Treatments with saline solutions and DNase I have different effects on DNA content and distribution in human and in mouse chromosomes

Abstract

The aim of this work was to re-examine, on a quantitative basis, the relationship between banding pattern after Giemsa staining and the amount (and distribution) of DNA along the length of the chromatid arms. To do this, we investigated by cytofluorometric methods the occurrence of possibly different extraction of chromosome DNA after some alternative G-banding procedure, i.e. treatment of chromosomes with saline solutions, or DNasi I digestion in situ. The G-banding procedure entailing trypsin pretreatment is known to be difficult to standardize; in the present investigation, it was also found that trypsin induced a massive, although quantitatively variable, extraction of DNA from fixed metaphase chromosomes. G-banding-like patterns may be obtained, by treating chromosomes preparations with saline solutions. Both PBS and Tris-HCl treatment for the times considered induced a G-banding-like pattern after Giemsa staining, regardless of the age of chromosome preparations; no banding was observed after staining DNA with PI, nor extraction of DNA was found to occur. DNase I digestion initially induced a G-banding in both human and mouse chromosomes after Giemsa staining, with concomitant extraction of DNA (but without apparent G-banding-like pattern after PI staining); after 30 min digestion, a C-banding-like pattern was observed after both Giemsa and PI staining. Exposure to PBS or Tris-HCl buffer at room temperature may therefore be recommended as a G-banding inducing treatment, since it allows the classification of single chromosomes after Giemsa staining, without determining significant displacement of genomic DNA, which can be submitted to further analysis in situ.