Time-lapse fluorescence microscopy of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in meiosis

Diffusion and distal linkages govern interchromosomal dynamics during meiotic prophase

SignificanceEssential for sexual reproduction, meiosis is a specialized cell division required for the production of haploid gametes. Critical to this process are the pairing, recombination, and segregation of homologous chromosomes (homologs). While pairing and recombination are linked, it is not known how many linkages are sufficient to hold homologs in proximity. Here, we reveal that random diffusion and the placement of a small number of linkages are sufficient to establish the apparent "pairing" of homologs. We also show that colocalization between any two loci is more dynamic than anticipated. Our study provides observations of live interchromosomal dynamics during meiosis and illustrates the power of combining single-cell measurements with theoretical polymer modeling.

Meiotic chromosomes in motion: a perspective from Mus musculus and Caenorhabditis elegans

Vigorous chromosome movement during the extended prophase of the first meiotic division is conserved in most eukaryotes. The movement is crucial for the faithful segregation of homologous chromosomes into daughter cells, and thus for fertility. A prerequisite for meiotic chromosome movement is the stable and functional attachment of telomeres or chromosome ends to the nuclear envelope and their cytoplasmic coupling to the cytoskeletal forces responsible for generating movement. Important advances in understanding the components, mechanisms, and regulation of chromosome end attachment and movement have recently been made. This review focuses on insights gained from experiments into two major metazoan model organisms: the mouse, Mus musculus, and the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans.

The Nucleoporin Nup2 Contains a Meiotic-Autonomous Region that Promotes the Dynamic Chromosome Events of Meiosis

Meiosis is a specialized cellular program required to create haploid gametes from diploid parent cells. Homologous chromosomes pair, synapse, and recombine in a dynamic environment that accommodates gross chromosome reorganization and significant chromosome motion, which are critical for normal chromosome segregation. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Ndj1 is a meiotic telomere-associated protein required for physically attaching telomeres to proteins embedded in the nuclear envelope. In this study, we identified additional proteins that act at the nuclear periphery from meiotic cell extracts, including Nup2, a nonessential nucleoporin with a known role in tethering interstitial chromosomal loci to the nuclear pore complex. We found that deleting NUP2 affects meiotic progression and spore viability, and gives increased levels of recombination intermediates and products. We identified a previously uncharacterized 125 aa region of Nup2 that is necessary and sufficient for its meiotic function, thus behaving as a meiotic autonomous region (MAR). Nup2-MAR forms distinct foci on spread meiotic chromosomes, with a subset overlapping with Ndj1 foci. Localization of Nup2-MAR to meiotic chromosomes does not require Ndj1, nor does Ndj1 localization require Nup2, suggesting these proteins function in different pathways, and their interaction is weak or indirect. Instead, several severe synthetic phenotypes are associated with the nup2Δ ndj1Δ double mutant, including delayed turnover of recombination joint molecules, and a failure to undergo nuclear divisions without also arresting the meiotic program. These data suggest Nup2 and Ndj1 support partially overlapping functions that promote two different levels of meiotic chromosome organization necessary to withstand a dynamic stage of the eukaryotic life cycle.

Multiple opposing constraints govern chromosome interactions during meiosis

Homolog pairing and crossing over during meiosis I prophase is required for accurate chromosome segregation to form euploid gametes. The repair of Spo11-induced double-strand breaks (DSB) using a homologous chromosome template is a major driver of pairing in many species, including fungi, plants, and mammals. Inappropriate pairing and crossing over at ectopic loci can lead to chromosome rearrangements and aneuploidy. How (or if) inappropriate ectopic interactions are disrupted in favor of allelic interactions is not clear. Here we used an in vivo "collision" assay in budding yeast to test the contributions of cohesion and the organization and motion of chromosomes in the nucleus on promoting or antagonizing interactions between allelic and ectopic loci at interstitial chromosome sites. We found that deletion of the cohesin subunit Rec8, but not other chromosome axis proteins (e.g. Red1, Hop1, or Mek1), caused an increase in homolog-nonspecific chromosome interaction, even in the absence of Spo11. This effect was partially suppressed by expression of the mitotic cohesin paralog Scc1/Mdc1, implicating Rec8's role in cohesion rather than axis integrity in preventing nonspecific chromosome interactions. Disruption of telomere-led motion by treating cells with the actin polymerization inhibitor Latrunculin B (Lat B) elevated nonspecific collisions in rec8Δ spo11Δ. Next, using a visual homolog-pairing assay, we found that the delay in homolog pairing in mutants defective for telomere-led chromosome motion (ndj1Δ or csm4Δ) is enhanced in Lat B-treated cells, implicating actin in more than one process promoting homolog juxtaposition. We suggest that multiple, independent contributions of actin, cohesin, and telomere function are integrated to promote stable homolog-specific interactions and to destabilize weak nonspecific interactions by modulating the elastic spring-like properties of chromosomes.

Live cell imaging of meiotic chromosome dynamics in yeast

Recombination in first meiotic prophase is initiated by endogenous breaks in double-stranded DNA (DSBs) which occurs during a time when chromosomes are remodeled and proteinaceous cores (axes) are assembled along their length. DSBs are instrumental in homologue recognition and underlie the crossovers that form between parental chromosomes to ensure genome haploidization during the following two successive meiotic divisions. Advances in fluorescence microscopy and genetic engineering of GFP-tagged fusion proteins have made it possible to observe the behavior of entire chromosomes and specific subregions in live cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In meiosis we observed that telomeres are dynamic and move about the entire nuclear periphery, only interrupted by their fleeting clustering at the spindle pole body (the centrosome equivalent), known as bouquet formation. This mobility translates to whole chromosomes and nuclei during the entire prophase I. Here we describe a simple setup for live cell microscopy that we used to observe chromosome movements during a time when DSBs are formed and transform into crossover and non-crossover products.

Slk19p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae regulates anaphase spindle dynamics through two independent mechanisms

Slk19p is a member of the Cdc-14 early anaphase release (FEAR) pathway, a signaling network that is responsible for activation of the cell-cycle regulator Cdc14p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Disruption of the FEAR pathway results in defects in anaphase, including alterations in the assembly and behavior of the anaphase spindle. Many phenotypes of slk19Δ mutants are consistent with a loss of FEAR signaling, but other phenotypes suggest that Slk19p may have FEAR-independent roles in modulating the behavior of microtubules in anaphase. Here, a series of SLK19 in-frame deletion mutations were used to test whether Slk19p has distinct roles in anaphase that can be ascribed to specific regions of the protein. Separation-of-function alleles were identified that are defective for either FEAR signaling or aspects of anaphase spindle function. The data suggest that in early anaphase one region of Slk19p is essential for FEAR signaling, while later in anaphase another region is critical for maintaining the coordination between spindle elongation and the growth of interpolar microtubules.