Determination of copy number for 5S rDNA and centromeric sequence RCS2 in rice by Fiber-FISH

The copy number of 5S rDNA and centromeric sequence RCS2 was determined by extended DNA fiber based fluorescence in situ hybridization (Fiber-FISH) in rice (Oryza sativa ssp. indica cv. Guangluai No. 4) genome. In order to determine the copy number, it is necessary to know the basepair number that a given length DNA fiber contains under a microscope. Therefore, the length of two DNA fragments, in which the basepair number had been already known, was measured. The insert sequence of the tested BAC 38D17 was 136 kb and its extended DNA was 56.4 μm long, 2.41 kb/μm on average, while that of the tested BAC 44B4 was 144.5 kb in total and 55.7 μm long, 2.60 kb/μm on average under the microscope. They were very close to the theoretical value of B-DNA in the Watson-Crick DNA model, which is 2.97 kb/μm. According to the average value of basepair number per μm of the two samples mentioned above, that is, 2.51 kb/μm, it could be estimated that the copy number was about 686 for 5S rDNA and 286–1121 for the centromere sequence RCS2.