• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.243-249
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• 2007

The centromere is a highly differentiated structure of the chromosome that fulfills a multitude of essential mitotic and meiotic functions. Alphoid DNA (${\alpha}$-satellite) is the most abundant family of repeated DNA found at the centromere of all human chromosomes, and chromosomes of primates in general. The most important parts in the development of Human Artificial Chromosomes (HACs), are the isolation and maintenance of stability of centromeric region. For isolation of this region, we could use the targeting hook with alphoid DNA repeat and cloned by Transformation-Associated Recombination (TAR) cloning technique in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The method includes rolling-circle amplification (RCA) of repeats in vitro to 5 kb-length and elongation of the RCA products by homologous recombination in yeast. Four types of $35\;kb{\sim}50\;kb$ of centromeric DNA repeat arrays (2, 4, 5, 6 mer) are used to examine the stability of repeats in homologous recombination mutant strains (rad51, rad52, and rad54). Following the transformation into wild type, rad51 and rad54 mutant strains, there were frequent changes in inserted size. A rad52 mutant strain showed extremely low transformation frequency, but increased stability of centromeric DNA repeat arrays at least 3 times higher than other strains. Based on these results, the incidence of large mutations could be reduced using a rad52 mutant strain in maintenance of centromeric DNA repeat arrays. This genetic method may use more general application in the maintenance of tandem repeats in construction of HAC.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.300-307
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• 2006

Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis (Chinese cabbage) is an economically important crop and a model plant for studies on polyploidization and phenotypic evolution. To gain an insight into the structure of the B. rapa genome we analyzed 12,017 BAC-end sequences for the presence of transposable elements (TEs), SSRs, centromeric satellite repeats and genes, and similarity to the closely related genome of Arabidopsis thaliana. TEs were estimated to occupy 14% of the genome, with 12.3% of the genome represented by retrotransposons. It was estimated that the B. rapa genome contains 43,000 genes, 1.6 times greater than the genome of A. thaliana. A number of centromeric satellite sequences, representing variations of a 176-bp consensus sequence, were identified. This sequence has undergone rapid evolution within the B. rapa genome and has diverged among the related species of Brassicaceae. A study of SSRs demonstrated a non-random distribution with a greater abundance within predicted intergenic regions. Our results provide an initial characterization of the genome of B. rapa and provide the basis for detailed analysis through whole-genome sequencing.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.436-444
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• 2005

We describe the morphology and molecular organization of heterochromatin domains in the interphase nuclei, and mitotic and meiotic chromosomes, of Brassica rapa, using DAPI staining and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of rDNA and pericentromere tandem repeats. We have developed a simple method to distinguish the centromeric regions of mitotic metaphase chromosomes by prolonged irradiation with UV light at the DAPI excitation wavelength. Application of this bleached DAPI band (BDB) karyotyping method to the 45S and 5S rDNAs and 176 bp centromere satellite repeats distinguished the 10 B. rapa chromosomes. We further characterized the centromeric repeat sequences in BAC end sequences. These fell into two classes, CentBr1 and CentBr2, occupying the centromeres of eight and two chromosomes, respectively. The centromere satellites encompassed about 30% of the total chromosomes, particularly in the core centromere blocks of all the chromosomes. Interestingly, centromere length was inversely correlated with chromosome length. The morphology and molecular organization of heterochromatin domains in interphase nuclei, and in mitotic and meiotic chromosomes, were further characterized by DAPI staining and FISH of rDNA and CentBr. The DAPI fluorescence of interphase nuclei revealed ten to twenty conspicuous chromocenters, each composed of the heterochromatin of up to four chromosomes and/or nucleolar organizing regions.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.349-356
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• 2007

Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) represent short tandem duplications found within all eukaryotic organisms. To examine the distribution of SSRs in the genome of Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis, SSRs from different genomic regions representing 17.7 Mb of genomic sequence were surveyed. SSRs appear more abundant in non-coding regions (86.6%) than in coding regions (13.4%). Comparison of SSR densities in different genomic regions demonstrated that SSR density was greatest within the 5'-flanking regions of the predicted genes. The proportion of different repeat motifs varied between genomic regions, with trinucleotide SSRs more prevalent in predicted coding regions, reflecting the codon structure in these regions. SSRs were also preferentially associated with gene-rich regions, with peri-centromeric heterochromatin SSRs mostly associated with retrotransposons. These results indicate that the distribution of SSRs in the genome is non-random. Comparison of SSR abundance between B. rapa and the closely related species Arabidopsis thaliana suggests a greater abundance of SSRs in B. rapa, which may be due to the proposed genome triplication. Our results provide a comprehensive view of SSR genomic distribution and evolution in Brassica for comparison with the sequenced genomes of A. thaliana and Oryza sativa.