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Pollard MG, Rockmill B, Oke A, Anderson CM, Fung JC. Kinetic analysis of synaptonemal complex dynamics during meiosis of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals biphasic growth and abortive disassembly. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1098468. [PMID: 36814598 PMCID: PMC9939684 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1098468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a dynamic structure formed between chromosomes during meiosis which stabilizes and supports many essential meiotic processes such as pairing and recombination. In budding yeast, Zip1 is a functionally conserved element of the SC that is important for synapsis. Here, we directly measure the kinetics of Zip1-GFP assembly and disassembly in live cells of the yeast S. cerevisiae. The imaging of SC assembly in yeast is challenging due to the large number of chromosomes packed into a small nucleus. We employ a zip3Δ mutant in which only a few chromosomes undergo synapsis at any given time, initiating from a single site on each chromosome, thus allowing the assembly and disassembly kinetics of single SCs to be accurately monitored in living cells. SC assembly occurs with both monophasic and biphasic kinetics, in contrast to the strictly monophasic assembly seen in C. elegans. In wild-type cells, once maximal synapsis is achieved, programmed final disassembly rapidly follows, as Zip1 protein is actively degraded. In zip3Δ, this period is extended and final disassembly is prolonged. Besides final disassembly, we found novel disassembly events involving mostly short SCs that disappeared in advance of programmed final disassembly, which we termed "abortive disassembly." Abortive disassembly is distinct from final disassembly in that it occurs when Zip1 protein levels are still high, and exhibits a much slower rate of disassembly, suggesting a different mechanism for removal in the two types of disassembly. We speculate that abortive disassembly events represent defective or stalled SCs, possibly representing SC formation between non-homologs, that is then targeted for dissolution. These results reveal novel aspects of SC assembly and disassembly, potentially providing evidence of additional regulatory pathways controlling not just the assembly, but also the disassembly, of this complex cellular structure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Jennifer C. Fung
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Center of Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
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Hua LL, Casas C, Mikawa T. Mitotic Antipairing of Homologous Chromosomes. Results Probl Cell Differ 2022; 70:191-220. [PMID: 36348108 PMCID: PMC9731508 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-06573-6_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Chromosome organization is highly dynamic and plays an essential role during cell function. It was recently found that pairs of the homologous chromosomes are continuously separated at mitosis and display a haploid (1n) chromosome set, or "antipairing," organization in human cells. Here, we provide an introduction to the current knowledge of homologous antipairing in humans and its implications in human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa L. Hua
- Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, San Francisco
| | - Christian Casas
- Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, San Francisco
| | - Takashi Mikawa
- Department of Anatomy, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco,Corresponding author:
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Joyce EF, Erceg J, Wu CT. Pairing and anti-pairing: a balancing act in the diploid genome. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2016; 37:119-128. [PMID: 27065367 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2016.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Revised: 03/02/2016] [Accepted: 03/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The presence of maternal and paternal homologs appears to be much more than just a doubling of genetic material. We know this because genomes have evolved elaborate mechanisms that permit homologous regions to sense and then respond to each other. One way in which homologs communicate is to come into contact and, in fact, Dipteran insects such as Drosophila excel at this task, aligning all pairs of maternal and paternal chromosomes, end-to-end, in essentially all somatic tissues throughout development. Here, we reexamine the widely held tenet that extensive somatic pairing of homologous sequences cannot occur in mammals and suggest, instead, that pairing may be a widespread and significant potential that has gone unnoticed in mammals because they expend considerable effort to prevent it. We then extend this discussion to interchromosomal interactions, in general, and speculate about the potential of nuclear organization and pairing to impact inheritance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric F Joyce
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States.
| | - Jelena Erceg
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States
| | - C-Ting Wu
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States.
