title: Positioning of chromosomes in human spermatozoa is determined by ordered centromere arrangement.
abstract: The intranuclear positioning of chromosomes (CHRs) is a well-documented fact; however, mechanisms directing such ordering remain unclear. Unlike somatic cells, human spermatozoa contain distinct spatial markers and have asymmetric nuclei which make them a unique model for localizing CHR territories and matching peri-centromere domains. In this study, we established statistically preferential longitudinal and lateral positioning for eight CHRs. Both parameters demonstrated a correlation with the CHR gene densities but not with their sizes. Intranuclear non-random positioning of the CHRs was found to be driven by a specific linear order of centromeres physically interconnected in continuous arrays. In diploid spermatozoa, linear order of peri-centromeres was identical in two genome sets and essentially matched the arrangement established for haploid cells. We propose that the non-random longitudinal order of CHRs in human spermatozoa is generated during meiotic stages of spermatogenesis. The specific arrangement of sperm CHRs may serve as an epigenetic basis for differential transcription/replication and direct spatial CHR organization during early embryogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg, Russia. olgamudrak2010@gmail.com
authors.forename: Olga S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Mudrak
authors.forename: Igor B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Nazarov
authors.forename: Estella L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Andrei O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Zalensky
mesh_terms: D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics; D002503:Centromere / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000378:metabolism*