Location of rRNA gene transcription sites within Ehrlich tumor cell nucleoli.

The nucleolus is the morphological visualization of ribosome biogenesis. The spatial distribution of nucleolar DNA has been investigated in Ehrlich tumor cells by various immunogold labelling techniques. The DNase 1-sensitive regions within the nucleolus have been identified by in situ nick-translation at the ultrastructural level. The precise nucleolar location of rDNA and rRNA has been further specified by in situ hybridization and electron microscopy. Our results indicate that the fibrillar centers are the sole nucleolar structures where DNase 1-hypersensitive sequences, rDNA and rRNA are located together. These findings strongly suggest that rRNA gene transcription takes place within the confines of the fibrillar center, probably close to the boundary regions to the surrounding dense fibrillar component.