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Kar FM, Hochwagen A. Phospho-Regulation of Meiotic Prophase. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:667073. [PMID: 33928091 PMCID: PMC8076904 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.667073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Germ cells undergoing meiosis rely on an intricate network of surveillance mechanisms that govern the production of euploid gametes for successful sexual reproduction. These surveillance mechanisms are particularly crucial during meiotic prophase, when cells execute a highly orchestrated program of chromosome morphogenesis and recombination, which must be integrated with the meiotic cell division machinery to ensure the safe execution of meiosis. Dynamic protein phosphorylation, controlled by kinases and phosphatases, has emerged as one of the main signaling routes for providing readout and regulation of chromosomal and cellular behavior throughout meiotic prophase. In this review, we discuss common principles and provide detailed examples of how these phosphorylation events are employed to ensure faithful passage of chromosomes from one generation to the next.
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Affiliation(s)
- Funda M Kar
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Andreas Hochwagen
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, United States
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2
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Brown SD, Audoynaud C, Lorenz A. Intragenic meiotic recombination in Schizosaccharomyces pombe is sensitive to environmental temperature changes. Chromosome Res 2020; 28:195-207. [PMID: 32303869 PMCID: PMC7242256 DOI: 10.1007/s10577-020-09632-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Changes in environmental temperature influence cellular processes and their dynamics, and thus affect the life cycle of organisms that are unable to control their cell/body temperature. Meiotic recombination is the cellular process essential for producing healthy haploid gametes by providing physical links (chiasmata) between homologous chromosomes to guide their accurate segregation. Additionally, meiotic recombination—initiated by programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs)—can generate genetic diversity and, therefore, is a driving force of evolution. Environmental temperature influencing meiotic recombination outcome thus may be a crucial determinant of reproductive success and genetic diversity. Indeed, meiotic recombination frequency in fungi, plants and invertebrates changes with temperature. In most organisms, these temperature-induced changes in meiotic recombination seem to be mediated through the meiosis-specific chromosome axis organization, the synaptonemal complex in particular. The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe does not possess a synaptonemal complex. Thus, we tested how environmental temperature modulates meiotic recombination frequency in the absence of a fully-fledged synaptonemal complex. We show that intragenic recombination (gene conversion) positively correlates with temperature within a certain range, especially at meiotic recombination hotspots. In contrast, crossover recombination, which manifests itself as chiasmata, is less affected. Based on our observations, we suggest that, in addition to changes in DSB frequency, DSB processing could be another temperature-sensitive step causing temperature-induced recombination rate alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon D Brown
- The Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, UK
- MRC Institute of Genetics & Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Charlotte Audoynaud
- The Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, UK
- Institut Curie, PSL Research University, UMR3348-CNRS, 91405, Orsay, France
| | - Alexander Lorenz
- The Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, UK.
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3
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Tessé S, Bourbon HM, Debuchy R, Budin K, Dubois E, Liangran Z, Antoine R, Piolot T, Kleckner N, Zickler D, Espagne E. Asy2/Mer2: an evolutionarily conserved mediator of meiotic recombination, pairing, and global chromosome compaction. Genes Dev 2017; 31:1880-1893. [PMID: 29021238 PMCID: PMC5695089 DOI: 10.1101/gad.304543.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 09/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Meiosis is the cellular program by which a diploid cell gives rise to haploid gametes for sexual reproduction. Meiotic progression depends on tight physical and functional coupling of recombination steps at the DNA level with specific organizational features of meiotic-prophase chromosomes. The present study reveals that every step of this coupling is mediated by a single molecule: Asy2/Mer2. We show that Mer2, identified so far only in budding and fission yeasts, is in fact evolutionarily conserved from fungi (Mer2/Rec15/Asy2/Bad42) to plants (PRD3/PAIR1) and mammals (IHO1). In yeasts, Mer2 mediates assembly of recombination-initiation complexes and double-strand breaks (DSBs). This role is conserved in the fungus Sordaria However, functional analysis of 13 mer2 mutants and successive localization of Mer2 to axis, synaptonemal complex (SC), and chromatin revealed, in addition, three further important functions. First, after DSB formation, Mer2 is required for pairing by mediating homolog spatial juxtaposition, with implications for crossover (CO) patterning/interference. Second, Mer2 participates in the transfer/maintenance and release of recombination complexes to/from the SC central region. Third, after completion of recombination, potentially dependent on SUMOylation, Mer2 mediates global chromosome compaction and post-recombination chiasma development. Thus, beyond its role as a recombinosome-axis/SC linker molecule, Mer2 has important functions in relation to basic chromosome structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Tessé
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Henri-Marc Bourbon
- Centre de Biologie du Développement (CBD), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI) Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Robert Debuchy
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Karine Budin
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Emeline Dubois
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Zhang Liangran
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
| | - Romain Antoine
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Tristan Piolot
- UMR 3215, U934, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Institut Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Nancy Kleckner
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Denise Zickler
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Eric Espagne
