Widespread Gene Conversion in Centromere Cores

Data from maize show that centromeres strongly suppress crossing over and instead undergo frequent genetic exchange in the form of gene conversion

Tissue specificity and organisation of CpG methylation in calf satellite DNA I.

Examination of bovine satellite DNA I methylation within CpG dinucleotides has been made by restriction analysis. It is shown that variations in the methylation patterns occur between different tissues (brain, liver, thymus and sperm) . Some of the 8 Hpa II sites present per repeat are clearly undermethylated in sperm as compared to other tissues. Methylation is considered therefore, as a highly specific event. It is also shown that there is a spatial specificity in the methylation pattern of the 3 Hha I sites in all tissues. These results are discussed in the light of methylation and satellite DNA functions

The organisation of the long range periodicity calf satellite DNA I variants as revealed by restriction enzyme analysis.

The analysis of a large number of restriction sites within the long range periodicity calf satellite DNA I does not reveal a superimposable shorter repeat. Although some restriction sites are present in almost all the 100,000 tandemly arranged copies of the 1460 bp repetition unit, other sites such as Atu CI occur at much lower frequencies. When present they are distributed randomly along the satellite DNA molecules. The missing sites appear to result from random and presumably single base alterations. Digestion with the enzymes Hha I and Kpn I showed another type of variant to exist within the calf satellite DNA I. Unlike Atu CI the distributions of the variants detected by these enzymes are not random and organised on long stretches of satellite DNA. The possible functional significance and evolutionary implication of these results are discussed

Juxtacentromeric region of human chromosome 21: a boundary between centromeric heterochromatin and euchromatic chromosome arms RID E-6420-2011

We have analysed the genomic structure and transcriptional activity of a 2.3-Mb genomic sequence in the juxtacentromeric region of human chromosome 21. Our work shows that this region comprises two different chromosome domains. The 1.5-Mb proximal domain: (i) is a patchwork of chromosome duplications; (ii) shares sequence similarity with several chromosomes; (iii) contains several gene fragments (truncated genes having an intron/exon structure) intermingled with retrotransposed pseudogenes; and (iv) harbours two genes (TPTE and BAGE2) that belong to gene families and have a cancer and/or testis expression profile. The TPTE gene family was generated before the branching of Old World monkeys from the great ape lineage, by intra- and interchromosome duplications of the ancestral TPTE gene mapping to phylogenetic chromosome XIII. By contrast, the 0.8-Mb distal domain: (i) is devoid of chromosome duplications; (ii) has a chromosome 21-specific sequence; (iii) contains no gene fragments and only one retrotransposed pseudogene; and (iv) harbours six genes including housekeeping genes. G-rich sequences commonly associated with duplication termini cluster at the boundary between the two chromosome domains. These structural and transcriptional features lead us to suggest that the proximal domain has heterochromatic properties. whereas the distal domain has euchromatic properties. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis determination of the genome size of obligate intracellular bacteria belonging to the genera Chlamydia, Rickettsiella, and Porochlamydia.

The chromosome length of obligate intracellular procaryotes was determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of intact or NotI- and SfiI-restricted genomes. Sizes averaged 2,100, 1,720, 1,550, 2,650, and 1,450 kilobases for Rickettsiella grylli, Rickettsiella melolonthae, Porochlamydia buthi, Porochlamydia chironomi, and Chlamydia psittaci and Chlamydia trachomatis, respectively. An SfiI restriction map of the R. melolonthae genome was derived

MLL3, a new human member of the TRX/MLL gene family, maps to 7q36, a chromosome region frequently deleted in myeloid leukaemia RID E-6420-2011

We characterized MLL3, a new human member of the TRX/MLL gene family. MLL3 is expressed in peripheral blood, placenta, pancreas, testes, and foetal thymus and is weakly expressed in heart, brain, lung, liver, and kidney. It encodes a predicted protein of 4911 amino acids containing two plant homeo domains (PHD), an ATPase alpha beta signature, a high mobility group, a SET (Suppressor of variegation, Enhancer of zeste, Trithorax) and two FY (phenylalanine tyrosine)-rich domains. The amino acid sequence of the SET domain was used to obtain a phylogenetic tree of human MLL genes and their homologues in different species. MLL3 is closely related to human MLL2, Fugu mll2, a Caenorhabditis elegans predicted protein, and Drosophila trithorax-related protein. Interestingly, PHD and SET domains are frequently found in proteins encoded by genes that are rearranged in different haematological malignancies and MLL3 maps to 7q36, a chromosome region that is frequently deleted in myeloid disorders. Partial duplications of the MLL3 gene are found in the juxtacentromeric region of chromosomes 1, 2, 13, and 21. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved