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Macrostructure of the tomato telomeres
M W Ganal1, N L Lapitan, S D Tanksley
1Department of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853.
The Plant Cell
|January 1, 1991
Summary
Tomato telomeres share a similar DNA repeat sequence with Arabidopsis, TT(T/A)AGGG. This repeat, along with a satellite DNA repeat, structures most tomato chromosome ends.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Molecular Biology
- Plant Science
Background:
- Telomeres protect chromosome ends from degradation.
- Understanding telomere structure is crucial for plant genetics and stability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the macrostructure of tomato telomeres.
- To determine the DNA sequence and organization of tomato telomeres.
Main Methods:
- In situ hybridization using Arabidopsis telomeric sequences.
- Genomic sequencing of enriched tomato telomeric DNA.
- Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).
Main Results:
- Tomato telomeres contain a repeat sequence (TT(T/A)AGGG) that cross-hybridizes with Arabidopsis telomeres (TTTAGGG).
- This telomeric repeat is located at all chromosome ends and represents the outermost DNA.
- The tomato telomeric repeat is physically linked to a satellite DNA repeat (TGR I) at most chromosome ends.
Conclusions:
- The TT(T/A)AGGG repeat and TGR I satellite DNA define the structure of 20 out of 24 tomato chromosome ends.
- These sequences contribute to the heterochromatic terminal knobs observed in tomato pachytene chromosomes.