The importance of fluorescence light microscopy for understanding cellular and sub-cellular structures and functions is undeniable. However, the resolution is limited by light diffraction (~200-250 nm laterally, ~500-700 nm axially). Meanwhile, super-resolution microscopy, such as structured illumination microscopy (SIM), is being applied more and more to overcome this restriction. Instead, super-resolution by stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy achieving a resolution of ~50 nm laterally and ~130 nm axially has not yet frequently been applied in plant cell research due to the required specific sample preparation and stable dye staining. Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) including photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM) has not yet been widely used, although this nanoscopic technique allows even the detection of single molecules. In this study, we compared protein imaging within metaphase chromosomes of barley via conventional wide-field and confocal microscopy, and the sub-diffraction methods SIM, STED, and SMLM. The chromosomes were labeled by DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindol), a DNA-specific dye, and with antibodies against topoisomerase IIα (Topo II), a protein important for correct chromatin condensation. Compared to the diffraction-limited methods, the combination of the three different super-resolution imaging techniques delivered tremendous additional insights into the plant chromosome architecture through the achieved increased resolution.
- MeSH
- chromozomy rostlin chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- DNA-topoisomerasy typu II metabolismus MeSH
- fluorescenční barviva chemie MeSH
- fluorescenční mikroskopie metody MeSH
- indoly chemie MeSH
- ječmen (rod) cytologie genetika MeSH
- konfokální mikroskopie metody MeSH
- metafáze genetika MeSH
- reprodukovatelnost výsledků MeSH
- zobrazení jednotlivé molekuly metody MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- srovnávací studie MeSH
Centromeres are essential for proper chromosome segregation to the daughter cells during mitosis and meiosis. Chromosomes of most eukaryotes studied so far have regional centromeres that form primary constrictions on metaphase chromosomes. These monocentric chromosomes vary from point centromeres to so-called "meta-polycentromeres", with multiple centromere domains in an extended primary constriction, as identified in Pisum and Lathyrus species. However, in various animal and plant lineages centromeres are distributed along almost the entire chromosome length. Therefore, they are called holocentromeres. In holocentric plants, centromere-specific proteins, at which spindle fibers usually attach, are arranged contiguously (line-like), in clusters along the chromosomes or in bands. Here, we summarize findings of ultrastructural investigations using immunolabeling with centromere-specific antibodies and super-resolution microscopy to demonstrate the structural diversity of plant centromeres. A classification of the different centromere types has been suggested based on the distribution of spindle attachment sites. Based on these findings we discuss the possible evolution and advantages of holocentricity, and potential strategies to segregate holocentric chromosomes correctly.
Modern sugarcane is an unusually complex heteroploid crop, and its genome comprises two or three subgenomes. To reduce the complexity of sugarcane genome research, the ploidy level and number of chromosomes can be reduced using flow chromosome sorting. However, a cell cycle synchronization (CCS) protocol for Saccharum spp. is needed that maximizes the accumulation of metaphase chromosomes. For flow cytometry analysis in this study, we optimized the lysis buffer, hydroxyurea(HU) concentration, HU treatment time and recovery time for sugarcane. We determined the mitotic index by microscopic observation and calculation. We found that WPB buffer was superior to other buffers for preparation of sugarcane nuclei suspensions. The optimal HU treatment was 2 mM for 18 h at 25 °C, 28 °C and 30 °C. Higher recovery treatment temperatures were associated with shorter recovery times (3.5 h, 2.5 h and 1.5 h at 25 °C, 28 °C and 30 °C, respectively). The optimal conditions for treatment with the inhibitor of microtubule polymerization, amiprophos-methyl (APM), were 2.5 μM for 3 h at 25 °C, 28 °C and 30 °C. Meanwhile, preliminary screening of CCS protocols for Badila were used for some main species of genus Saccharum at 25 °C, 28 °C and 30 °C, which showed that the average mitotic index decreased from 25 °C to 30 °C. The optimal sugarcane CCS protocol that yielded a mitotic index of >50% in sugarcane root tips was: 2 mM HU for 18 h, 0.1 X Hoagland's Solution without HU for 3.5 h, and 2.5 μM APM for 3.0 h at 25 °C. The CCS protocol defined in this study should accelerate the development of genomic research and cytobiology research in sugarcane.
