ABSENCE OF TERMINAL TELOMERIC FISH SIGNALS IN CHROMOSOMES FROM IMMORTAL CHINESE-HAMSTER CELLS

In contrast to normal Chinese hamster cells, terminal telomeric signal s were not detectable by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in their immortalized counterparts, even when a sensitive cooled CCD came ra was used for acquiring FISH images. Since the telomeres were detect able by FISH in immortal human cells, this suggests that hamster and h uman cells might have different mechanisms of telomere processing.