Functional Interactions Between SPO11 and REC102 During Initiation of Meiotic Recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Genetics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 160 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-122
Author(s):  
Kehkooi Kee ◽  
Scott Keeney

Abstract In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, formation of the DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) that initiate meiotic recombination requires the products of at least 10 genes. Spo11p is thought to be the catalytic subunit of the DNA cleaving activity, but the roles of the other proteins, and the interactions among them, are not well understood. This study demonstrates genetic and physical interactions between the products of SPO11 and another early meiotic gene required for DSB formation, REC102. We found that epitope-tagged versions of SPO11 and REC102 that by themselves were capable of supporting normal or nearly normal levels of meiotic recombination conferred a severe synthetic cold-sensitive phenotype when combined in the same cells. DSB formation, meiotic gene conversion, and spore viability were drastically reduced in the doubly tagged strain at a nonpermissive temperature. This conditional defect could be partially rescued by expression of untagged SPO11, but not by expression of untagged REC102, indicating that tagged REC102 is fully dominant for this synthetic phenotype. Both tagged and wild-type Spo11p co-immunoprecipitated with tagged Rec102p from meiotic cell extracts, indicating that these proteins are present in a common complex in vivo. Tagged Rec102p localized to the nucleus in whole cells and to chromatin on spread meiotic chromosomes. Our results are consistent with the idea that a multiprotein complex that includes Spo11p and Rec102p promotes meiotic DSB formation.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarai Pacheco ◽  
Andros Maldonado-Linares ◽  
Marina Marcet-Ortega ◽  
Cristina Rojas ◽  
Ana Martínez-Marchal ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPrecise execution of recombination during meiosis is essential for forming chromosomally balanced gametes. Meiotic recombination initiates with the formation and resection of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Binding of replication protein A (RPA) at resected DSBs fosters association of RAD51 and DMC1, the primary effectors of homology search. It is well appreciated that cellular responses to meiotic DSBs are critical for efficient repair and quality control, but molecular features of these responses remain poorly understood, particularly in mammals. Here we provide evidence that the DNA damage response protein kinase ATR is crucial for meiotic recombination and completion of meiotic prophase in mice. Using a hypomorphic Atr mutation and pharmacological inhibition of ATR in vivo and in cultured spermatocytes, we show that ATR, through its effector kinase CHK1, promotes efficient RAD51 and DMC1 assembly at RPA-coated DSB sites and establishment of interhomolog connections during meiosis. Furthermore, our findings suggest that ATR promotes local accumulation of recombination markers on unsynapsed axes during meiotic prophase to favor homologous chromosome synapsis. These data reveal that ATR plays multiple roles in mammalian meiotic recombination.


Mitochondrion ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanchanjunga Prasai ◽  
Lucy C. Robinson ◽  
Kelly Tatchell ◽  
Lynn Harrison

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 1868-1880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Robine ◽  
Norio Uematsu ◽  
Franck Amiot ◽  
Xavier Gidrol ◽  
Emmanuel Barillot ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Meiotic recombination is initiated by the formation of programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) catalyzed by the Spo11 protein. DSBs are not randomly distributed along chromosomes. To better understand factors that control the distribution of DSBs in budding yeast, we have examined the genome-wide binding and cleavage properties of the Gal4 DNA binding domain (Gal4BD)-Spo11 fusion protein. We found that Gal4BD-Spo11 cleaves only a subset of its binding sites, indicating that the association of Spo11 with chromatin is not sufficient for DSB formation. In centromere-associated regions, the centromere itself prevents DSB cleavage by tethered Gal4BD-Spo11 since its displacement restores targeted DSB formation. In addition, we observed that new DSBs introduced by Gal4BD-Spo11 inhibit surrounding DSB formation over long distances (up to 60 kb), keeping constant the number of DSBs per chromosomal region. Together, these results demonstrate that the targeting of Spo11 to new chromosomal locations leads to both local stimulation and genome-wide redistribution of recombination initiation and that some chromosomal regions are inherently cold regardless of the presence of Spo11.


