Genes 2019, 10(2), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10020109
Automated Nuclear Cartography Reveals Conserved Sperm Chromosome Territory Localization across 2 Million Years of Mouse Evolution
Benjamin Matthew Skinner 1,*
, Joanne Bacon 1, Claudia Cattoni Rathje 2, Erica Lee Larson 3,4, Emily Emiko Konishi Kopania 4, Jeffrey Martin Good 4, Nabeel Ahmed Affara 1 and Peter James Ivor Ellis 2,*
, Joanne Bacon 1, Claudia Cattoni Rathje 2, Erica Lee Larson 3,4, Emily Emiko Konishi Kopania 4, Jeffrey Martin Good 4, Nabeel Ahmed Affara 1 and Peter James Ivor Ellis 2,*
1
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QP, UK
2
School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NJ, UK
3
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USA
4
Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, MT 59812, USA
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 30 December 2018 / Revised: 27 January 2019 / Accepted: 28 January 2019 / Published: 1 February 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Male Germline Chromatin)
Abstract
Measurements of nuclear organization in asymmetric nuclei in 2D images have traditionally been manual. This is exemplified by attempts to measure chromosome position in sperm samples, typically by dividing the nucleus into zones, and manually scoring which zone a fluorescence in-situ hybridisation (FISH) signal lies in. This is time consuming, limiting the number of nuclei that can be analyzed, and prone to subjectivity. We have developed a new approach for automated mapping of FISH signals in asymmetric nuclei, integrated into an existing image analysis tool for nuclear morphology. Automatic landmark detection defines equivalent structural regions in each nucleus, then dynamic warping of the FISH images to a common shape allows us to generate a composite of the signal within the entire cell population. Using this approach, we mapped the positions of the sex chromosomes and two autosomes in three mouse lineages (Mus musculus domesticus, Mus musculus musculus and Mus spretus). We found that in all three, chromosomes 11 and 19 tend to interact with each other, but are shielded from interactions with the sex chromosomes. This organization is conserved across 2 million years of mouse evolution. View Full-TextKeywords:
nuclear organization; sperm; morphometrics; chromosome painting
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Skinner, B.M.; Bacon, J.; Rathje, C.C.; Larson, E.L.; Kopania, E.E.K.; Good, J.M.; Affara, N.A.; Ellis, P.J.I. Automated Nuclear Cartography Reveals Conserved Sperm Chromosome Territory Localization across 2 Million Years of Mouse Evolution. Genes 2019, 10, 109.
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