Abstract
Spatial relationships between chromosomes of the same genome, both homologous and non-homologous, were studied in root-tip cells of common wheat, Triticum aestivum (2n = 6x = 42). Mean distance between members of all the 21 homologous pairs (seven in each of the three genomes) and of 45 out of the 63 possible non-homologous combinations of two (21 in each genome) were determined. To minimize disruption of nuclear chromosomal arrangement, the cells were pretreated with cold temperature either in tap water or in a physiological medium (White solution) and distances between cytologically marked chromosomes were measured at metaphase. Comparison of distances for homologues with those for non-homologues indicated clearly that, within each genome, the homologous chromosomes were significantly closer to one another than were the non-homologues. Distances between homologues were similar in all three genomes, as were distances between non-homologues. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that the chromosomes of each genome of common wheat are arranged in the somatic nucleus in a highly specific ordered pattern. In this hypothetical arrangement, homologous chromosomes are closely associated, while the nonhomologues occupy definite positions with respect to one another. The universality of the phenomenon and its cellular mechanism and biological significance are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ashburner, M.: Gene activity dependent on chromosome synapsis in the polytene chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster. Nature (Lond.) 214, 1159–1160 (1967)
Ashley, T., Wagenaar, E.B.: End to end attachment of haploid chromosomes of Ornithogalum virens. Canad. J. Genet. Cytol. 14, 716–717 (1972)
Ashley, T., Wagenaar, E.B.: Telomeric associations of gametic and somatic chromosomes in diploid and autotetraploid Ornithogalum virens. Canad. J. Genet. Cytol. 16, 61–67 (1974)
Avivi, L.: The effect of genes controlling different degrees of homoeologous pairing on quadrivalent frequency in induced autotetraploid lines of Triticum longissimum. Canad. J. Genet. Cytol. 18, 357–364 (1976a)
Avivi, L.: Colchicine induced bivalent pairing of tetraploid microsporocytes in Triticum longissimum and T. speltoides. Canad. J. Genet. Cytol. 18, 731–738 (1976b)
Avivi, L., Feldman, M.: The mechanism of somatic association in common wheat, Triticum aestivum L. IV. Further evidence for modification of spindle tubulin through the somatic association genes as measured by vinblastine binding. Genetics 73, 379–385 (1973a)
Avivi, L., Feldman, M.: Mechanism of non-random chromosome placement in common wheat. Proc. 4th. Inter. Wheat Genet. Symp., pp. 627–633 (1973b)
Avivi, L., Feldman, M.: Arrangement of chromosomes in the interphase nucleus of plants. Hum. Genet. 55, 281–295 (1980)
Avivi, L., Efron, Y., Feldman, M.: Effect of somatic chromosomal association on the zymogram of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in common wheat. Genetics 71 (Suppl.), 2–3 (1972)
Avivi, L., Feldman, M., Bushuk, W.: The mechanism of somatic association in common wheat, Triticum aestivum L. I. Suppression of somatic association by colchicine. Genetics 62, 745–752 (1969)
Avivi, L., Feldman, M., Bushuk, W.: The mechanism of somatic association in common wheat, Triticum aestivum L. II. Differential sensitivity to colchicine of spindle microtubules of plants having different doses of the somatic association genes. Genetics 65, 585–592 (1970a)
Avivi, L., Feldman, M., Bushuk, W.: The mechanism of somatic association in common wheat, Triticum aestivum L. III. Differential affinity for nucleotides of spindle microtubules of plants having different doses of the somatic association suppressor. Genetics 66, 449–461 (1970b)
Avivi, L., Feldman, M., Brown, M.: An ordered arrangement of chromosomes in the somatic nucleus of common wheat, Triticum aestivum L. II. Spatial relationships between chromosomes of different genomes. Chromosoma (Berl.) 86, 17–26 (1982)
