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Selective staining of the same set of nucleolar phosphoproteins by silver and Giemsa

A combined biochemical and cytochemical study on staining of NORs

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Abstract

Gel electrophoresis of nucleolar isolates from Zajdela ascites hepatoma cells followed by various staining procedures revealed a common set of bands that stained selectively with silver and Giemsa. The gel bands, corresponding to molecular weights of 104, 78, 37, and 29 kilodaltons (kd), appeared to contain phosphoproteins that were at least partly associated with oligo-deoxyribonucleotides. Enzyme digestion studies showed that the Giemsastainability was due to the phosphorylated state of the proteins. The positive selective silver-staining reaction in gels could be most likely attributed to the high content of carboxyl groups present in these phosphoproteins. The significance of these findings in relation to cytological results produced by selective silver staining of nucleolus organizing regions (NORs) and by Giemsa N-banding is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Genetics, State University of Groningen, AW, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Charles H. C. M. Buys & Jan Osinga

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  1. Charles H. C. M. Buys
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  2. Jan Osinga
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Buys, C.H.C.M., Osinga, J. Selective staining of the same set of nucleolar phosphoproteins by silver and Giemsa. Chromosoma 89, 387–396 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00331257

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00331257

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