[PROVISIONAL] Does the chromosomal position of 35S rDNA sites influence their transcription? A survey on Nothoscordum species (Amaryllidaceae)

Abstract

Abstract 35S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sites are the regions where the ribosomal genes 18S, 5.8S and 25S, responsible for the formation of the nucleoli, are found. The fact that rDNA sites have non-random distribution on chromosomes suggests that their position on the chromosome may influence their transcription. In order to identify if the preferentially transcribed rDNA sites occupy a specific position, six species (nine cytotypes) of Nothoscordum genus were analyzed using two different techniques to impregnate the nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) with silver nitrate. Both techniques strongly stained NORs, but one of them also stained the proximal region of all chromosomes, suggesting that another group of argentophilic proteins may occur in this region. In species with rDNA sites in acrocentric and metacentric chromosomes, sites located on the short arms of the acrocentric chromosomes were preferentially activated. On the other hand, in species with rDNA sites restricted to the short arms of the acrocentrics, all of them were activated, whereas in those species with sites restricted to the terminal region of metacentric chromosomes, the frequency of active sites was always lower than expected. These data indicate that at least in Nothoscordum the transcription of a given site is influenced by its position on the chromosome and may explain, at least partially, the strongly non-random distribution of these sites in plant and animal chromosomes.

Keywords

• nucleolus
• ribosomal genes
• preferential activation of NORs
• Nothoscordum