Visualization of a lampbrush loop-forming fertility gene in Drosophila hydei

Abstract

Chromatin of D. hydei spermatocytes was spread according to Miller. One of the Y-chromosomal lampbrush loops, called the “nooses”, has been identified in the Miller spreads. It consists of a single giant transcription unit with a DNA length of more than 260 kb. The transcripts of this loop have a complex morphology. Comparison of the lampbrush loop in chromatin spreads and in ultrathin sections revealed that the transcript morphology is maintained during the spreading procedure.