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Chromosome and DNA methylation dynamics during meiosis in the autotetraploid Arabidopsis arenosa

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Abstract

Variation in chromosome number due to polyploidy can seriously compromise meiotic stability. In autopolyploids, the presence of more than two homologous chromosomes may result in complex pairing patterns and subsequent anomalous chromosome segregation. In this context, chromocenter, centromeric, telomeric and ribosomal DNA locus topology and DNA methylation patterns were investigated in the natural autotetraploid, Arabidopsis arenosa. The data show that homologous chromosome recognition and association initiates at telomeric domains in premeiotic interphase, followed by quadrivalent pairing of ribosomal 45S RNA gene loci (known as NORs) at leptotene. On the other hand, centromeric regions at early leptotene show pairwise associations rather than associations in fours. These pairwise associations are maintained throughout prophase I, and therefore likely to be related to the diploid-like behavior of A. arenosa chromosomes at metaphase I, where only bivalents are observed. In anthers, both cells at somatic interphase as well as at premeiotic interphase show 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) dispersed throughout the nucleus, contrasting with a preferential co-localization with chromocenters observed in vegetative nuclei. These results show for the first time that nuclear distribution patterns of 5-mC are simultaneously reshuffled in meiocytes and anther somatic cells. During prophase I, 5-mC is detected in extended chromatin fibers and chromocenters but interestingly is excluded from the NORs what correlates with the pairing pattern.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to H. Sofia Pereira for the critical review. A.L. Carvalho and M. Delgado are funded by Fellowships (grants SRRH/BD/13830/03 and SFRH/BPD/27219/2006, respectively), and the work was financed by FCT/POCTI/59389/04 (P·I. N.Neves) from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Botânica Aplicada à Agricultura, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Technical University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal

    Ana Carvalho, Margarida Delgado, Augusta Barão, Márcia Frescatada, Edna Ribeiro, Wanda Viegas & Nuno Neves

  2. Faculdade de Engenharias e Ciências Naturais, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Campo Grande 376, 1749-042, Lisbon, Portugal

    Margarida Delgado

  3. Biology Department, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA

    Craig S. Pikaard

  4. Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal

    Nuno Neves

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  1. Ana Carvalho
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  2. Margarida Delgado
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  3. Augusta Barão
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  4. Márcia Frescatada
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  5. Edna Ribeiro
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  6. Craig S. Pikaard
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  7. Wanda Viegas
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  8. Nuno Neves
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Margarida Delgado.

Additional information

Communicated by Scott Russell.

A. Carvalho and M. Delgado contributed equally to this work.

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Carvalho, A., Delgado, M., Barão, A. et al. Chromosome and DNA methylation dynamics during meiosis in the autotetraploid Arabidopsis arenosa . Sex Plant Reprod 23, 29–37 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00497-009-0115-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00497-009-0115-2

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