Cytochemical characterization of two types of nuclear bodies in Cicer arietinum L.

The present study was carried out to characterize two distinct types of nuclear bodies, the nucleolus-associated bodies (NABs) and the satellites (SATs) using some specific staining, enzyme and immunogold labeling techniques in Cicer arietinum L. These bodies are of interest as the functional components of plant nucleus. DNA-specific staining and labeling with anti-DNA, a monoclonal antibody, were employed to verify the presence of DNA in NABs as well as in SATs. The enzyme-gold labeling technique was used to compare the relative amounts of RNase-gold and protease-gold labeling over the NABs. In NABs, RNase-gold labeling was relatively low compared to the protease-gold labeling. Ag-NOR staining revealed a similar content of NOR-silver proteins in both NABs and granular zone of the nucleolus. The NABs do not contain any DNA as they show negative response to DNA-specific stains and also when incubated with anti-DNA, only few gold particles are found over these structures. The SATs, on the other hand, react positively with DNA-specific stains, and high labeling is recorded with anti-DNA along with the dense chromatin masses.