scholarly journals Vilya, a component of the recombination nodule, is required for meiotic double-strand break formation in Drosophila

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathleen M Lake ◽  
Rachel J Nielsen ◽  
Fengli Guo ◽  
Jay R Unruh ◽  
Brian D Slaughter ◽  
...  

Meiotic recombination begins with the induction of programmed double-strand breaks (DSBs). In most organisms only a fraction of DSBs become crossovers. Here we report a novel meiotic gene, vilya, which encodes a protein with homology to Zip3-like proteins shown to determine DSB fate in other organisms. Vilya is required for meiotic DSB formation, perhaps as a consequence of its interaction with the DSB accessory protein Mei-P22, and localizes to those DSB sites that will mature into crossovers. In early pachytene Vilya localizes along the central region of the synaptonemal complex and to discrete foci. The accumulation of Vilya at foci is dependent on DSB formation. Immuno-electron microscopy demonstrates that Vilya is a component of recombination nodules, which mark the sites of crossover formation. Thus Vilya links the mechanism of DSB formation to either the selection of those DSBs that will become crossovers or to the actual process of crossing over.

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. eaau9780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianting Zhang ◽  
Shu-Yan Ji ◽  
Kiran Busayavalasa ◽  
Chao Yu

Segregation of homologous chromosomes in meiosis I is tightly regulated by their physical links, or crossovers (COs), generated from DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) through meiotic homologous recombination. In budding yeast, three ZMM (Zip1/2/3/4, Mer3, Msh4/5) proteins, Zip2, Zip4, and Spo16, form a “ZZS” complex, functioning to promote meiotic recombination via a DSB repair pathway. Here, we identified the mammalian ortholog of Spo16, termed SPO16, which interacts with the mammalian ortholog of Zip2 (SHOC1/MZIP2), and whose functions are evolutionarily conserved to promote the formation of COs. SPO16 localizes to the recombination nodules, as SHOC1 and TEX11 do. SPO16 is required for stabilization of SHOC1 and proper localization of other ZMM proteins. The DSBs formed in SPO16-deleted meiocytes were repaired without COs formation, although synapsis is less affected. Therefore, formation of SPO16-SHOC1 complex–associated recombination intermediates is a key step facilitating meiotic recombination that produces COs from yeast to mammals.


2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Johnson ◽  
M. Jasin

In mammalian cells, the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) occurs by both homologous and non-homologous mechanisms. Indirect evidence, including that from gene targeting and random integration experiments, had suggested that non-homologous mechanisms were significantly more frequent than homologous ones. However, more recent experiments indicate that homologous recombination is also a prominent DSB repair pathway. These experiments show that mammalian cells use homologous sequences located at multiple positions throughout the genome to repair a DSB. However, template preference appears to be biased, with the sister chromatid being preferred by 2–3 orders of magnitude over a homologous or heterologous chromosome. The outcome of homologous recombination in mammalian cells is predominantly gene conversion that is not associated with crossing-over. The preference for the sister chromatid and the bias against crossing-over seen in mitotic mammalian cells may have developed in order to reduce the potential for genome alterations that could occur when other homologous repair templates are utilized. In attempts to understand further the mechanism of homologous recombination, the proteins that promote this process are beginning to be identified. To date, four mammalian proteins have been demonstrated conclusively to be involved in DSB repair by homologous recombination: Rad54, XRCC2, XRCC3 and BRCAI. This paper summarizes results from a number of recent studies.


Science ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 355 (6320) ◽  
pp. 40-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni P. Mimitou ◽  
Shintaro Yamada ◽  
Scott Keeney

DNA double-strand breaks that initiate meiotic recombination are exonucleolytically processed. This 5′→3′ resection is a central, conserved feature of recombination but remains poorly understood. To address this lack, we mapped resection endpoints genome-wide at high resolution inSaccharomyces cerevisiae. Full-length resection requires Exo1 exonuclease and the DSB-responsive kinase Tel1, but not Sgs1 helicase. Tel1 also promotes efficient and timely resection initiation. Resection endpoints display pronounced heterogeneity between genomic loci that reflects a tendency for nucleosomes to block Exo1, yet Exo1 also appears to digest chromatin with high processivity and at rates similar to naked DNA in vitro. This paradox points to nucleosome destabilization or eviction as a defining feature of the meiotic resection landscape.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis A. Papaioannou ◽  
Fabien Dutreux ◽  
France A. Peltier ◽  
Hiromi Maekawa ◽  
Nicolas Delhomme ◽  
...  