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Joyce EF, Apostolopoulos N, Beliveau BJ, Wu CT. Germline progenitors escape the widespread phenomenon of homolog pairing during Drosophila development. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1004013. [PMID: 24385920 PMCID: PMC3868550 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2013] [Accepted: 10/24/2013] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Homolog pairing, which plays a critical role in meiosis, poses a potential risk if it occurs in inappropriate tissues or between nonallelic sites, as it can lead to changes in gene expression, chromosome entanglements, and loss-of-heterozygosity due to mitotic recombination. This is particularly true in Drosophila, which supports organismal-wide pairing throughout development. Discovered over a century ago, such extensive pairing has led to the perception that germline pairing in the adult gonad is an extension of the pairing established during embryogenesis and, therefore, differs from the mechanism utilized in most species to initiate pairing specifically in the germline. Here, we show that, contrary to long-standing assumptions, Drosophila meiotic pairing in the gonad is not an extension of pairing established during embryogenesis. Instead, we find that homologous chromosomes are unpaired in primordial germ cells from the moment the germline can be distinguished from the soma in the embryo and remain unpaired even in the germline stem cells of the adult gonad. We further establish that pairing originates immediately after the stem cell stage. This pairing occurs well before the initiation of meiosis and, strikingly, continues through the several mitotic divisions preceding meiosis. These discoveries indicate that the spatial organization of the Drosophila genome differs between the germline and the soma from the earliest moments of development and thus argue that homolog pairing in the germline is an active process as versus a passive continuation of pairing established during embryogenesis. Meiosis is a specialized cell division that permits the transmission of genetic material to following generations. A pivotal step for this process is the pairing and recombination between homologous chromosomes. In the case of Drosophila, which supports organismal-wide homolog pairing throughout development, it has been widely assumed that the homolog alignment occurring during meiosis in the adult gonad is an extension of the pairing established during embryogenesis. Here, we show that, contrary to this model, homologous chromosomes are unpaired in germline progenitors from embryogenesis to adulthood. This discovery refutes the presumption that homologous chromosomes are paired in Drosophila in all cell types and demonstrates that a specific form of chromosome organization, namely, homolog pairing, is a signature feature that distinguishes cells destined to be the soma from cells destined to be the germline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric F Joyce
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Nicholas Apostolopoulos
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Brian J Beliveau
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - C-ting Wu
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Joyce EF, Williams BR, Xie T, Wu CT. Identification of genes that promote or antagonize somatic homolog pairing using a high-throughput FISH-based screen. PLoS Genet 2012; 8:e1002667. [PMID: 22589731 PMCID: PMC3349724 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1002667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2011] [Accepted: 03/07/2012] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The pairing of homologous chromosomes is a fundamental feature of the meiotic cell. In addition, a number of species exhibit homolog pairing in nonmeiotic, somatic cells as well, with evidence for its impact on both gene regulation and double-strand break (DSB) repair. An extreme example of somatic pairing can be observed in Drosophila melanogaster, where homologous chromosomes remain aligned throughout most of development. However, our understanding of the mechanism of somatic homolog pairing remains unclear, as only a few genes have been implicated in this process. In this study, we introduce a novel high-throughput fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) technology that enabled us to conduct a genome-wide RNAi screen for factors involved in the robust somatic pairing observed in Drosophila. We identified both candidate "pairing promoting genes" and candidate "anti-pairing genes," providing evidence that pairing is a dynamic process that can be both enhanced and antagonized. Many of the genes found to be important for promoting pairing are highly enriched for functions associated with mitotic cell division, suggesting a genetic framework for a long-standing link between chromosome dynamics during mitosis and nuclear organization during interphase. In contrast, several of the candidate anti-pairing genes have known interphase functions associated with S-phase progression, DNA replication, and chromatin compaction, including several components of the condensin II complex. In combination with a variety of secondary assays, these results provide insights into the mechanism and dynamics of somatic pairing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric F. Joyce
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Benjamin R. Williams
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Tiao Xie
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Image and Data Analysis Core, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - C.-ting Wu
