Positioning of human chromosomes in murine cell hybrids according to synteny
Karen J Meaburn1, Robert F Newbold, Joanna M Bridger
1Laboratory of Nuclear and Genomic Health, Centre for Cell & Chromosome Biology, Biosciences School of Health Sciences & Social Care, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, UK.
Abstract:
Chromosomes occupy non-random spatial positions in interphase nuclei. It remains unclear what orchestrates this high level of organisation. To determine how the nuclear environment influences the spatial positioning of chromosomes, we utilised a panel of stable mouse hybrid cell lines carrying a single, intact human chromosome. Eleven of 22 human chromosomes revealed an alternative location in hybrid nuclei compared to that of human fibroblasts, with the majority becoming more internally localised. Human chromosomes in mouse nuclei position according to neither their gene density nor size, but rather the position of human chromosomes in hybrid nuclei appears to mimic that of syntenic mouse chromosomes. These results suggest that chromosomes adopt the behaviour of their host species chromosomes and that the nuclear environment is an important determinant of the interphase positioning of chromosomes.
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