- MeSH
- buněčný cyklus fyziologie MeSH
- časové faktory MeSH
- chromozomy rostlin * metabolismus MeSH
- genom rostlinný genetika MeSH
- genomika metody MeSH
- hydroxymočovina MeSH
- metafáze MeSH
- mitotický index MeSH
- nitrobenzeny MeSH
- organothiofosforové sloučeniny MeSH
- průtoková cytometrie metody MeSH
- pufry MeSH
- Saccharum cytologie genetika MeSH
- teplota MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Plant cytokinesis is orchestrated by a specialized structure, the phragmoplast. The phragmoplast first occurred in representatives of Charophyte algae and then became the main division apparatus in land plants. Major cellular activities, including cytoskeletal dynamics, vesicle trafficking, membrane assembly, and cell wall biosynthesis, cooperate in the phragmoplast under the guidance of a complex signaling network. Furthermore, the phragmoplast combines plant-specific features with the conserved cytokinetic processes of animals, fungi, and protists. As such, the phragmoplast represents a useful system for understanding both plant cell dynamics and the evolution of cytokinesis. We recognize that future research and knowledge transfer into other fields would benefit from standardized terminology. Here, we propose such a lexicon of terminology for specific structures and processes associated with plant cytokinesis.
- MeSH
- biologické modely MeSH
- buněčná membrána metabolismus MeSH
- buněčné dělení MeSH
- chromozomy rostlin metabolismus MeSH
- cytokineze * MeSH
- cytoplazma metabolismus MeSH
- cytoskelet metabolismus MeSH
- mikrotubuly metabolismus MeSH
- rostlinné buňky metabolismus MeSH
- terminologie jako téma * MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
- Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
The capacity of the bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) genome to tolerate introgression from related genomes can be exploited for wheat improvement. A resistance to powdery mildew expressed by a derivative of the cross-bread wheat cv. Tähti × T. militinae (Tm) is known to be due to the incorporation of a Tm segment into the long arm of chromosome 4A. Here, a newly developed in silico method termed rearrangement identification and characterization (RICh) has been applied to characterize the introgression. A virtual gene order, assembled using the GenomeZipper approach, was obtained for the native copy of chromosome 4A; it incorporated 570 4A DArTseq markers to produce a zipper comprising 2132 loci. A comparison between the native and introgressed forms of the 4AL chromosome arm showed that the introgressed region is located at the distal part of the arm. The Tm segment, derived from chromosome 7G, harbours 131 homoeologs of the 357 genes present on the corresponding region of Chinese Spring 4AL. The estimated number of Tm genes transferred along with the disease resistance gene was 169. Characterizing the introgression's position, gene content and internal gene order should not only facilitate gene isolation, but may also be informative with respect to chromatin structure and behaviour studies.
- MeSH
- Ascomycota patogenita MeSH
- chléb MeSH
- chromozomy rostlin genetika metabolismus MeSH
- DNA rostlinná genetika MeSH
- genetické markery MeSH
- mapování chromozomů MeSH
- mikrosatelitní repetice MeSH
- nemoci rostlin genetika mikrobiologie MeSH
- odolnost vůči nemocem MeSH
- počítačová simulace MeSH
- pšenice genetika mikrobiologie MeSH
- rostlinné geny MeSH
- sekvence nukleotidů MeSH
- translokace genetická MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Genlisea margaretae, subgenus Genlisea, section Recurvatae (184 Mbp/1C), belongs to a plant genus with a 25-fold genome size difference and an extreme genome plasticity. Its 19 chromosome pairs could be distinguished individually by an approach combining optimized probe pooling and consecutive rounds of multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (mcFISH) with bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) selected for repeat-free inserts. Fifty-one BACs were assigned to 18 chromosome pairs. They provide a tool for future assignment of genomic sequence contigs to distinct chromosomes as well as for identification of homeologous chromosome regions in other species of the carnivorous Lentibulariaceae family, and potentially of chromosome rearrangements, in cases where more than one BAC per chromosome pair was identified.
