Genes, Vol. 10, Pages 832: Germline-Specific Repetitive Elements in Programmatically Eliminated Chromosomes of the Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)

Genes, Vol. 10, Pages 832: Germline-Specific Repetitive Elements in Programmatically Eliminated Chromosomes of the Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)
Genes doi: 10.3390/genes10100832
Authors:
Vladimir A. Timoshevskiy
Nataliya Y. Timoshevskaya
Jeramiah J. Smith

The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is one of few vertebrate species known to reproducibly eliminate large fractions of its genome during normal embryonic development. This germline-specific DNA is lost in the form of large fragments, including entire chromosomes, and available evidence suggests that DNA elimination acts as a permanent silencing mechanism that prevents the somatic expression of a specific subset of “germline” genes. However, reconstruction of eliminated regions has proven to be challenging due to the complexity of the lamprey karyotype. We applied an integrative approach aimed at further characterization of the large-scale structure of eliminated segments, including: (1) in silico identification of germline-enriched repeats; (2) mapping the chromosomal location of specific repetitive sequences in germline metaphases; and (3) 3D DNA/DNA-hybridization to embryonic lagging anaphases, which permitted us to both verify the specificity of elements to physically eliminated chromosomes and characterize the subcellular organization of these elements during elimination. This approach resulted in the discovery of several repetitive elements that are found exclusively on the e...

Source: Genes - October 21, 2019 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Vladimir A. Timoshevskiy Nataliya Y. Timoshevskaya Jeramiah J. Smith Tags: Article Source Type: research