Localization of ribosomal genes in human spermatogonia by fluorescent in situ hybridization and confocal microscopy.
The distribution of ribosomal RNA genes in nucleoli is still a matter of controversy. We have investigated the nucleolus of human type A spermatogonia, which displays a single, large fibrillar center. Silver-staining was used to localize the fibrillar center by light microscopy. Fluorescent in situ hybridization was performed on the same cell, using a 5.8-kb probe specific for a transcribed region of the ribosomal genes. The fluorescent area exactly corresponded to the silver-stained area. The three-dimensional distribution of rDNA was studied in horizontal and orthogonal sections using a confocal laser scanning microscope. The presence of the fluorescent signal throughout the whole silver-stained structure demonstrated that the fibrillar center, and at least a part of the dense fibrillar component, contained most of the rDNA.
Lévy
N
N
Laboratoire de Génétique et Cytogénétique, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France.
Navarro
A
A
Depetris
D
D
Moretti
C
C
Stahl
A
A
D002466:Cell Nucleolus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics*; D005796:Genes; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D016622:Silver Staining; D013093:Spermatogonia / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure*
D004275:DNA, Ribosomal