Barton, D.E., David, F.N., Merrington, M.: The relative positions of the chromosomes in the human cell in mitosis. Ann. Hum. Genet. 29, 139–146 (1965)
Bennett, D.: Non-random association of chromosomes during mitotic metaphase in tissue cells of the mouse. Cytologia (Tokyo) 31, 411–415 (1966)
Chauhan, K.P.S., Abel, W.O.: Evidence for the association of homologous chromosomes during premeiotic stages in Impatiens and Salvia. Chromosoma (Berl.) 25, 297–302 (1968)
Comings, D.E.: The rationale for an ordered arrangement of chromatin in the interphase nucleus. Amer. J. Hum. Genet. 20, 440–460 (1968)
Comings, D.E.: Arrangement of chromatin in the nucleus. Hum. Genet. 53, 131–143 (1980)
Darvey, N.L., Driscoll, C.J.: Evidence against somatic association in hexaploid wheat. Chromosoma (Berl.) 36, 140–149 (1972)
Dubuc, J.P., McGinnis, R.C.: Somatic association in Avena sativa L. Science 167, 999–1000 (1970)
Dvorak, J., Knott, D.R.: A study of somatic association of wheat chromosomes. Canad. J. Genet. Cytol. 15, 411–416 (1973)
Evans, H.J., Bigger, T.R.L.: Chromatid aberrations induced by gamma irradiation. II. Non randomness in the distribution of chromatid aberrations in relation to chromosome length in Vicia faba root-tip cells. Genetics 46, 277–289 (1961)
Fedak, G., Helgason, S.B.: Somatic association of chromosomes in barley. Canad. J. Genet. Cytol. 12, 496–500 (1970)
Feldman, M.: The effect of chromosomes 5 B, 5 D and 5 A on chromosomal pairing in Triticum aestivum. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (Wash.) 55, 1447–1453 (1966)
Feldman, M.: Regulation of somatic association and meiotic pairing in common wheat. Proc. 3rd Inter. Wheat Genet. Symp. (Austral. Acad. Sci., Canberra), 169–178 (1968)
Feldman, M., Avivi, L.: Non-random arrangement of chromosomes in common wheat. In: Chromosomes today 4, pp. 187–196 (1973a)
Feldman, M., Avivi, L.: The pattern of chromosomal arrangement in nuclei of common wheat and its genetic control. Proc. 4th Inter. Wheat Genet. Symp., Missouri Agr. Exp. Sta., Columbia, Mo., pp. 675–684 (1973b)
Feldman, M., Mello-Sampayo, T., Avivi, L.: Somatic association of homoeologous chromosomes in Triticum aestivum. Chromosoma (Berl.) 37, 209–222 (1972)
Feldman, M., Mello-Sampayo, T., Sears, E.R.: Somatic association in Triticum aestivum. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (Wash.) 56, 1192–1199 (1966)
Galperin, H.: Etude de la distribution generale des 46 chromosomes dans les cellules humaines en metaphase. Humangenetik 6, 118–130 (1968).
Gerassimova, H.: Fertilization in Crepis capillaris (L.) Wall. Cellule 42, 103–148 (1933)
Godin, D.E., Stack, S.M.: Heterochromatic connectives between the chromosomes of Secale cereale. Canad. J. Genet. Cytol. 17, 269–273 (1975)
Grell, R.F.: Meiotic and somatic pairing. In: Genetic Organization, A Comprehensive Treatise, Vol. 1, pp. 361–492 (E.W. Caspari and A.W. Ravin, eds.). New York: Academic Press 1969
Heneen, W.K., Nichols, W.W.: Non-random arrangement of metaphase chromosomes in cultured cells of the Indian deer Muntiacus mutjak. Cytogenetics 11, 153–164 (1972)
Horn, J.D.: Somatic association as a general phenomenon in maize. Maize Genet. Coop. Newsl. 44, 198–200 (1970)
Horn, J.D.: Somatic association: the effects of various methods of arresting spindle-fiber development. Maize Genet. Coop. Newsl. 45, 209–210 (1971)
Horn, J.D.: Somatic association and an organized nucleus in Zea mays L. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Western Ontario (1973)
Horn, J.D.: Primary non-homologue association among somatic chromosomes. Maize Genet. Coop. Newsl. 49, 155–156 (1975)
Horn, J.D., Walden, D.B.: Affinity distance values among somatic metaphase chromosomes in maize. Genetics 88, 181–200 (1978)
Huskins, C.L., Smith, S.G.: A cytological study of the genus Sorghum Pers. I. The somatic chromosomes. J. Genet. 25, 241–249 (1932)
Janaki-Ammal, E.K.: Chromosome studies in Nicandra physaloides. La Cellule 41, 87–110 (1932)
Jancey, R.C., Walden, D.B.: Analysis of pattern in distribution of breakage points in the chromosomes of Zea mays L. and D. melanogaster Meigen. Canad. J. Genet. Cytol. 14, 429–442 (1972)
