CENP-B is not critical for meiotic chromosome segregation in male mice.
Centromere protein B (CENP-B) is a constitutive protein that binds to a highly conserved 17bp motif located at most mammalian centromeres. To determine whether disruption of this gene affects chromosome segregation in male germ cells, we evaluated the frequencies of disomic and diploid sperm in CENP-B heterozygous and homozygous null mice using the mouse epididymal sperm aneuploidy (m-ESA) assay, a multicolor FISH method with probes for chromosomes X, Y and 8. The specificity and sensitivity of the m-ESA assay was demonstrated using Robertsonian (2.8) translocation heterozygotes as positive controls for sperm aneuploidy. Our results show that the frequencies of disomic and diploid sperm did not differ significantly between CENP-B heterozygous and homozygous null mice (P> or = 0.5) or from 129/Swiss isogenic mice (P> or = 0.5) and B6C3F1 mice (P> or = 0.2). These findings indicate that CENP-B does not have an essential role during chromosome segregation in male meiosis.
Tomascik-Cheeseman
Lisa
L
Biology and Biotechnology Research Program, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808 L-448, Livermore, CA 94550, USA.
Marchetti
Francesco
F
Lowe
Xiu
X
Shamanski
Fay L
FL
Nath
Joginder
J
Pedersen
Roger A
RA
Wyrobek
Andrew J
AJ
D000782:Aneuploidy; D000818:Animals; D001324:Autoantigens; D051936:Centromere Protein B; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / Q000502:physiology*; D020090:Chromosome Segregation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D008297:Male; D008540:Meiosis; D051379:Mice
D001324:Autoantigens; C497927:Cenpb protein, mouse; D051936:Centromere Protein B; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins