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Organization of centromeres in the decondensed nuclei of mature human sperm

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Abstract

The localization of centromeres in mature human sperm was shown by immunofluorescent labeling and nonisotopic in situ hybridization. In the decondensed nucleus structural elements (dimers, tetramers, linear arrays and V shape structures) formed by individual centromeres of nonhomologous chromosomes were observed. They organize the compact chromocenter, which was shown for nuclei decondensed to a low extent. The chromocenter is buried inside the nucleus; in contrast, telomeric regions of chromosomes were tentatively localized on the periphery. Thus, a gross architecture, which can influence selective unpackaging of the paternal genome upon fertilization, exists in human sperm.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA

    Andrei O. Zalensky, John W. Breneman, Irina A. Zalenskaya & E. Morton Bradbury

  2. Texas Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 77030, Houston, TX, USA

    B. R. Brinkley

  3. Life Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 87545, Los Alamos, NM, USA

    E. Morton Bradbury

Authors
  1. Andrei O. Zalensky
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  2. John W. Breneman
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  3. Irina A. Zalenskaya
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  4. B. R. Brinkley
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  5. E. Morton Bradbury
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Communicated by: W.C. Earnshaw

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Zalensky, A.O., Breneman, J.W., Zalenskaya, I.A. et al. Organization of centromeres in the decondensed nuclei of mature human sperm. Chromosoma 102, 509–518 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00368344

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00368344

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