Jancey, R.C.: A new source of evidence for the polarized nucleus in maize. Canad. J. Genet. Cytol. 17, 245–252 (1975)
Kaina, B., Rieger, R., Michaelis, A., Schubert, I.: Effects of chromosome repatterning in Vicia faba L. IV. Chromosome constitution and its bearing on the frequency and distribution of chromatid aberrations. Biol. Zbl. 98, 271–283 (1979)
Kihara, H.: Artifically raised haploids and their uses in plant breeding. Sciken Ziho 27–28, 14–29 (1979)
Kirsch-Volders, M., Hens, L., Susanne, C.: Telomere and centromere association tendencies in the human male metaphase complement. Hum. Genet. 54, 69–77 (1980)
Kitani, Y.: Orientation, arrangement and association of somatic chromosomes. Jap. J. Genet. 38, 244–256 (1963)
Kumar, S., Natarajan, A.T.: Kinetics of two-break chromosome exchanges and the spatial arrangement of chromosome strands in interphase nucleus. Nature (Lond.) 209, 796–797 (1966)
Kushnir, U.: Behavior of alien chromosomal material in the wheat genome. Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot (1977)
Kuwada, U.: A cytological study of Oryza sativa L. Bot. Mag. Tokyo 24, 267–281 (1910)
Lewis, E.G.: The theory and application of a new method of detecting chromosomal rearrangements in Drosophila melanogaster. Amer. Naturalist 88, 225–239 (1954)
Maguire, M.P.: Evidence for homologous pairing of chromosomes prior to meiotic prophase in maize. Chromosoma (Berl.) 21, 221–231 (1967)
McLeish, J.: The action of maleic hydrazide in Vicia. Heredity (Suppl.) 6, 125–147 (1953)
Mello-Sampayo, T.: Somatic association between telocentrics for both arms of the same chromosome in Triticum aestivum. Proc. XIIth Intern. Congr. Genet. 1, 163 (1968)
Mello-Sampayo, T.: Somatic association of telocentric chromosomes carrying homologous centromeres in common wheat. Theor. Appl. Genet. 43, 174–181 (1973)
Michaelis, A., Rieger, R.: On the distribution between chromosomes of chemically induced chromatid aberrations: studies with a new karyotype of Vicia faba. Mutation Res. 6, 81–92 (1968)
Miles, J.: Somatic association of homologues induced by abnormal chromosome 10. Maize Genet. Coop. Newsl. 42, 77–79 (1968)
Miller, O.J., Berg, W.R., Mukherjee, B.B., Gamble, A. Van N., Christakas, A.C.: Non-random distribution of chromosomes in metaphase figures from cultured human leukocytes. II. The peripherial location of chromosomes 13, 17–18 and 21. Cytogenetics 2, 152–167 (1963)
Mosolov, A.N.: Evolutional conception of nucleus and chromosome structure. The Nucleus (Clacutta) 27, 51–64 (1974)
Naylor, A.F., Warburton, D., Warburton, F.E.: Spatial relations of human chromosomes identified by quinacrine fluorescence at metaphase. II. Analysis of variance of intercentromeric distances. Hum. Genet. 18, 307–313 (1973)
Ockey, C.H.: The position of chromosomes at metaphase in human fibroblasts and their DNA synthesis behavior. Chromosoma (Berl.) 27, 308–320 (1969)
Overton, J.B.: The organization of the nuclei in the root tips of Podophyllum peltatum. Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci. Arts. Letters 20, 275–322 (1922)
Raicu, P., Vladescu, B., Kirilova, M.: Distribution of chromosomes in metaphase plates of Mesocricetus newtoni. Genet. Res. (Camb.) 15, 1–6 (1970)
Rao, R.N., Natarajan, A.T.: Somatic association in relation to chemically induced chromosome aberrations in Vicia faba. Genetics 57, 821–835 (1967)
Revell, S.H.: Chromosome breakage by X-rays and radiomimetic substances in Vicia. Heredity (Suppl.) 6, 107–124 (1953)
Rieger, R., Michaelis, A., Schubert, I., Meister, A.: Somatic interphase pairing of Vicia chromosomes as inferred from the hom/het ratio of induced chromatid interchanges. Mutation Res. 20, 295–298 (1973)
Rodman, T.C., Flehinger, B.J., Rohlf, F.J.: Metaphase chromosome associations: colcemid distorts the pattern. Cytogenet. Cell Genet. 27, 98–110 (1980)
Rodman, T.C., Flehinger, B.J., Squire, R.D.: Patterns of association in the human metaphase complement: ring analysis and estimation of associativity of specific chromosome regions. Hum. Genet. 41, 19–34 (1978)
