Evolutionarily conserved, cell type and species-specific higher order chromatin arrangements in interphase nuclei of primates

Several studies demonstrated a gene-density-correlated radial organization of chromosome territories (CTs) in spherically shaped nuclei of human lymphocytes or lymphoblastoid cells, while CT arrangements in flat-ellipsoidal nuclei of human fibroblasts are affected by both gene density and chromosome size. In the present study, we performed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) experiments to three-dimensionally preserved nuclei (3D-FISH) from human and nonhuman primate cultured lymphoblastoid cells and fibroblasts. We investigated apes, Old, and New World monkeys showing either evolutionarily conserved karyotypes, multiple translocations, fusions, or serial fissions. Our goal was to test whether cell type specific differences of higher order chromatin arrangements are evolutionarily conserved in different primate lineages. Whole genome painting experiments and further detailed analyses of individual chromosomes indicate a gene-density-correlated higher order organization of chromatin in lymphoblastoid cell nuclei of all studied primate species, despite evolutionary chromosome reshuffling. In contrast, in primate fibroblast nuclei evolutionary translocations, fissions and fusions resulted in positional shifts of orthologous chromosome segments, thus arguing against a functional role of chromosome size-dependent spatial chromatin arrangements and for geometrical constraints in flat-ellipsoidal fibroblast nuclei. Notably, in both cell types, regions of rearranged chromosomes with distinct differences in gene density showed polarized arrangements with the more gene-dense segment oriented towards the nuclear interior. Our results indicate that nonrandom breakage and rejoining of preferentially gene-dense chromosomes or chromosome segments may have occurred during evolution.