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Polytene Chromosomes

Polytene Chromosomes

Polytene chromosomes are giant interphase chromosomes with several DNA strands placed side by side. They were discovered in the year 1881 by Balbiani in salivary glands, intestine, muscles, malpighian tubules, and hypoderm of larvae Chironomus plumosus. Hence, these are also called "Salivary gland chromosomes." These are found in insects of the order Diptera and Collembola; in certain organs of mammals; and synergids, antipodes of flowering plants. Polytene chromosomes are also regularly...

Polytene Chromosomes

Polytene Chromosomes

Polytene chromosomes are giant interphase chromosomes with several DNA strands placed side by side. They were discovered in the year 1881 by Balbiani in salivary glands, intestine, muscles, malpighian tubules, and hypoderm of larvae Chironomus plumosus. Hence, these are also called "Salivary gland chromosomes." These are found in insects of the order Diptera and Collembola; in certain organs of mammals; and synergids, antipodes of flowering plants. Polytene chromosomes are also regularly...

Heterochromatin

Heterochromatin

The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions that take up more dye are called heterochromatin. Heterochromatin is further classified into two forms – constitutive heterochromatin and facultative heterochromatin.
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...

Heterochromatin

Heterochromatin

The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions that take up more dye are called heterochromatin. Heterochromatin is further classified into two forms – constitutive heterochromatin and facultative heterochromatin.
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...

Position-effect Variegation

Position-effect Variegation

In 1928, a German botanist Emil Heitz observed the moss nuclei with a DNA binding dye. He observed that while some chromatin regions decondense and spread out in the interphase nucleus, others do not. He termed them euchromatin and heterochromatin, respectively. He proposed that the heterochromatin regions reflect a functionally inactive state of the genome. It was later confirmed that heterochromatin is transcriptionally repressed, and euchromatin is transcriptionally active chromatin.

Lampbrush Chromosomes

Lampbrush Chromosomes

In 1882, Flemming observed lampbrush chromosomes (LBC) in salamander eggs. Later in 1892, Rückert observed LBCs in shark egg cells and coined the term "lampbrush chromosomes" because they looked like brushes used to clean kerosene lamps.
LBCs are made up of two pairs of conjugating homologous chromatids. Each chromatid consists of alternatively positioned regions of condensed-inactive chromatin and loosely placed-active side loops, which can be contracted and extended. The loops resemble the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Simple Method for Fluorescence DNA In Situ Hybridization to Squashed Chromosomes

Simple Method for Fluorescence DNA In Situ Hybridization to Squashed Chromosomes

Published on: January 6, 2015

Polymorphic heterochromatic segments in Japanese quail microchromosomes.

A Krasikova¹, A Daks, A Zlotina

¹Saint-Petersburg State University, Saint-Petersburg, Russia. spbchromas @ gmail.com

Cytogenetic and Genome Research

|December 18, 2009

Summary

This study reveals distinct heterochromatin patterns and histone modifications on chicken and quail microchromosomes. Quail microchromosomes exhibit unique heterochromatic segments on their short arms, showing transcriptional activity during oocyte development.

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Primary Endodermal Epithelial Cell Culture from the Yolk Sac Membrane of Japanese Quail Embryos

Primary Endodermal Epithelial Cell Culture from the Yolk Sac Membrane of Japanese Quail Embryos

Published on: March 10, 2016

Area of Science:

Comparative genomics
Epigenetics
Avian biology

Background:

Microchromosomes are characteristic of avian genomes, differing significantly from macrochromosomes.
Heterochromatin distribution and epigenetic modifications play crucial roles in chromosome structure and function.
Lampbrush chromosomes offer a unique model for studying chromatin organization during meiosis.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the distribution of Heterochromatin Protein 1 beta (HP1 beta) and histone H3 modifications on chicken and Japanese quail microchromosomes.
To compare the morphological and epigenetic features of microchromosomes between these two avian species.
To explore the transcriptional activity of heterochromatic regions in quail microchromosomes.

Main Methods:

Lampbrush chromosome preparation from diplotene oocytes.
Immunolocalization of HP1 beta protein.
Analysis of histone H3 modifications (e.g., H3K9me2, H3K27me3).
Microscopic examination of microchromosome morphology and heterochromatin patterns.

Main Results:

Both chicken and quail microchromosomes possess pericentromeric and subtelomeric heterochromatin enriched with HP1 beta and repressive histone marks.
Japanese quail microchromosomes display additional heterochromatic segments on the short arms of submetacentric chromosomes, which are transcriptionally active during the lampbrush stage.
Morphological differences, including centromere position, are observed between chicken and quail microchromosomes, potentially due to repetitive sequence accumulation in quail.

Conclusions:

Significant differences exist in microchromosome structure and heterochromatin organization between chicken and Japanese quail.
The presence of transcriptionally active heterochromatic segments in quail microchromosomes suggests dynamic epigenetic regulation.
HP1 beta and specific histone modifications are key components in defining avian microchromosome heterochromatin, with species-specific variations.