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Tsubouchi T, Macqueen AJ, Roeder GS. Initiation of meiotic chromosome synapsis at centromeres in budding yeast. Genes Dev 2009; 22:3217-26. [PMID: 19056898 DOI: 10.1101/gad.1709408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies of synaptonemal complex assembly in budding yeast have suggested that chromosome synapsis initiates at the sites of crossing over. The data presented here, however, indicate that centromeric regions are preferred sites for synapsis initiation. At early times during meiosis in wild type, the Zip1 protein (a major building block of the synaptonemal complex) localizes specifically to centromeric regions. As synapsis progresses and linear stretches of Zip1 are formed, the majority of stretches are associated with a centromere, as expected if the Zip1 protein present at the centromere polymerized outward along the chromosome arm. In many cases, the centromere is present at one end of a linear stretch, suggesting that synapsis is often unidirectional. Furthermore, the Zip2 protein, a protein that promotes Zip1 polymerization, is often present at the opposite end from the centromere, implying that Zip2 and associated proteins move at the leading edge of Zip1 polymerization. Surprisingly, synapsis initiation at centromeres is independent of the Zip3 protein, which plays a major role in synapsis initiation events at noncentromeric locations. Our data provide evidence for two classes of synapsis initiation events that differ in location, timing, genetic requirements, and relationship to meiotic recombination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomomi Tsubouchi
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
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Schoenmakers S, Wassenaar E, van Cappellen WA, Derijck AA, de Boer P, Laven JSE, Grootegoed JA, Baarends WM. Increased frequency of asynapsis and associated meiotic silencing of heterologous chromatin in the presence of irradiation-induced extra DNA double strand breaks. Dev Biol 2008; 317:270-81. [PMID: 18384767 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2008.02.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2007] [Revised: 02/11/2008] [Accepted: 02/13/2008] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
In meiotic prophase of male placental mammals, the heterologous X and Y chromosomes remain largely unsynapsed, which activates meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI), leading to formation of the transcriptionally silenced XY body. MSCI is most likely related to meiotic silencing of unsynapsed chromatin (MSUC), a mechanism that can silence autosomal unsynapsed chromatin. However, heterologous synapsis and escape from silencing also occur. In mammalian species, formation of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) during leptotene precedes meiotic chromosome pairing. These DSBs are essential to achieve full synapsis of homologous chromosomes. We generated 25% extra meiotic DSBs by whole body irradiation of mice. This leads to a significant increase in meiotic recombination frequency. In mice carrying translocation chromosomes with synaptic problems, we observed an approximately 35% increase in asynapsis and MSUC of the nonhomologous region in the smallest chromosome pair following irradiation. However, the same nonhomologous region in the largest chromosome pair, shows complete synapsis and escape from MSUC in almost 100% of the nuclei, irrespective of exposure to irradiation. We propose that prevention of synapsis and associated activation of MSUC is linked to the presence of unrepaired meiotic DSBs in the nonhomologous region. Also, spreading of synaptonemal complex formation from regions of homology may act as an opposing force, and drive heterologous synapsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam Schoenmakers
- Department of Reproduction and Development, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Zhao Y, O'Neil NJ, Rose AM. Poly-G/poly-C tracts in the genomes of Caenorhabditis. BMC Genomics 2007; 8:403. [PMID: 17986356 PMCID: PMC2211496 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-8-403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2007] [Accepted: 11/07/2007] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Background In the genome of Caenorhabditis elegans, homopolymeric poly-G/poly-C tracts (G/C tracts) exist at high frequency and are maintained by the activity of the DOG-1 protein. The frequency and distribution of G/C tracts in the genomes of C. elegans and the related nematode, C. briggsae were analyzed to investigate possible biological roles for G/C tracts. Results In C. elegans, G/C tracts are distributed along every chromosome in a non-random pattern. Most G/C tracts are within introns or are close to genes. Analysis of SAGE data showed that G/C tracts correlate with the levels of regional gene expression in C. elegans. G/C tracts are over-represented and dispersed across all chromosomes in another Caenorhabditis species, C. briggsae. However, the positions and distribution of G/C tracts in C. briggsae differ from those in C. elegans. Furthermore, the C. briggsae dog-1 ortholog CBG19723 can rescue the mutator phenotype of C. elegans dog-1 mutants. Conclusion The abundance and genomic distribution of G/C tracts in C. elegans, the effect of G/C tracts on regional transcription levels, and the lack of positional conservation of G/C tracts in C. briggsae suggest a role for G/C tracts in chromatin structure but not in the transcriptional regulation of specific genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Zhao
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Life Sciences Centre, Room 1364 - 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z3, Canada.
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