Application of a high-resolution TV-microscope system to estimate the sequence of centromere separation in muntjak chromosomes.

The sequence of centromere separation in muntjak fibroblasts was studied using a high-resolution TV-microscope system. Computer programs that identify the chromosomes as well as measure the centromere separation are described. Important prerequisites for this study are the high sampling rate and the digital processing of the two images from the red and green channel of a color TV-camera. The study demonstrates that the centromeres do not separate in a random sequence and that the separation sequence is not solely controlled by the amount of constitutive heterochromatin in the chromosomes.