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J. Cell Biol.,
Volume 141, Number 1, April 6, 1998 21-29
* Institute of Botany, University of Vienna, A-1030 Vienna, Austria; and § Department of Human Biology and Human Genetics,
the University, D-67653 Kaiserslautern, Germany
Chromosome arrangement in spread nuclei
of the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was
studied by fluorescence in situ hybridization with
probes to centromeres and telomeric chromosome regions. We found that during interphase centromeres
are tightly clustered in a peripheral region of the nucleus, whereas telomeres tend to occupy the area outside the centromeric domain. In vigorously growing cultures, centromere clustering occurred in ~90% of cells and it appeared to be maintained throughout interphase. It was reduced when cells were kept under stationary conditions for an extended period. In meiosis,
centromere clusters disintegrated before the emergence of the earliest precursors of the synaptonemal complex. Evidence for the contribution of centromere
clustering to other aspects of suprachromosomal nuclear order, in particular the vegetative association of
homologous chromosomes, is provided, and a possible
supporting role in meiotic homology searching is discussed.
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