Micronucleus

Micronuclei visible in boxes

The micronucleus is the smaller nucleus in ciliate protozoans, such as the Paramecium. In fission it divides by mitosis, and in conjugation it furnishes the pairing of gamete nuclei, by whose reciprocal fusion a zygote nucleus is formed, which gives rise to the macronuclei and micronuclei of the individuals of the next cycle of fission.

Other meaning

• Micronucleus is also the name given to the small nucleus that forms whenever a chromosome or a fragment of a chromosome is not incorporated into one of the daughter nuclei during cell division. In newly formed red blood cells in humans, these are known as Howell-Jolly bodies. In normal people and many other mammals, which do not have nuclei in their red blood cells, the micronuclei are removed rapidly by the spleen. Hence high frequencies of micronuclei in human peripheral blood indicate a ruptured or absent spleen. In mice, these are not removed, which is the basis for the in vivo micronucleus test.

In a micronucleus test, the genotoxicity of a chemical compound is tested.

See also

• Macronucleus
• Cancerous Micronuclei
• Microchromosome

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.