Genetic control of chromosome synapsis in yeast meiosis

Genome ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig N. Giroux ◽  
Michael E. Dresser ◽  
Howard F. Tiano
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Synaptonemal Complex ◽  
Meiotic Recombination ◽  
Meiotic Chromosome ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Mitotic Cell ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Chromosome Behavior ◽  
Chromosome Synapsis ◽  
Yeast Meiosis

Both meiosis-specific and general recombination functions, recruited from the mitotic cell cycle, are required for elevated levels of recombination and for chromosome synapsis (assembly of the synaptonemal complex) during yeast meiosis. The meiosis-specific SPO11 gene (previously shown to be required for meiotic recombination) has been isolated and shown to be essential for synaptonemal complex formation but not for DNA metabolism during the vegetative cell cycle. In contrast, the RAD52 gene is required for mitotic and meiotic recombination but not for synaptonemal complex assembly. These data suggest that the synaptonemal complex may be necessary but is clearly not sufficient for meiotic recombination. Cytological analysis of spread meiotic nuclei demonstrates that chromosome behavior in yeast is comparable with that observed in larger eukaryotes. These spread preparations support the immunocytological localization of specific proteins in meiotic nuclei. This combination of genetic, molecular cloning, and cytological approaches in a single experimental system provides a means of addressing the role of specific gene products and nuclear structures in meiotic chromosome behavior.Key words: synaptonemal complex, chromosome behavior, meiosis.

scholarly journals The rec102 mutant of yeast is defective in meiotic recombination and chromosome synapsis.

Genetics ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-69
Author(s):  
J Bhargava ◽  
J Engebrecht ◽  
G S Roeder
Keyword(s):  
Synaptonemal Complex ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Meiotic Recombination ◽  
Meiotic Chromosome ◽  
Crossing Over ◽  
Homologous Chromosomes ◽  
Chromosome Synapsis ◽  
Recombination Pathway ◽  
Yeast Mutants ◽  
Meiosis I

Abstract A mutation at the REC102 locus was identified in a screen for yeast mutants that produce inviable spores. rec102 spore lethality is rescued by a spo13 mutation, which causes cells to bypass the meiosis I division. The rec102 mutation completely eliminates meiotically induced gene conversion and crossing over but has no effect on mitotic recombination frequencies. Cytological studies indicate that the rec102 mutant makes axial elements (precursors to the synaptonemal complex), but homologous chromosomes fail to synapse. In addition, meiotic chromosome segregation is significantly delayed in rec102 strains. Studies of double and triple mutants indicate that the REC102 protein acts before the RAD52 gene product in the meiotic recombination pathway. The REC102 gene was cloned based on complementation of the mutant defect and the gene was mapped to chromosome XII between CDC25 and STE11.

scholarly journals Meiotic chromosome behavior in spread preparations of yeast.

1988 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
M E Dresser ◽  
C N Giroux
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Meiotic Chromosome ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Chromosome Behavior ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Single Organism ◽  
Electron Microscopes ◽  
Yeast Meiosis ◽  
And Function ◽  
Biological Methods

Chromosome behavior in meiosis is well characterized from cytological and genetic descriptions but little is known of the underlying molecular mechanisms, largely because no one experimental system has been developed to support an integrated application of modern cytological, genetic, and molecular biological methods. To combine efficient analyses of meiotic chromosome structure and function in a single organism, we have extended to yeast methods for making spread preparations of nuclei. Features of yeast meiosis that parallel meiosis in large eukaryotes, such as bouquet formation and prophase chromosome condensation that occurs in concert with synaptonemal complex formation, are evident for the first time. The ability to analyze large numbers of nuclei at the light and electron microscopes in preparations amenable to a variety of cytological and immunocytological techniques will facilitate the description of meiosis at the molecular level in yeast.

Induction of yeast histone genes by stimulation of stationary-phase cells

1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 6356-6361
Author(s):  
M A Drebot ◽  
L M Veinot-Drebot ◽  
R A Singer ◽  
G C Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Stationary Phase ◽  
Mitotic Cell ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Mitotic Cell Cycle ◽  
Histone Genes ◽  
Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Alpha Factor ◽  
Stimulation Of

In the cell cycle of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, expression of the histone genes H2A and H2B of the TRT1 and TRT2 loci is regulated by the performance of "start," the step that also regulates the cell cycle. Here we show that histone production is also subject to an additional form of regulation that is unrelated to the mitotic cell cycle. Expression of histone genes, as assessed by Northern (RNA) analysis, was shown to increase promptly after the stimulation, brought about by fresh medium, that activates stationary-phase cells to reenter the mitotic cell cycle. The use of a yeast mutant that is conditionally blocked in the resumption of proliferation at a step that is not part of the mitotic cell cycle (M.A. Drebot, G.C. Johnston, and R.A. Singer, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 84:7948, 1987) showed that this increased gene expression that occurs upon stimulation of stationary-phase cells took place in the absence of DNA synthesis and without the performance of start. This stimulation-specific gene expression was blocked by the mating pheromone alpha-factor, indicating that alpha-factor directly inhibits expression of these histone genes, independently of start.

