%0 Journal Article
%T Positioning of Chromosomes in Human Spermatozoa Is Determined by Ordered Centromere Arrangement
%A Olga S. Mudrak
%A Igor B. Nazarov
%A Estella L. Jones
%A Andrei O. Zalensky
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2012
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0052944
%X 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.
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0052944