Skip to main content
PMC home page
Genetics logoLink to Genetics
. 2003 May;164(1):299–310. doi: 10.1093/genetics/164.1.299

Cloning and characterization of maize B chromosome sequences derived from microdissection.

Ya-Ming Cheng 1, Bor-Yaw Lin 1
PMCID: PMC1462555  PMID: 12750341

Abstract

Isolation of sequences from the maize B chromosome is always hampered by its high homology with the normal complements. In this study, this handicap was overcome by cloning the sequences from the pachytene B chromosomes dissected out of a slide by a micromanipulator followed by degenerate oligonucleotide-primed PCR. The isolated sequences were found to hybridize with genomic DNA in a B-dosage-dependent manner and with the pachytene B chromosome by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), corroborating their B origin. A total of 19 B sequences were isolated, all of which are repetitive and, with one exception, are homologous to the A chromosome(s). Three sequences have strong homology to maize sequences that include two knob repeats and one zein gene (noncoding region), and 10 others are homologous to the noncoding region of Adh1, Bz1, Gag, Zein, and B centromere to a lesser degree. Six sequences have no homology to any gene. In addition to FISH, the B-specific sequence and a partially B-specific one were also mapped, by seven newly characterized TB-10L translocations, to a similar location on the central portion of the distal heterochromatic region, spreading over a region of about one-third of the B chromosome.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (288.4 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alfenito M. R., Birchler J. A. Molecular characterization of a maize B chromosome centric sequence. Genetics. 1993 Oct;135(2):589–597. doi: 10.1093/genetics/135.2.589. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Benson G. Tandem repeats finder: a program to analyze DNA sequences. Nucleic Acids Res. 1999 Jan 15;27(2):573–580. doi: 10.1093/nar/27.2.573. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Blunden R., Wilkes T. J., Forster J. W., Jimenez M. M., Sandery M. J., Karp A., Jones R. N. Identification of the E3900 family, a second family of rye B chromosome specific repeated sequences. Genome. 1993 Aug;36(4):706–711. doi: 10.1139/g93-095. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bureau T. E., Wessler S. R. Mobile inverted-repeat elements of the Tourist family are associated with the genes of many cereal grasses. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Feb 15;91(4):1411–1415. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.4.1411. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dennis E. S., Peacock W. J. Knob heterochromatin homology in maize and its relatives. J Mol Evol. 1984;20(3-4):341–350. doi: 10.1007/BF02104740. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Houben A., Kynast R. G., Heim U., Hermann H., Jones R. N., Forster J. W. Molecular cytogenetic characterisation of the terminal heterochromatic segment of the B-chromosome of rye (Secale cereale). Chromosoma. 1996 Aug;105(2):97–103. doi: 10.1007/BF02509519. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Jamilena M., Garrido-Ramos M., Ruiz Rejón M., Ruiz Rejón C., Parker J. S. Characterisation of repeated sequences from microdissected B chromosomes of Crepis capillaris. Chromosoma. 1995 Nov;104(2):113–120. doi: 10.1007/BF00347693. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. John U. P., Leach C. R., Timmis J. N. A sequence specific to B chromosomes of Brachycome dichromosomatica. Genome. 1991 Oct;34(5):739–744. doi: 10.1139/g91-114. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kaszás Etienne, Kato Akio, Birchler James A. Cytological and molecular analysis of centromere misdivision in maize. Genome. 2002 Aug;45(4):759–768. doi: 10.1139/g02-023. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lee C., Stanyon R., Lin C. C., Ferguson-Smith M. A. Conservation of human gamma-X centromeric satellite DNA among primates with an autosomal localization in certain Old World monkeys. Chromosome Res. 1999;7(1):43–47. doi: 10.1023/a:1009223327818. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lin B. Y. Association of endosperm reduction with parental imprinting in maize. Genetics. 1982 Mar;100(3):475–486. doi: 10.1093/genetics/100.3.475. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lin B. Y., Peng S. F., Chen Y. J., Chen H. S., Kao C. F. Physical mapping of RFLP markers on four chromosome arms in maize using terminal deficiencies. Mol Gen Genet. 1997 Nov;256(5):509–516. doi: 10.1007/s004380050595. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lin B. Y. Regional control of nondisjunction of the B chromosome in maize. Genetics. 1978 Nov;90(3):613–627. doi: 10.1093/genetics/90.3.613. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Lin B. Y. Two new B-10 translocations involved in the control of nondisjunction of the B chromosome in maize. Genetics. 1979 Jul;92(3):931–945. doi: 10.1093/genetics/92.3.931. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Page B. T., Wanous M. K., Birchler J. A. Characterization of a maize chromosome 4 centromeric sequence: evidence for an evolutionary relationship with the B chromosome centromere. Genetics. 2001 Sep;159(1):291–302. doi: 10.1093/genetics/159.1.291. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Peacock W. J., Dennis E. S., Rhoades M. M., Pryor A. J. Highly repeated DNA sequence limited to knob heterochromatin in maize. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Jul;78(7):4490–4494. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.7.4490. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Randolph L F. Genetic Characteristics of the B Chromosomes in Maize. Genetics. 1941 Nov;26(6):608–631. doi: 10.1093/genetics/26.6.608. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Roman H. Mitotic Nondisjunction in the Case of Interchanges Involving the B-Type Chromosome in Maize. Genetics. 1947 Jul;32(4):391–409. doi: 10.1093/genetics/32.4.391. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Saghai-Maroof M. A., Soliman K. M., Jorgensen R. A., Allard R. W. Ribosomal DNA spacer-length polymorphisms in barley: mendelian inheritance, chromosomal location, and population dynamics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Dec;81(24):8014–8018. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.24.8014. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Stark E. A., Connerton I., Bennett S. T., Barnes S. R., Parker J. S., Forster J. W. Molecular analysis of the structure of the maize B-chromosome. Chromosome Res. 1996 Jan;4(1):15–23. doi: 10.1007/BF02254939. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Tatusova T. A., Madden T. L. BLAST 2 Sequences, a new tool for comparing protein and nucleotide sequences. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1999 May 15;174(2):247–250. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1999.tb13575.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Telenius H., Carter N. P., Bebb C. E., Nordenskjöld M., Ponder B. A., Tunnacliffe A. Degenerate oligonucleotide-primed PCR: general amplification of target DNA by a single degenerate primer. Genomics. 1992 Jul;13(3):718–725. doi: 10.1016/0888-7543(92)90147-k. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Zhang Xing-Hai, Ewy Robert G., Widholm Jack M., Portis Archie R., Jr Complementation of the nuclear antisense rbcS-induced photosynthesis deficiency by introducing an rbcS gene into the tobacco plastid genome. Plant Cell Physiol. 2002 Nov;43(11):1302–1313. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcf158. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Genetics are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES