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THE NUCLEOLUS IN OOCYTES OF MULTYLAYER MOUSE FOLLICLES: TOPOGRAPHY OF FIBRILLARIN, RNA POLYMERASE I AND COILIN
G. N. Pochukalina, V. N. Parfenov
 Institute of Cytology RAS, St. Petersburg;
e-mail: galina@mail.cytspb.rssi.ru
 By electron microscopy, conventional fluorescence and confocal microscopy, some features of structural and 
molecular organization of the nucleolus in oocyte nucleus from mouse multilayer follicles were examined. The examined 
nucleolus lacks almost all characteristic nucleolar components, such as fibrillar centers, dense fibrillar and 
granular components. This nucleolus consists exclusively of a homogenous filamentous material and is penetrated by 
numerous interstices. Besides, a striking association of the nucleolus with coilin, a marker of Cajal bodies, was 
observed. We could map the coilin accumulation in three different areas: around, in the periphery, or inside the 
nucleolus. Additionally, we examined a topological relationship between coilin and two key proteins of nucleolar 
transcription-processing machinery, RNA polymerase I and fibrillarin. RNA polymerase I rather than fibrillarin was 
found to be colocalized with coilin. Finally, we propose that data on dynamics of coilin relation with the nucleolus 
may elucidate a possible role of coilin in functional relationship between the nucleolus and Cajal bodies.
 
 
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