THE MEIOTIC SEGREGATION PATTERN OF A RECIPROCAL TRANSLOCATION T(10-12)(Q26.1-P13.3) BY FLUORESCENCE IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION SPERM ANALYSIS

The meiotic segregation of chromosomes 10 and 12 was analyzed in a mal e heterozygous for a reciprocal translocation, t(10;12)(q26.1;p13.3), using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Centromeric specific probes that detect alpha satellite sequences of chromosomes 10 and 12 were used. A total of 10,049 spermatozoa were analyzed. The frequencie s of alternate/adjacent 1, adjacent 2, and 3:1 modes of segregation we re: 84.25, 10.95%, and 4.42%, respectively. Diploidy was present in 0. 23% of spermatozoa. Similar segregation patterns have been reported fo r this donor by direct karyotyping of sperm cells. FISH is a valuable technique for studying meiotic segregation patterns in that larger sam ples can be studied in a relatively short time. However, it does not p rovide information on the full chromosome complement of the spermatozo on.