Hypomethylation of DNA in meiotic and postmeiotic rooster testis cells

AbstractTo study whether changes in methylation of DNA are related to the structural and functional changes that chromatin undergoes throughout rooster spermatogenenis, we analyzed, by high-performance liquid chromatography, the 5-methylcytosine content of DNA purified from rooster testis cell nuclei at successive stages of the cell differentiation process. The DNA of meiotic and postmeiotic cells appears partially under-methylated, containing approximately 30% less methylcytosines than the DNA obtained from premeiotic and somatic cells