Analysis and sorting of plant chromosomes (plant flow cytogenetics) is a special application of flow cytometry in plant genomics and its success depends critically on sample quality. This unit describes the methodology in a stepwise manner, starting with the induction of cell cycle synchrony and accumulation of dividing cells in mitotic metaphase, and continues with the preparation of suspensions of intact mitotic chromosomes, flow analysis and sorting of chromosomes, and finally processing of the sorted chromosomes. Each step of the protocol is described in detail as some procedures have not been used widely. Supporting histograms are presented as well as hints on dealing with plant material; the utility of sorted chromosomes for plant genomics is also discussed. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- MeSH
- chromozomy rostlin metabolismus MeSH
- DNA rostlinná genetika MeSH
- hybridizace in situ fluorescenční MeSH
- karyotypizace MeSH
- meristém cytologie účinky léků MeSH
- metafáze účinky léků MeSH
- molekulová hmotnost MeSH
- oxid dusný farmakologie MeSH
- proteomika MeSH
- průtoková cytometrie metody MeSH
- rostliny genetika MeSH
- semena rostlinná účinky léků MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Dysfunction of chromatin assembly factor 1 in FASCIATA mutants (fas) of Arabidopsis thaliana results in progressive loss of telomeric DNA. Although replicative telomere shortening is typically associated with incomplete resynthesis of their ends by telomerase, no change in telomerase activity could be detected in vitro in extracts from fas mutants. Besides a possible telomerase malfunction, the telomere shortening in fas mutants could presumably be due to problems with conventional replication of telomeres. To distinguish between the possible contribution of suboptimal function of telomerase in fas mutants under in vivo conditions and problems in conventional telomere replication, we crossed fas and tert (telomerase reverse transcriptase) knockout mutants and analyzed telomere shortening in segregated fas mutants, tert mutants, and double fas tert mutants in parallel. We demonstrate that fas tert knockouts show greater replicative telomere shortening than that observed even in the complete absence of telomerase (tert mutants). While the effect of tert and fas mutations on telomere lengths in double mutants is additive, manifestations of telomere dysfunction in double fas tert mutants (frequency of anaphase bridges, onset of chromosome end fusions, and common involvement of 45S rDNA in chromosome fusion sites) are similar to those in tert mutants. We conclude that in addition to possible impairment of telomerase action, a further mechanism contributes to telomere shortening in fas mutants.
- MeSH
- Arabidopsis enzymologie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- chromozomy rostlin genetika metabolismus MeSH
- faktor 1 pro uspořádání chromatinu genetika metabolismus MeSH
- mutace * MeSH
- proteiny huseníčku genetika metabolismus MeSH
- telomerasa genetika metabolismus MeSH
- telomery genetika metabolismus MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
BACKGROUND: Telomeres, as elaborate nucleo-protein complexes, ensure chromosomal stability. When impaired, the ends of linear chromosomes can be recognised by cellular repair mechanisms as double-strand DNA breaks and can be healed by non-homologous-end-joining activities to produce dicentric chromosomes. During cell divisions, particularly during anaphase, dicentrics can break, thus producing naked chromosome tips susceptible to additional unwanted chromosome fusion. Many telomere-building protein complexes are associated with telomeres to ensure their proper capping function. It has been found however, that a number of repair complexes also contribute to telomere stability. RESULTS: We used Arabidopsis thaliana to study the possible functions of the DNA repair subunit, NBS1, in telomere homeostasis using knockout nbs1 mutants. The results showed that although NBS1-deficient plants were viable, lacked any sign of developmental aberration and produced fertile seeds through many generations upon self-fertilisation, plants also missing the functional telomerase (double mutants), rapidly, within three generations, displayed severe developmental defects. Cytogenetic inspection of cycling somatic cells revealed a very early onset of massive genome instability. Molecular methods used for examining the length of telomeres in double homozygous mutants detected much faster telomere shortening than in plants deficient in telomerase gene alone. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that NBS1 acts in concert with telomerase and plays a profound role in plant telomere renewal.
- MeSH
- anafáze MeSH
- Arabidopsis cytologie enzymologie genetika růst a vývoj MeSH
- chromozomální nestabilita MeSH
- chromozomy rostlin genetika metabolismus MeSH
- cytogenetické vyšetření MeSH
- DNA vazebné proteiny genetika metabolismus MeSH
- homeostáza telomer MeSH
- hybridizace in situ fluorescenční MeSH
- jaderné proteiny genetika metabolismus MeSH
- klíčení MeSH
- květy cytologie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- mapování interakce mezi proteiny MeSH
- meióza MeSH
- oprava DNA MeSH
- proteiny buněčného cyklu genetika metabolismus MeSH
- proteiny huseníčku genetika metabolismus MeSH
- rostlinné buňky enzymologie metabolismus MeSH
- samooplození MeSH
- semena rostlinná genetika růst a vývoj metabolismus MeSH
- telomerasa genetika metabolismus MeSH
- telomery genetika metabolismus MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
