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Sperm nuclear halos can transform into normal chromosomes after injection into oocytes
Author(s) -
Mohar Isaac,
Szczygiel Monika A.,
Yanagimachi Ryuzo,
Ward W. Steven
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
molecular reproduction and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.745
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1098-2795
pISSN - 1040-452X
DOI - 10.1002/mrd.10147
Subject(s) - biology , chromatin , pronucleus , sperm , halo , dna , nuclear matrix , cell nucleus , nuclear dna , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , embryo , zygote , nucleus , embryogenesis , gene , physics , mitochondrial dna , galaxy , quantum mechanics
Mouse sperm nuclei extracted with an ionic detergent and 2 M NaCl retain their overall morphology, but upon subsequent reduction of the protamine disulfides they lose all elements of chromatin structure except the organization of DNA into loop that are anchored to the nuclear matrix. These DNA loops appear as a halo surrounding the nuclear matrix, and nuclei extracted in this manner are, therefore, called nuclear halos. Here, we report that sperm nuclear halos injected into oocytes can form pronuclei, then transform into chromosomes with normal morphology. This suggests that sperm nuclear halos retain all the information necessary for normal chromosomal organization, and that micromanipulation of these extracted sperm nuclei can be accomplished without major DNA damage. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 62: 416–420, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.