Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1996 Sep;134(5):1109-25.
doi: 10.1083/jcb.134.5.1109.

Centromere and telomere movements during early meiotic prophase of mouse and man are associated with the onset of chromosome pairing

H Scherthan  1 , S Weich, H Schwegler, C Heyting, M Härle, T Cremer
Affiliations

Centromere and telomere movements during early meiotic prophase of mouse and man are associated with the onset of chromosome pairing

H Scherthan et al. J Cell Biol. 1996 Sep.

Abstract

The preconditions and early steps of meiotic chromosome pairing were studied by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with chromosome-specific DNA probes to mouse and human testis tissue sections. Premeiotic pairing of homologous chromosomes was not detected in spermatogonia of the two species. FISH with centromere- and telomere-specific DNA probes in combination with immunostaining (IS) of synaptonemal complex (SC) proteins to testis sections of prepuberal mice at days 4-12 post partum was performed to study sequentially the meiotic pairing process. Movements of centromeres and then telomeres to the nuclear envelope, and of telomeres along the nuclear envelope leading to the formation of a chromosomal bouquet were detected during mouse prophase. At the bouquet stage, pairing of a mouse chromosome-8-specific probe was observed. SC-IS and simultaneous telomere FISH revealed that axial element proteins appear as large aggregates in mouse meiocytes when telomeres are attached to the nuclear envelope. Axial element formation initiates during tight telomere clustering and transverse filament-IS indicated the initiation of synapsis during this stage. Comparison of telomere and centromere distribution patterns of mouse and human meiocytes revealed movements of centromeres and then telomeres to the nuclear envelope and subsequent bouquet formation as conserved motifs of the pairing process. Chromosome painting in human spermatogonia revealed compacted, largely mutually exclusive chromosome territories. The territories developed into long, thin threads at the onset of meiotic prophase. Based on these results a unified model of the pairing process is proposed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. J Cell Biol. 1987 Jul;105(1):93-103 - PubMed
    1. EMBO J. 1992 Mar;11(3):1217-25 - PubMed
    1. Chromosoma. 1985;92(4):254-64 - PubMed
    1. Chromosoma. 1971;34(1):73-87 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 1976 Apr 8;260(5551):534-5 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms