Sperm nuclear halos can transform into normal chromosomes after injection into oocytes.
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.
Institute for Biogenesis Research, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii 96822, USA.
Isaac
I
Mohar
Monika A
MA
Szczygiel
Ryuzo
R
Yanagimachi
W Steven
WS
Ward
D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000502:physiology*; D004247:DNA; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology; D013077:Sperm Head / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology*
D004247:DNA