Sadasivaiah, R.S., Watkins, R., Rajhathy, T.: Somatic association of chromosomes in diploid and hexaploid Avena. Chromosoma (Berl.) 28, 468–481 (1969)
Sax, K.: Analysis of x-ray induced chromosomal aberrations in Tradescantia. Genetics 25, 41–68 (1940)
Schulz-Schaeffer, J., Haun, C.R.: The chromosomes of hexaploid common wheat, Triticum aestivum L. Z. Pflanzenzucht. 46, 112–124 (1961)
Shchapova, A.I.: On the karyotype pattern and the chromosome arrangement in the interphase nucleus. Tsitologia (USSR) 13, 1157–1164 (1971)
Singh, D., Joshi, B.C.: Orientation of homoeologous chromosomes in the somatic cells of wheat. Wheat Inf. Serv. 33–34, 9 (1972)
Singh, R.J., Röbbelen, G., Okamoto, M.: Somatic association at interphase studied by Giemsa banding technique. Chromosoma (Berl.) 56, 265–273 (1976)
Stack, S.M., Brown, W.V.: Somatic and premeiotic pairing of homologues in Plantago ovata. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 96, 143–149 (1969)
Stack, S., Clarke, C.: Differential Giemsa staining of the telomeres of Allium cepa chromosomes: observations related to chromosome pairing. Canad. J. Genet. Cytol. 15, 619–624 (1973)
Strasburger, E.: Die Apogamie der Eualchemillen. Jb. wiss. Bot. 41, 88–164 (1904)
Strasburger, E.: Typische und allotypische Kernteilung. Histologische Beitrage zur Vererbungsfrage. Jb. wiss. J. Bot. 42, 1–71 (1905)
Strasburger, E.: Über die Individualität der Chromosomen und die Pfropfhybriden-Frage. Jb. wiss. Bot. 44, 482–555 (1907)
Strasburger, E.: Chromosomenzahl. Flora 100, 398–446 (1910)
Sved, J.A.: Hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila melanogaster: a possible explanation in terms of spatial organization of chromosomes. Aust. J. Biol. Sci. 29, 375–388 (1976)
Thomas, H.: Somatic association of chromosomes in asynaptic genotypes of Avena sativa L. Chromosoma (Berl.) 42, 87–94 (1973)
Vogel, F., Schroeder, T.M.: The internal order of the interphase nucleus. Humangenetik 25, 265–297 (1974)
Wagenaar, E.B.: End-to-end chromosome attachments in mitotic interphase and their possible significance to meiotic chromosome pairing. Chromosoma (Berl.) 26, 410–426 (1969)
Walden, D.B., Jancey, R.C.: Reassociation patterns among segmental interchanges in maize. Heredity 36, 293–304 (1976)
Warburton, D., Naylor, A.F., Warburton, F.E.: Spatial relations of human chromosomes identified by quinacrine fluorescence at metaphase. I. Mean mterchromosomal distances and distances from cell center. Hum. Genet. 18, 297–306 (1973)
Watkins, G.M.: A study of chromosome pairing in Yucca rupicola. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 62, 133–150 (1935)
Werry, P.A.Th.J., Stoffeisen, K., Engels, F.M., Van der Laan, F., Spanjers, A.W.: The relative arrangement of chromosomes in mitotic interphase and metaphase in Haplopappus gracilis. Chromosoma (Berl.) 62, 93–101 (1977)
White, P.R.: The cultivation of animal and plant cells. (2nd ed.), p. 74. New York: Ronald Press Co., 1963
Yoshida, H., Yamaguchi, M.: Arrangement and association of somatic chromosomes induced by chloramphenicol in barley. Chromosoma (Berl.) 43, 399–407 (1973)
Yoshida, H., Yamaguchi, H., Takano, Y.: Somatic association of homologous chromosomes in rye. Jap. J. Genetics 49, 45–47 (1974)
Yoshida, H., Yamamoto, K., Yamaguchi, H.: Fragmentation and nondisjunction of barley chromosomes after the treatment of chloramphenicol and cycloheximide. Cytologia (Tokyo) 37, 697–707 (1972)
Zang, K.D., Back, E.: Quantitative studies on the arrangement of human metaphase chromosomes. I. Individual features in the association pattern of the acrocentric chromosomes of normal males and females. Cytogenetics 7, 455–470, (1968)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Avivi, L., Feldman, M. & Brown, M. An ordered arrangement of chromosomes in the somatic nucleus of common wheat, Triticum aestivum L.. Chromosoma 86, 1–16 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330726
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330726