Abstract
Interphase chromosomes form distinct spatial domains called chromosome territories (CTs). The position of CTs is known not to be at random and is related to chromosome size and gene density. To elucidate how CTs are arranged in primate proliferating fibroblasts and whether the radial position of CTs has been conserved during primate evolution, several specific CTs corresponding to conserved chromosomes since the Simiiformes (human 6, 12, 13, and 17 homologous CTs) have been studied in 3D preserved interphase nuclei from proliferant cells of two New World monkey species (Lagothrix lagothricha, Saimiri sciureus) and in human by three-dimensional fluorescent in situ hybridization (3D-FISH). Our results indicate that both gene-density and chromosome size influence chromosome territory arrangement in the nucleus. This influence is greater for chromosome-size than for gene-density in the three species studied. A comparison of the radial position of a given CT and its homolog in the species analyzed suggests similar CT distributions for homologous chromosomes. Our statistical analysis using the logit model shows that such homologous positionings cannot, however, be considered identical.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Miguel Martin for his help in the statistical discussion of the paper, Dr. S. Müller’s and Dr. S. Kozubek’s groups for the development of the methodology, Marta Farré for the karyotype control analysis, Dr. Marc Isamat for reviewing the English manuscript, the Servei de Microscòpia, the Servei de Citometria and Servei de Cultius of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Financial support was received from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (BFU2004-03422) and from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (grant to L. Mora).
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Communicated by T. Misteli
This paper is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Josep Egozcue, our enthusiast teacher and a good friend.
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Results of logit model. Association coefficients (ORs) between expressed situation odds (peripheral/central positions) and the basal one (PDF 65 kb)
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Mora, L., Sánchez, I., Garcia, M. et al. Chromosome territory positioning of conserved homologous chromosomes in different primate species. Chromosoma 115, 367–375 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-006-0064-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-006-0064-6