic differentiation among alleles of Southeast Asian origin. As reported for other African populations, we find evidence of a selective sweep for resistant dhfr mutants in this Cameroonian population due to drug selection. Although we find evidence for a selective sweep in dhps mutants associated with SP resistance, the dynamics of dhps mutants appear different than those observed for dhfr mutants. Overall, our results yield support for the use of microsatellite markers to track resistant parasites; however, the detection of resistant dhfr alleles in low frequency, the evidence of divergence among dhfr alleles that share a common evolutionary origin, and the distinct dynamics of resistant dhps alleles emphasize the importance of comprehensive, population-based investigations to evaluate the effects of drug selection on parasite populations.


Genome ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 903-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huw M. Thomas

Synaptonemal complexes in the amphidiploid Lolium multiflorum (4χ) × Festuca drymeja (4χ) have been examined by the whole mount spreading technique in nuclei with between 49 and 100% pairing. At mid to late zygotene nonhomologous associations are formed, with multivalents involving more than half the total axial element length in some cases. However, they are corrected by pachytene. There is evidence of differences in the timing or rate of pairing between the two sets of chromosomes; the L. multiflorum chromosomes seem more advanced than the F. drymeja chromosomes in their pairing at mid and late zygotene, and it is possible that this asynchrony places a constraint on intergenomic chromosome pairing.Key words: Lolium-Festuca, amphidiploid, synaptonemal complexes, nonhomologous pairing, correction mechanism.


PLoS Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. e1009800
Author(s):  
Jordan B. Barney ◽  
Dakshayini G. Chandrashekarappa ◽  
Samantha R. Soncini ◽  
Martin C. Schmidt

Previous studies of adaptation to the glucose analog, 2-deoxyglucose, by Saccharomyces cerevisiae have utilized haploid cells. In this study, diploid cells were used in the hope of identifying the distinct genetic mechanisms used by diploid cells to acquire drug resistance. While haploid cells acquire resistance to 2-deoxyglucose primarily through recessive alleles in specific genes, diploid cells acquire resistance through dominant alleles, haploinsufficiency, gene duplication and aneuploidy. Dominant-acting, missense alleles in all three subunits of yeast AMP-activated protein kinase confer resistance to 2-deoxyglucose. Dominant-acting, nonsense alleles in the REG1 gene, which encodes a negative regulator of AMP-activated protein kinase, confer 2-deoxyglucose resistance through haploinsufficiency. Most of the resistant strains isolated in this study achieved resistance through aneuploidy. Cells with a monosomy of chromosome 4 are resistant to 2-deoxyglucose. While this genetic strategy comes with a severe fitness cost, it has the advantage of being readily reversible when 2-deoxyglucose selection is lifted. Increased expression of the two DOG phosphatase genes on chromosome 8 confers resistance and was achieved through trisomies and tetrasomies of that chromosome. Finally, resistance was also mediated by increased expression of hexose transporters, achieved by duplication of a 117 kb region of chromosome 4 that included the HXT3, HXT6 and HXT7 genes. The frequent use of aneuploidy as a genetic strategy for drug resistance in diploid yeast and human tumors may be in part due to its potential for reversibility when selection pressure shifts.


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