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Number 72: 102 (1991)


Synaptonemal complex of rye

J. Fujigaki

Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo 156, Japan


Synaptonemal complex (SC) has been studied by thin sections, reconstructed three dimensional images from many thin sections, and/or surface spreading of meiocytes in various kind of materials. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. Well spread SCs in two dimensions are more favorable to trace whole length of the SC than the reconstructed ones. Surface spreading methods so far developed for plant materials are more or less hypotonic bursting technique with or without enzyme digestion of callose wall of pollen mother cells. Present report is a preliminary report on the surface spreading of SCs of rye. The method of Albini and Jones (1984) was used to make preparations. One of the well spread meiocytes was photographed by electron microscope (
Figure 1.) and each of the SCs was carefully traced to measure the whole length of the lateral element. Total length of the seven SCs was 583 micro meter and relative length of each SC was calculated based upon the total length. The longest one was 0.19 (actual length, 110 micrometer) and the shortest was 0. 09 (54 micrometer). This means that the longest one was twice as long as the shortest one. On the other hand somatic chromosomes at metaphase in rye range from 7 micrometer to 15 micrometer depending upon the pretreatment and the difference between the longest and the shortest is not so large as SCs. Gillies (1985) reported average length of the lateral element of SCs at zygotene and pachytene in rye. The longest one in his date was 72.2 micro meter (15.5% length) and the shortest was 61.8 micrometer (13.3%L) at pachytene of Snoopy. He also obtained similar result in R119. The difference between the present result and Gillies' data may be partly due to the difference of the method. Further study is undergone to reveal the chromosome architectrure of rye.

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