The three-dimensional organization of the amplified ribosomal DNA complex in Acheta

The major chromomere of pachytene chromosome 6 in the oocytes of Acheta (Orthoptera) is a region of amplification for ribosomal RNA cistrons (28 S and 18 S). This chromomere was isolated and studied with the scanning electron microscope. It has an outer shell that is smooth at early stages but divides into polygonal plates as indentations appear on its surface. These indentations increase in number as the DNA copies separate from each other and as the ribosomal RNA synthesis progresses. The vertices of the polygonal plates coincide with the positions at which the DNA copies reach the surface of the chromomere during their "puffing" process. The combined information gained from scanning and transmission electron microscopy, DNA measurements, DNA.RNA hybridization, and cytochemistry, leads to a three-dimensional picture of the organization of the amplified ribosomal DNA in its association with ribosomal RNA and protein.