title: "Ag-NORs" are not always true NORs: new evidence in mammals.
abstract: In spite of uncertainty about the biochemical processes involved, silver staining is a widely used technique for assessing the locations of active NORs in eukaryotic genomes in general, and in mammalian genomes in particular. However, following a previous study of hedgehog chromosomes, we present here a second example from two gerbil species (Rodentia, Muridae), which have several clear Ag-positive signals that do not correspond to 28S rDNA clusters. Although this pattern may be characteristic of particular genomes displaying unusual heterochromatic features, our study casts doubt upon the reliability and universality of Ag-staining for detecting active NORs.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mammifères and Oiseaux, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. dobigny@mnhn.fr
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dobigny
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ozouf-Costaz
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bonillo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Volobouev
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015342:DNA Probes; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008322:Mammals; D008677:Metaphase; D009697:Nucleolus Organizer Region / Q000235:genetics* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S / Q000235:genetics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012377:Rodentia; D012834:Silver
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S; D012834:Silver