Dynamics of rye telomeres in a wheat background during early meiosis

Migration of the telomere of the short arm of rye chromosome 5R (5RS) during bouquet organization is dependent on the conformation that this chromosome adopts in its intact, submetacentric, or truncated, metacentric, form. In order to establish whether the telomere migration dependence on chromosome conformation is a common feature of all rye chromosomes, the behavior of the telomeres of 2 other rye chromosomes, 1R and 6R, with apparent differences in the arm ratio, has been studied at the bouquet stage and compared with that of 5R. The presence of subtelomeric heterochromatic chromomeres in both arms of 1R and 6R, which were visualized by FISH, revealed the position of the adjacent telomeres in the bouquet. While the end of the long arms of both chromosomes was, with some exceptions, always included in the telomere cluster, the end of the short arms failed to migrate to the telomere pole. Disturbed telomere migration was more often observed in the short arm of the submetacentric chromosome 6R than in the short arm of the almost metacentric chromosome 1R. Thus, the chromosomal conformation effect on telomere mobility is a common feature of all rye chromosomes. Incomplete telomere clustering is followed by failure of synapsis and chiasma formation in chromosomes 5R and 6R. Chromosome arm 1RS, which carries the NOR, completes synapsis earlier than 5RS or 6RS, facilitated by the nucleolar fusion that occurs during early zygotene.