Human chromosome banding by Feulgen stain aids in localizing classes of chromatin

Abstract

The band patterns of human chromosomes displayed by the Feulgen stain are similar to but not identical with those of the conventional quinacrine and Giemsa preparations. The parallelism among the three is principally that of prominent negative bands that appear consistently at characteristic loci throughout a wide range of chromosome compaction. The correlation of those bands with regions of low optical density in nonbanded Fuelgen-stained chromosomes suggests that they are loci of DNA that is inherently difluse or readily labile. The instances of disparity among the patterns of the three modes of banding occur at the telomeres and at known regions of heterochromatin, and are interpreted here as reflecting the heterogeneity of the protein moieties in their reactivity to the cytochemical treatments.