Recent Progress on Studies of Chromosome Observation in Deciduous Fruit Trees

Abstract

Information on chromosomes is essential for the progress of genetic and biotechnological studies. In this paper, recent progress on studies of chromosome observation in deciduous fruit trees is reviewed. (1) An enzymatic maceration method, preparing good chromosome samples from plants with small chromosomes, was developed for Prunus, Pyrus, Malus, and Diospyros. (2) Some morphologically similar chromosomes could be distinguished by means of the banding technique using fluorochrome staining in Prunus and Pyrus. In addition, the divergence of chromosome configuration seems to be very low or non-existent in view of fluorescent banding patterns in both genera. (3) The number and location of 5S and 18S-5.8S-25S rDNA sites were detected by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) in Prunus, Pyrus, Malus, and Diospyros. The sites of retrotransposons were also visualized by FISH in Pyrus. These results provided fundamental information on the chromosomes. Chromosomal location of the S (self-incompatibility) locus in Malus was also revealed by FISH. In Diospyros, the results of FISH as well as genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) offered new findings on the phylogenetic relationships in this genus and chromosome composition of somatic hybrids.

Analysis of CMA-DAPI bands and preparation of fluorescent karyotypes in thirty Indian cultivars of Lens culinaris

“…The CMA + signals are generally accepted as the GC heterochromatic elements of the NORs in plant groups (Guerra et al 2000; Barros e Silva and Guerra 2010;Yamamoto 2012;Olanj et al 2015) and so in Papilionoids such as Vicia (Fuchs et al 1998), Cicer (Galasso et al 1996) and Crotalaria (Mondin and Aguiar-Perecin 2011). Previously, 18S-5.8S-25S rDNA probes had been localised in a single pair of L. culinaris, near the centromere (Balyan et al 2002), corroborating to the observation of CMA + signals in our present study.…”

“…Having affinity towards specific base pairs of DNA, these fluorescent dyes reliably identify heterochromatin rich sectors on chromosomes, differentiate morphologically alike chromosomes and improve karyotype characterization (Schweizer 1976;Guerra et al 2000;Yamamoto 2012;Weiss-Schneeweiss and Schneeweiss 2013). So, our objective is to address chromosomal behavior after application of base specific fluorochromes and compile cultivar specific fluorescent banding profiles.…”

Karyotype Analysis from Aerial Roots of <i>Piper nigrum</i> Based on Giemsa and Fluorochrome Banding

“…2A (1958), Martin and Gregory (1962) and Rahiman and Nair (1986). Fluorescent banding with CMA and DAPI which generally targets GC-and AT-rich constitutive heterochromatin regions on chromosomes and generate positive and negative signals have advanced cytogenetic research for many plant species (Schweizer 1976, Kondo and Hizume 1982, Hizume 1991, Moscone et al 1996, Yamamoto 2012, Schwarzacher 2016. Not only they offer additional help in counting the chromosome number but also mark the chromosomes throughout the karyotype (Kondo and Hizume 1982, Hizume 1991, Guerra 2008.…”

“…EMA method was introduced for rice chromosomes by Kurata and Omura (1978) and has been applied in many plant species. The method is the basics of molecular cytogenetics and suitable for all types of plant chromosomes especially for cells having rich cellular contents and small chromosomes (Schweizer 1976, Kondo and Hizume 1982, Hizume 1991, Fukui 1996, Yamamoto 2012, Jha et al 2015. EMA method followed by Giemsa staining not only helps in counting the actual chromosome number but also clears chromosome morphology through the removal of cell wall and cytoplasmic derbies.…”

Phylogeny and Classification of Kumquats (<i>Fortunella</i> spp.) Inferred from CMA Karyotype Composition

“…In addition, recent developments in the novel technologies in cytogenetics and molecular biology enabled us to utilize them to clarify the taxonomic relationships in various living organisms based on the genetic homology. Chromosomes analyses, characterized by banding techniques with fluorochrome or fluorescence in situ hybridization with a labeled DNA fragment such as 5S and 18S-5.8S-26S rDNAs, have shown abundant evidence of evolution and heredity in higher plants (Ansari et al, 2008;Cai et al, 2006;Marcon et al, 2005;Xu et al, 2013;Yamamoto, 2012). Molecular markers, such as random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), simple sequence repeat (SSR), and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) have been especially used for elucidating the level of genetic diversity and relationships in many taxonomic groups (Choi and Wen, 2000;Garcia-Lor et al, 2013;Millan et al, 1996;Weiguo et al, 2007;Xu and Ban, 2004).…”