AN EXTRACHROMOSOMAL FRAGMENT OF TELOMERIC DNA IN WHEAT

A procedure developed originally for selective extraction of viral (extrachromosomal) DNA from virus-infected mammalian cells was applied to cell nuclei isolated from uninfected wheat embryos. The resulting nuclear extrachromosomal DNA (exDNA) was enriched for telomere-type sequences by isopycnic centrifugation and inserted into the Sma I site of pUC119. A cloned DNA fragment (241 bp) was found to consist primarily of tandemly repeated heptamere units of the same sequence (5'-CCCTAAA-3') that is known to predominate in telomeric DNA of Arabidopsis thaliana. Hybridization experiments indicate that extrachromosomal telomeric repeats are abundant in resting embryos and disappear rapidly during germination.