Cytological characterisation of heterochromatin in mitotic and meiotic chromosomes of the Old World screwworm fly, Chrysomya bezziana (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Genome ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 631-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Bedo

Mitotic and meiotic chromosomes of the Old World screwworm fly, Chrysomya bezziana, were studied using C-banding and quinacrine and counterstain-enhanced fluorescence techniques. The five autosomes in the karyotype are evenly graded in size, with somewhat variable arm ratios. Distinguishing all autosomes on these features alone can be difficult. C-banding produces small centromeric bands in the autosomes, whereas the much longer X and Y chromosomes have extensive dark C-band blocks with intermediate background staining. Most bright fluorescence occurs in the sex chromosomes, particularly the X chromosome, which has remarkable banding detail. Band resolution is greatly increased in mitotic metaphase cells from embryos. Quinacrine staining of mitotic chromosomes produces bright fluorescence at the centromere regions of chromosomes 2, 3, and 4, assisting in their identification. Meiotic chromosomes have distinctly reduced brightness and resolution of fluorescent bands and show marked chromatid asynapsis in the brighter regions of the sex chromosomes. Fluorochromes staining A∙T-rich DNA (quanacrine and 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)) produce bright staining in a large proportion of the sex chromosomes. By contrast chromomycin, which binds preferentially to G∙C-rich DNA, stains a much smaller proportion of the sex chromosomes than expected from reciprocal staining. Together with the asynapsis data this indicates that much of the heterochromatin in the sex chromosomes has unusual structural properties.Key words: Chrysomya bezziana, screwworm, karyotype, C-banding, fluorescence, heterochromatin.

Genome ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 580-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Bedo

Mitotic and meiotic chromosomes of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, were studied using three counterstain-enhanced fluorescence staining methods. The tristaining technique allowed chromomycin A3 (CMA) and distamycin – diamidinophenylindole (DA–DAPI) fluorescence to be observed on the same chromosomes. DAPI–actinomycin D (DAPI–AMD) fluorescence was also carried out. These techniques were complemented with quinacrine staining and C-banding. The results were compared with earlier data on silver staining. The sex chromosomes, particularly the X chromosome, show great banding detail with extensive longitudinal differentiation in mitotic chromosomes. GC- and AT-specific fluorescence is not found in the expected reciprocal pattern at all sites. Comparison with C-banding and silver staining shows that intense fluorescence occurs in lightly C banded regions and silver bands correspond to fluorescent bands rather than nucleolar organizers. The combination of staining data suggests that much of the X chromosome has characteristics intermediate between heterochromatin and euchromatin. Meiotic X chromosomes show much less detail and reduced fluorescence intensity but can still be easily traced throughout meiosis and spermatogenesis.Key words: fluorescence banding, sex chromosomes, Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1969
Author(s):  
Sergey Matveevsky ◽  
Tsenka Chassovnikarova ◽  
Tatiana Grishaeva ◽  
Maret Atsaeva ◽  
Vasilii Malygin ◽  
...  

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are crucial regulators of the eukaryotic cell cycle. The critical role of CDK2 in the progression of meiosis was demonstrated in a single mammalian species, the mouse. We used immunocytochemistry to study the localization of CDK2 during meiosis in seven rodent species that possess hetero- and homomorphic male sex chromosomes. To compare the distribution of CDK2 in XY and XX male sex chromosomes, we performed multi-round immunostaining of a number of marker proteins in meiotic chromosomes of the rat and subterranean mole voles. Antibodies to the following proteins were used: RAD51, a member of the double-stranded DNA break repair machinery; MLH1, a component of the DNA mismatch repair system; and SUN1, which is involved in the connection between the meiotic telomeres and nuclear envelope, alongside the synaptic protein SYCP3 and kinetochore marker CREST. Using an enhanced protocol, we were able to assess the distribution of as many as four separate proteins in the same meiotic cell. We showed that during prophase I, CDK2 localizes to telomeric and interstitial regions of autosomes in all species investigated (rat, vole, hamster, subterranean mole voles, and mole rats). In sex bivalents following synaptic specificity, the CDK2 signals were distributed in three different modes. In the XY bivalent in the rat and mole rat, we detected numerous CDK2 signals in asynaptic regions and a single CDK2 focus on synaptic segments, similar to the mouse sex chromosomes. In the mole voles, which have unique XX sex chromosomes in males, CDK2 signals were nevertheless distributed similarly to the rat XY sex chromosomes. In the vole, sex chromosomes did not synapse, but demonstrated CDK2 signals of varying intensity, similar to the rat X and Y chromosomes. In female mole voles, the XX bivalent had CDK2 pattern similar to autosomes of all species. In the hamster, CDK2 signals were revealed in telomeric regions in the short synaptic segment of the sex bivalent. We found that CDK2 signals colocalize with SUN1 and MLH1 signals in meiotic chromosomes in rats and mole voles, similar to the mouse. The difference in CDK2 manifestation at the prophase I sex chromosomes can be considered an example of the rapid chromosome evolution in mammals.


