Different patterns of chromosomal histone H3 phosphorylation in land plants

The chromosomal phosphorylation of histone H3 during mitosis and meiosis seems to play a fundamental role in the control of cell division in all eukaryotes. In plants, the temporal and spatial distribution of H3S10 phosphorylated (H3S10ph) is currently known only for chromosomes of a few angiosperms. In the present study, we analyzed the pattern of H3S10ph in mitotic chromosomes of 14 plant species, including 2 bryophytes and 12 tracheophytes. In all species, the phosphorylation of H3S10 was cytologically detected first in prophase and disappeared in late anaphase. Two patterns of chromosomal phosphorylation were observed: (1) only the pericentromeric regions were hyperphosphorylated, whereas the remaining chromosome arms appeared weakly and diffusely immunolabeled, and (2) the whole chromosomes appear uniformly phosphorylated, increasing the labeling intensity at metaphase. The first pattern was observed in all tracheophytes with monocentric chromosomes, whereas the second one was restricted to the bryophytes and angiosperms with holokinetic chromosomes. In both cases, no particular kind of chromatin such as NORs or heterochromatic bands were differentially labeled. Based on this data and previous analyses in other eukaryotes, we suggest that hyperphosphorylation of the whole mitotic metaphase chromosome represents the ancestral condition for eukaryotic chromosomes, and the change to the pericentromeric pattern occurred in the transition from bryophytes to tracheophytes. The meaning and possible implications of these results are discussed in the light of recent and classical experiments.