Abstract
We analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) the intact lampbrush chromosomes of the Pleurodeles oocyte karyotype. Each of the 12 bivalents was identified and photomicrographed in phase contrast and at low SEM magnification before the structure of chromomeres and lateral loops was analyzed at higher magnifications. Stereographic examination showed that the chromomere structure is not as well defined as it appears in the light microscope. The characteristic morphology of typical landmarks such as granular or globular loops seems to be due to a more or less tight packing and coiling of matrix components. This packing probably corresponds to the storage of transcription products and therefore of genic information.
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Angelier, N., Paintrand, M., Lavaud, A. et al. Scanning electron microscopy of amphibian lampbrush chromosomes. Chromosoma 89, 243–253 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00292471
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00292471