1972 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 859-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Dean Stock

The mitotic chromosomes of 33 species of chelonians representing 22 genera and six families were investigated. Chromosome number and morphology are the same for most members of a given family and range from 66 in Trionyx to 34 in Pelomedusa. Most emydid genera have 50 chromosomes. The karyotype of Chelydra (2n = 52) is similar to those of some testudinid and emydid genera and is unlike the 56 chromosome karyotype of kinosternid turtles. The three genera of tortoises examined, Gopherus, Testudo, and Geochelone, have 52 chromosomes, but Gopherus differs in karyotypic details. The karyotype of Geochelone is like that of Chelydra and the 52 chromosome genera of emydid turtles. The African pleurodiran Pelomedusa has three additional pairs of small acrocentric or telocentric chromosomes not present in the earlier described karyotype of Podocnemis. Examination of meiotic chromosomes revealed frequencies of chiasmata formation similar to those reported earlier. Sex chromosomes were not distinguishable.


2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. R. Hall ◽  
W. Edge ◽  
J. M. Testa ◽  
Z. J. O. Adams ◽  
P. D. Ready

Genome ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Grabowska-Joachimiak ◽  
Andrzej Joachimiak

Mitotic metaphase chromosomes of Silene latifolia (white campion) and Silene dioica (red campion) were studied and no substantial differences between the conventional karyotypes of these two species were detected. The classification of chromosomes into three distinct groups proposed for S. latifolia by Ciupercescu and colleagues was considered and discussed. Additionally, a new small satellite on the shorter arm of homobrachial chromosome 5 was found. Giemsa C-banded chromosomes of the two analysed species show many fixed and polymorphic heterochromatic bands, mainly distally and centromerically located. Our C-banding studies provided an opportunity to better characterize the sex chromosomes and some autosome types, and to detect differences between the two Silene karyotypes. It was shown that S. latifolia possesses a larger amount of polymorphic heterochromatin, especially of the centromeric type. The two Silene sex chromosomes are easily distinguishable not only by length or DNA amount differences but also by their Giemsa C-banding patterns. All Y chromosomes invariably show only one distally located band, and no other fixed or polymorphic bands on this chromosome were observed in either species. The X chromosomes possess two terminally located fixed bands, and some S. latifolia X chromosomes also have an extra-centric segment of variable length. The heterochromatin amount and distribution revealed by our Giemsa C-banding studies provide a clue to the problem of sex chromosome and karyotype evolution in these two closely related dioecious Silene species.Key words: dioecious plant, Silene dioica, Silene latifolia, karyotype, sex chromosomes, heterochromatin, C-banding.


1986 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Gupta ◽  
Arun Kumar

The distribution of constitutive heterochromatin in mitotic chromosomes of four species (viz., Drosophila quadrilineata de Meijere, D. immigrans Sturtevant, D. pulaua Wheeler, and D. kohkoa Wheeler) was studied using C-banding and fluorescence staining techniques. The results of this study had revealed that the heterochromatic segments detected by C-banding in the species under study were found to coincide precisely with the areas giving bright fluorescence with the two fluorochromes, Hoechst 33258 and quinacrine. This suggested the presence of A–T rich base pairs in their heterochromatin. These studies further revealed that the modification of heterochromatin caused due to the additions or deletions in particular had also played a very significant role during the differentiation of these species.Key words: heterochromatin modification, immigrans species group, Drosophila.


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