scholarly journals Dmc1 is a candidate for temperature tolerance during wheat meiosis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracie Draeger ◽  
Azahara Martin ◽  
Abdul Kader Alabdullah ◽  
Ali Pendle ◽  
María-Dolores Rey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Temperatures ◽  
Chromosome Pairing ◽  
Meiotic Recombination ◽  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Chinese Spring ◽  
Deletion Mutant ◽  
Meiotic Chromosome ◽  
Wheat Chromosome ◽  
Chromosome Synapsis ◽  
Recombination Gene

AbstractWe have assessed the effects of high and low temperatures on meiotic chromosome synapsis and crossover formation in the hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) variety ‘Chinese Spring’. At low temperatures, asynapsis and chromosome univalence have been observed before in Chinese Spring lines lacking the long arm of chromosome 5D (5DL), which led to the proposal that 5DL carries a gene (Ltp1) that stabilises wheat chromosome pairing at low temperatures. In the current study, Chinese Spring wild type and 5DL interstitial deletion mutant plants were exposed to low (13°C) or high (30°C) temperatures in controlled environment rooms during a period from premeiotic interphase to early meiosis I. A 5DL deletion mutant was identified whose meiotic chromosomes exhibit extremely high levels of asynapsis and chromosome univalence at metaphase I after seven days at 13°C. This suggests that the mutant, which we name ttmei1 (temperature tolerance in meiosis 1) has a deletion of a gene that, like Ltp1, normally stabilises chromosome pairing at low temperatures. Immunolocalisation of the meiotic proteins ASY1 and ZYP1 on ttmei1 mutants showed that low temperature results in a failure to complete synapsis at pachytene. After 24 hours at 30°C, ttmei1 mutants exhibited a reduced number of crossovers and increased univalence, but to a lesser extent than at 13°C. KASP genotyping revealed that ttmei1 has a 4 Mb deletion in 5DL. Of 41 genes within this deletion region, the strongest candidate for the stabilisation of chromosome pairing at low (and possibly high) temperatures is the meiotic recombination gene Dmc1.Key messageThe meiotic recombination gene Dmc1 on wheat chromosome 5D has been identified as a candidate for the maintenance of normal chromosome synapsis and crossover at low and possibly high temperatures.

scholarly journals The tumor suppressor BRCA1/BARD1 complex localizes to the synaptonemal complex and regulates recombination under meiotic dysfunction in Caenorhabditis elegans

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianyan Li ◽  
Takamune T. Saito ◽  
Alison J. Deshong ◽  
Marina Martinez Garcia ◽  
Saravanapriah Nadarajan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Damage ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Tumor Suppressor ◽  
Homologous Recombination ◽  
Synaptonemal Complex ◽  
Meiotic Recombination ◽  
Dna Damage Repair ◽  
Chromosome Synapsis ◽  
Brca1 Mutations ◽  
Damage Repair

AbstractBreast cancer susceptibility gene 1(BRCA1) and binding partner BRCA1-associated RING domain protein 1 (BARD1) form an essential E3 ubiquitin ligase important for DNA damage repair and homologous recombination. In Caenorhabditis elegans BRCA1/BRC-1 and BARD1/BRD-1 orthologs are not essential, but function in DNA damage repair and homologous recombination, as well as in meiosis. In proliferating germ cells and in early meiotic prophase, BRC-1 and BRD-1 are nucleoplasmic, with enrichment at foci that partially overlap with the recombinase RAD-51. In mid-pachytene, BRC-1 and BRD-1 are observed on tracks, before concentrating to the short arms of bivalents, co-localizing with a central region component of the synaptonemal complex. We found that BRD-1 is essential for BRC-1 to associate with chromatin and the synaptonemal complex, but BRC-1 is not required for BRD-1 localization; the complex fails to properly localize in the absence of either meiotic recombination or chromosome synapsis. Inactivation of BRC-1/BRD-1 enhances the embryonic lethality of mutants that perturb chromosome synapsis and crossover recombination, suggesting that BRC-1/BRD-1 plays an important role in monitoring recombination in the context of the synaptonemal complex. We discovered that BRC-1/BRD-1 stabilizes the RAD51 filament when the formation of a crossover-intermediate is disrupted. Further, in the absence of BRC-1/BRD-1 crossover distribution is altered, and under meiotic dysfunction, crossover numbers are perturbed. Together, our studies indicate that BRC-1/BRD-1 localizes to the synaptonemal complex where it serves a checkpoint function to monitor and modulate meiotic recombination.Project SummaryOur genomes are passed down from one generation to the next through the specialized cell division program of meiosis. Meiosis is highly regulated to coordinate both the large scale chromosomal and fine scale DNA events to ensure fidelity. We analyzed the role of the tumor suppressor BRCA1/BARD1 complex in meiosis in the worm, Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that BRCA1/BARD1 localizes dynamically to the proteinaeous structure that aligns maternal and paternal chromosomes, where it regulates crossover recombination. Although BRCA1/BARD1 mutants have only subtle meiotic defects, we show that this complex plays a critical role in meiotic recombination when meiosis is perturbed. These results highlight the complexity of ensuring accurate transmission of the genome and uncover the requirement for this conserved complex in meiosis. As women carrying BRCA1 mutations with no indication of cancer have fertility defects, our results provide insight into why BRCA1 mutations impact reproductive success.