AbstractMeiotic recombination is a ubiquitous function of sexual reproduction throughout eukaryotes. Here we report that recombination is extremely suppressed during meiosis in the yeast speciesSaccharomycodes ludwigii. DNA double-strand break formation, processing and repair are required for normal meiosis but do not lead to crossing over. Although the species has retained an intact meiotic gene repertoire, genetic and population analyses suggest the exceptionally rare occurrence of meiotic crossovers. We propose thatSd. ludwigiihas followed a unique evolutionary trajectory that possibly derives fitness benefits from the combination of frequent fertilization within the meiotic tetrad with the absence of meiotic recombination.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Lukaszewicz ◽  
Julian Lange ◽  
Scott Keeney ◽  
Maria Jasin

ABSTRACTDNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) generated by the SPO11 protein initiate meiotic recombination, an essential process for successful chromosome segregation during gametogenesis. The activity of SPO11 is controlled by multiple factors and regulatory mechanisms, such that the number of DSBs is limited and DSBs form at distinct positions in the genome and at the right time. Loss of this control can affect genome integrity or cause meiotic arrest by mechanisms that are not fully understood. Here we focus on the DSB-responsive kinase ATM and its functions in regulating meiotic DSB numbers and distribution. We review the recently discovered roles of ATM in this context, discuss their evolutionary conservation, and examine future research perspectives.


Genetics ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Plessis ◽  
A Perrin ◽  
J E Haber ◽  
B Dujon

Abstract The Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial endonuclease I-SceI creates a double-strand break as the initiating step in the gene conversional transfer of the omega+ intron to omega- DNA. We have expressed a galactose-inducible synthetic I-SceI gene in the nucleus of yeast that also carries the I-SceI recognition site on a plasmid substrate. We find that the galactose-induced I-SceI protein can be active in the nucleus and efficiently catalyze recombination. With a target plasmid containing direct repeats of the Escherichia coli lacZ gene, one copy of which is interrupted by a 24-bp cutting site, galactose induction produces both deletions and gene conversions. Both the kinetics and the proportion of deletions and gene conversions are very similar to analogous events initiated by a galactose-inducible HO endonuclease gene. We also find that, in a rad52 mutant strain, the repair of double-strand breaks initiated by I-SceI and by HO are similarly affected: the formation of deletions is reduced, but not eliminated. Altogether, these results suggest either that the two endonucleases act in the same way after double-strand break formation or that the two endonucleases are not involved in subsequent steps.


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 ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 143 (2) ◽  
pp. 741-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Malkova ◽  
L Ross ◽  
D Dawson ◽  
Merl F Hoekstra ◽  
J E Haber

Abstract Meiotic recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is initiated by double-strand breaks (DSBs). We have developed a system to compare the properties of meiotic DSBs with those created by the site-specific HO endonuclease. HO endonuclease was expressed under the control of the meiotic-specific SPO13 promoter, creating a DSB at a single site on one of yeast's 16 chromosomes. In Rad+ strains the times of appearance of the HO-induced DSBs and of subsequent recombinants are coincident with those induced by normal meiotic DSBs. Physical monitoring of DNA showed that SPO13::HO induced gene conversions both in Rad+ and in rad50Δ cells that cannot initiate normal meiotic DSBs. We find that the RAD50 gene is important, but not essential, for recombination even after a DSB has been created in a meiotic cell. In rad50Δ cells, some DSBs are not repaired until a broken chromosome has been packaged into a spore and is subsequently germinated. This suggests that a broken chromosome does not signal an arrest of progression through meiosis. The recombination defect in rad50Δ diploids is not, however, meiotic specific, as mitotic rad50 diploids, experiencing an HO-induced DSB, exhibit similar departures from wild-type recombination.


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