Different behaviour of paternal and maternal genomes during embryogenesis in the fern, Marsilea
Tourte, Y.; Kuligowski-Andres, J.; Barbier-Ramond, C.
European Journal of Cell Biology 21(1): 28-36
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0171-9335 PMID: 7379796 Document Number: 155667
The DNA of gametes of the water fern, M. vestita, was radioactively labeled during gametogenesis. Distribution of the originally present paternal and maternal genomes could thus be followed during the development of the embryo. The maternal chromatin is uniformly distributed among the daughter cells of the several successive cell generations. However, the paternal chromatin divides equally only during the first 3 embryonic divisions. From this stage on, the partition varies according to the different areas of the embryo. Only the organogenic cells retain a high degree of radioactivity. This pattern of inheritance concerns chiefly the apical cells of shoots and roots. This peculiar behavior of the paternal genome can be explained in different ways. At present, a non-random distribution of paternal chromatids, i.e., a selective segregation of old and new strands of DNA to opposite poles of embryonic mitoses, appears most likely.