Longitudinal patterns similar to G-banding in untreated human chromosomes: evidence from atomic force microscopy.

The structure of human metaphase chromosomes, fixed according to standard procedures for optical microscopy but not treated for banding, was examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The images show that chromosomes display a banding pattern very similar to G-banding, detected by the AFM as a variation in the thickness of chromatin. This similarity allows the identification of individual chromosomes.