Sex-Specific Differences in Meiotic Chromosome Segregation Revealed by Dicentric Bridge Resolution in Mice

Genetics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 162 (3) ◽  
pp. 1367-1379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara E Koehler ◽  
Elise A Millie ◽  
Jonathan P Cherry ◽  
Paul S Burgoyne ◽  
Edward P Evans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Meiotic Recombination ◽  
Recombination Event ◽  
Meiotic Chromosome ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Paracentric Inversion ◽  
Chromosome Behavior ◽  
Inverted Region ◽  
Dicentric Chromosomes ◽  
Chromatid Cohesion

Abstract The meiotic properties of paracentric inversion heterozygotes have been well studied in insects and plants, but not in mammalian species. In essence, a single meiotic recombination event within the inverted region results in the formation of a dicentric chromatid, which usually breaks or is stretched between the two daughter nuclei during the first meiotic anaphase. Here, we provide evidence that this is not the predominant mode of exchange resolution in female mice. In sharp contrast to previous observations in other organisms, we find that attempts to segregate the dicentric chromatid frequently result not in breakage, stretching, or loss, but instead in precocious separation of the sister centromeres of at least one homolog. This often further results in intact segregation of the dicentric into one of the meiotic products, where it can persist into the first few embryonic divisions. These novel observations point to an unusual mechanism for the processing of dicentric chromosomes in mammalian oogenesis. Furthermore, this mechanism is rare or nonexistent in mammalian spermatogenesis. Thus, our results provide additional evidence of sexual dimorphism in mammalian meiotic chromosome behavior; in “stressful” situations, meiotic sister chromatid cohesion is apparently handled differently in males than in females.

scholarly journals Genomic structure of Hstx2 modifier of Prdm9-dependent hybrid male sterility in mice

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Lustyk ◽  
Slavomír Kinský ◽  
Kristian Karsten Ullrich ◽  
Michelle Yancoskie ◽  
Lenka Kašíková ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Meiotic Recombination ◽  
Recombination Rate ◽  
Meiotic Chromosome ◽  
Hybrid Sterility ◽  
Cold Spot ◽  
Hybrid Male ◽  
Copy Number Polymorphism ◽  
Recombination Suppression ◽  
Hybrid Male Sterility ◽  
Chromosome Synapsis

ABSTRACTF1 hybrids between mouse inbred strains PWD and C57BL/6 represent the most thoroughly genetically defined model of hybrid sterility in vertebrates. Hybrid male sterility can be fully reconstituted from three components of this model, namely the Prdm9 hybrid sterility gene, intersubspecific homeology of Mus musculus musculus and Mus musculus domesticus autosomes, and the X-linked Hstx2 locus. Hstx2 modulates the extent of Prdm9-dependent meiotic arrest and harbors two additional genetic factors responsible for intersubspecific introgression-induced oligospermia (Hstx1) and reduced global meiotic recombination rate (Meir1). To facilitate positional cloning and to overcome the recombination suppression within the 4.3 Mb genomicDob interval encompassing the Hstx2 locus we designed Hstx2-CRISPR and SPO11/Cas9 transgenes aimed to induce DNA double-strand breaks specifically within the Hstx2 locus. The resulting recombinant reduced the Hstx2 locus to 2.70 Mb (Chr X:66.51-69.21 Mb). The newly defined Hstx2 still operates as the major X-linked factor of the F1 hybrid sterility, controls meiotic chromosome synapsis, and modifies meiotic recombination rate. Despite extensive further crosses, the 2.70 Mb Hstx2 interval behaved as a recombination cold spot with reduced PRDM9-mediated H3K4 hotspots and absence of DMC1-defined DNA DSB hotspots. To search for structural anomalies as a possible cause of recombination suppression we used optical mapping of the Hstx2 interval and observed high incidence of subspecies-specific structural variants along the X chromosome, with a striking copy number polymorphism of the microRNA Mir465 cluster. Finally, we analyzed the role of one of the Hstx2 candidate genes, the Fmr1 neighbor (Fmr1nb) gene in male fertility.Article summaryEarly meiotic arrest of mouse intersubspecific hybrids depends on the interaction between the Prdm9 gene and Hybrid sterility X2 (Hstx2) locus on chromosome X. Lustyk et al. conducted high-resolution genetic and physical mapping of the Hstx2 locus, reduced it to 2.7 Mb interval within a constitutive recombination cold spot and found that the newly defined Hstx2 still operates as the X-linked hybrid sterility factor, controls meiotic chromosome synapsis, and modifies recombination rate. Optical mapping of the Hstx2 genomic region excluded inversion as a cause of recombination suppression and revealed a striking copy number polymorphism of the microRNA Mir465 cluster.

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