Electron microscopic autoradiographic analysis: evidence of RNA transcription along pachytene chromosomes of rad-4, him-4 and wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans.

Decondensed chromatin regions have been described along the pachytene chromosomes of Caenorhabditis elegans (Goldstein, 1985). Regions of similar appearance, but not in pachytene chromosomes, have been shown to be transcriptionally active in other organisms (Angelier et al., 1979; Nagl, 1985). Incorporation of tritiated-uridine and electron microscopy autoradiography were utilized, in the present study, to determine if RNA transcription occurred along meiotic chromosomes of C. elegans. This study presents new evidence that RNA transcription occurs in highly defined regions along pachytene bivalents.