Ac. Chandley et Rm. Speed, A REASSESSMENT OF Y-CHROMOSOMAL BEHAVIOR IN GERM-CELLS AND SERTOLI CELLS OF THE MOUSE AS REVEALED BY IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION, Chromosoma, 104(4), 1995, pp. 282-286
In situ hybridisation experiments were carried out to reappraise the s
tate of condensation of the Y chromosome in germ cells and Sertoli cel
ls of the mouse. Previous work had suggested that all testicular cells
showed a condensed Y chromosome prior to the adult stage. We now demo
nstrate that, although the Y chromosome is condensed in pre-pubertal S
ertoli cells, it is greatly expanded in primordial germ cells (gonocyt
es). An expanded Y-signal is first seen in Sertoli cell nuclei at or a
round day 21 of postnatal development, coinciding with the first appea
rance of spermatids in the germinal epithelium.