To develop reliable techniques for chromosome identification is critical for cytogenetic research, especially for genomes with a large number and smaller-sized chromosomes. An efficient approach using bacterial artificial chromosome （BAC） clones as molecular cytological markers has been developed for many organisms. Herein, we present a set of chromosomal arm-specific molecular cytological markers derived from the gene-enriched regions of the sequenced rice genome. All these markers are able to generate very strong signals on the pachytene chromosomes of Oryza sativa L. （AA genome） when used as fluorescence in situ hybridization （FISH） probes. We further probed those markers to the pachytene chromosomes of O. punctata （BB genome） and O. officinalis （CC genome） and also got very strong signals on the relevant pachytene chromosomes. The signal position of each marker on the related chromosomes from the three different rice genomes was pretty much stable, which enabled us to identify different chromosomes among various rice genomes. We also constructed the karyotype for both O. punctata and O. officinalis with the BB and CC genomes, respectively, by analysis of 10 pachytene cells anchored by these chromosomal arm-specific markers.
Xiaomin Tang Weidong Bao Wenli Zhang Zhukuan Cheng
In order to investigate rice functional centromeres, OsCENH3-GFP chimeric gene was constructed and transformed into the indica rice variety, Zhongxian 3037, mediated by Agrobacturium. The integration of the exogenous genes in the transgenic plants was confirmed by PCR and Southern blotting. The transgenic plants grow normally during their whole life time, just like Zhongxian 3037. No significant defects were detected in either mitosis or meiosis of the transgenic plants. The overlapping of GFP signals and anti-CENH3 foci in both mitotic and meiotic cells from T0 and T1 generation plants indicated that GFP had been successfully fused with CENH3, so the GFP signals can well represent the CENH3 locations on each chromosome. To evaluate the applicability of the transgenic plants to other genetic studies, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using rice centromeric tandem repetitive sequence CentO as the probe was conducted on the zygotene chromosomes of pollen mother cells (PMCs). It has been revealed that the GFP signals are overlapping with CentO FISH signals, showing that CentO is one of the key elements constituting rice functional centromeres. Immunofluorescent staining using anti-α-tublin antibody and anti-PAIR2 antibody on the chromosomes during mitosis and meiosis stages of the transgenic plants further reveals that OsCENH3-GFP transgenic plants can be widely used for studying rice molecular biology, especially for tagging functional centromeres in both living cells and tissues.