2008 ◽  
Vol 180 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Yang ◽  
Sigrid Eckardt ◽  
N. Adrian Leu ◽  
K. John McLaughlin ◽  
Peijing Jeremy Wang

During meiosis, homologous chromosomes undergo synapsis and recombination. We identify TEX15 as a novel protein that is required for chromosomal synapsis and meiotic recombination. Loss of TEX15 function in mice causes early meiotic arrest in males but not in females. Specifically, TEX15-deficient spermatocytes exhibit a failure in chromosomal synapsis. In mutant spermatocytes, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are formed, but localization of the recombination proteins RAD51 and DMC1 to meiotic chromosomes is severely impaired. Based on these data, we propose that TEX15 regulates the loading of DNA repair proteins onto sites of DSBs and, thus, its absence causes a failure in meiotic recombination.


Genetics ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 151 (4) ◽  
pp. 1245-1259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michèle Vedel ◽  
Alain Nicolas

Abstract We have examined meiotic recombination at the CYS3 locus. Genetic analysis indicates that CYS3 is a hotspot of meiotic gene conversion, with a putative 5′–3′ polarity gradient of conversion frequencies. This gradient is relieved in the presence of msh2 and pms1 mutations, indicating an involvement of mismatch repair functions in meiotic recombination. To investigate the role of mismatch repair proteins in meiotic recombination, we performed a physical analysis of meiotic DNA in wild-type and msh2 pms1 strains in the presence or absence of allelic differences at CYS3. Neither the mutations in CYS3 nor the absence of mismatch repair functions affects the frequency and distribution of nearby recombination-initiating DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Processing of DSBs is also similar in msh2 pms1 and wild-type strains. We conclude that mismatch repair functions do not control the distribution of meiotic gene conversion events at the initiating steps. In the MSH2 PMS1 background, strains heteroallelic for frameshift mutations in CYS3 exhibit a frequency of gene conversion greater than that observed for either marker alone. Physical analysis revealed no modification in the formation of DSBs, suggesting that this marker effect results from subsequent processing events that are not yet understood.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Johnson ◽  
Rachal M Allison ◽  
Elda Cannavo ◽  
Petr Cejka ◽  
Matthew J Neale

ABSTRACTMeiotic recombination events are initiated by DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) created by the topoisomerase-like protein, Spo11. Similar to type-II topoisomerases, Spo11 becomes covalently linked to the 5′ ends generated on each side of the DSB. Whilst Spo11-oligos—the product of nucleolytic removal by Mre11—have been detected in a number of biological systems, the lifetime of the covalent Spo11-DSB precursor has not been systematically determined and may be subject to alternative processing reactions. Here we explore the activity of human Tyrosyl DNA Phosphodiesterase, TDP2, on Spo11-DSBs isolated fromS. cerevisiaecells. We demonstrate that TDP2 can remove Spo11 from natural ssDNA-oligos, and dsDNA ends even when in the presence of excess competitor genomic DNA. Interestingly, TDP2-processed Spo11-DSBs are refractory to resection by Exo1, suggesting that ssDNA generated by Mre11 may be essentialin vivoto facilitate resection-dependent HR at Spo11-DSBs even if TDP2 were active. Moreover, although TDP2 can remove Spo11 peptidesin vitro, TDP2 was unable to remove Spo11in vivo—unlike during the repair of topoisomerase-induced DNA lesions. These results suggest that Spo11-DNA, but not topoisomerase-DNA cleavage complexes, are inaccessible to the TDP2 enzyme, perhaps due to occlusion by higher order protein complexes resident at sites of meiotic recombination.


Genetics ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 137 (4) ◽  
pp. 933-944
Author(s):  
M D Kaytor ◽  
D M Livingston

Abstract We have screened for mutations of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RAD52 gene which confer a temperature-sensitive (ts) phenotype with respect to either the repair of DNA lesions caused by methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) or the recombination of an intrachromosomal recombination reporter. We were readily able to isolate alleles ts for the repair of lesions caused by MMS but were unable to find alleles with a severe ts deficiency in intrachromosomal recombination. We extensively characterized four strains conferring ts growth on MMS agar. These strains also exhibit ts survival when exposed to gamma-radiation or when the HO endonuclease is constitutively expressed. Although none of the four alleles confers a severe ts defect in intrachromosomal recombination, two confer significant defects in tests of mitotic, interchromosomal recombination carried out in diploid strains. The mutant diploids sporulate, but the two strains with defects in interchromosomal recombination have reduced spore viability. Meiotic recombination is not depressed in the two diploids with reduced spore viability. Thus, in the two strains with reduced spore viability, defects in mitotic and meiotic recombination do not correlate. Sequence analysis revealed that in three of the four ts alleles the causative mutations are in the first one-third of the open reading frame while the fourth is in the C-terminal third.


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