One of the prominent cell cycle related modifications of histone proteins, whose function is correlated with chromosome condensation, is the phosphorylation of histone H3. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) mitotic and meiotic cells were analyzed with indirect immunoflurorescence labeling with an antibody recognizing histone H3 phosphorylated at Serine 10 to study the localization of phosphorylated histone H3 at mitosis and meiosis. Our results showed that, during mitotic division, the phosphoryiation of H3 started from early prophase and vanished at telophase, remaining mainly in the pericentromeric regions at metaphase and anaphase. During meiotic division, phosphorylation of H3 initiated at the transition from leptotene to zygotene and remained uniform, along the chromosomes from prophase I until telophase whereas it showed slightly stronger in the pericentromeric regions than along the chromosome arms from metaphase II until Lelophase II The different patterns of H3 phophorylation at mitosis and meiosis in wheat suggested that this evolutionarily conserved post-translational chromatin modification might be involved in more roles besides chromosome condensation.
