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Germline cyst development and imprinting in male mealybug Planococcus citri

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Abstract

In the epigenetic modifications involved in the phenomenon of imprinting, which is thought to take place during gametogenesis, one of the primary roles is exerted by histone tail modifications acting on chromatin structure. What is more, in insects like mealybugs, with a lecanoid chromosome system, imprinting is strictly related to sex determination. In many diverse species gametes originate in specific, highly evolutionarily conserved structures called germline cysts. The use of staining techniques specific for fusomal components like F-actin has allowed us to describe for the first time the morphogenesis of male germline cysts in the mealybug Planococcus citri. Antibodies to anti-methylated lysine 9 of histone H3 (MeLy9-H3) and anti-heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) were used during cyst formation to investigate the involvement of these epigenetic modifications in the phenomenon of imprinting and their possible concerted action in sex determination in P. citri. These observations indicate: (i) a specific role for F-actin in the segregation, typical of the lecanoid chromosome system, of genomes of paternal origin; (ii) that the two vital gametes originating from a given meiosis, although carrying the same genome, differ in the levels of both MeLy9-H3 and HP1, one of them being more heavily labelled by both antibodies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank T.C. James for providing us with the anti-HP1 antibody (C1A9), Prof. S. Pimpinelli for the anti-MeLy9-H3, and Prof. M. Gatti for the anti-α-spectrin antibody. The research was supported by Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (MIUR).

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  1. Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, P. le A. Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Giovanni Luigi Buglia & Marina Ferraro

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  1. Giovanni Luigi Buglia
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  2. Marina Ferraro
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Correspondence to Marina Ferraro.

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Communicated by A. Spradling

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Buglia, G.L., Ferraro, M. Germline cyst development and imprinting in male mealybug Planococcus citri. Chromosoma 113, 284–294 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-004-0317-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-004-0317-1

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