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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4
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Abstract
Comparisons among a variety of eukaryotes have revealed considerable variability in the structures and processes involved in their meiosis. Nevertheless, conventional forms of meiosis occur in all major groups of eukaryotes, including early-branching protists. This finding confirms that meiosis originated in the common ancestor of all eukaryotes and suggests that primordial meiosis may have had many characteristics in common with conventional extant meiosis. However, it is possible that the synaptonemal complex and the delicate crossover control related to its presence were later acquisitions. Later still, modifications to meiotic processes occurred within different groups of eukaryotes. Better knowledge on the spectrum of derived and uncommon forms of meiosis will improve our understanding of many still mysterious aspects of the meiotic process and help to explain the evolutionary basis of functional adaptations to the meiotic program.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josef Loidl
- Department of Chromosome Biology and Vienna Biocenter, University of Vienna, A-1030 Vienna, Austria;
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Loidl J, Lorenz A. DNA double-strand break formation and repair in Tetrahymena meiosis. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2016; 54:126-34. [PMID: 26899715 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2016.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2015] [Accepted: 02/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The molecular details of meiotic recombination have been determined for a small number of model organisms. From these studies, a general picture has emerged that shows that most, if not all, recombination is initiated by a DNA double-strand break (DSB) that is repaired in a recombinogenic process using a homologous DNA strand as a template. However, the details of recombination vary between organisms, and it is unknown which variant is representative of evolutionarily primordial meiosis or most prevalent among eukaryotes. To answer these questions and to obtain a better understanding of the range of recombination processes among eukaryotes, it is important to study a variety of different organisms. Here, the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila is introduced as a versatile meiotic model system, which has the additional bonus of having the largest phylogenetic distance to all of the eukaryotes studied to date. Studying this organism can contribute to our understanding of the conservation and diversification of meiotic recombination processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josef Loidl
- Department of Chromosome Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Alexander Lorenz
- Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
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Zickler D, Kleckner N. Recombination, Pairing, and Synapsis of Homologs during Meiosis. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2015; 7:cshperspect.a016626. [PMID: 25986558 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a016626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 487] [Impact Index Per Article: 54.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Recombination is a prominent feature of meiosis in which it plays an important role in increasing genetic diversity during inheritance. Additionally, in most organisms, recombination also plays mechanical roles in chromosomal processes, most notably to mediate pairing of homologous chromosomes during prophase and, ultimately, to ensure regular segregation of homologous chromosomes when they separate at the first meiotic division. Recombinational interactions are also subject to important spatial patterning at both early and late stages. Recombination-mediated processes occur in physical and functional linkage with meiotic axial chromosome structure, with interplay in both directions, before, during, and after formation and dissolution of the synaptonemal complex (SC), a highly conserved meiosis-specific structure that links homolog axes along their lengths. These diverse processes also are integrated with recombination-independent interactions between homologous chromosomes, nonhomology-based chromosome couplings/clusterings, and diverse types of chromosome movement. This review provides an overview of these diverse processes and their interrelationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise Zickler
- Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, UMR 8621, Université Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Nancy Kleckner
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
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7
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Lam I, Keeney S. Mechanism and regulation of meiotic recombination initiation. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2014; 7:a016634. [PMID: 25324213 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a016634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 279] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Meiotic recombination involves the formation and repair of programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) catalyzed by the conserved Spo11 protein. This review summarizes recent studies pertaining to the formation of meiotic DSBs, including the mechanism of DNA cleavage by Spo11, proteins required for break formation, and mechanisms that control the location, timing, and number of DSBs. Where appropriate, findings in different organisms are discussed to highlight evolutionary conservation or divergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Lam
- Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065 Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065
| | - Scott Keeney
- Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065 Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065
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8
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Ito M, Kugou K, Fawcett JA, Mura S, Ikeda S, Innan H, Ohta K. Meiotic recombination cold spots in chromosomal cohesion sites. Genes Cells 2014; 19:359-73. [PMID: 24635992 DOI: 10.1111/gtc.12138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2013] [Accepted: 12/25/2013] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Meiotic chromosome architecture called 'axis-loop structures' and histone modifications have been shown to regulate the Spo11-dependent formation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) that trigger meiotic recombination. Using genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analyses followed by deep sequencing, we compared the genome-wide distribution of the axis protein Rec8 (the kleisin subunit of meiotic cohesin) with that of oligomeric DNA covalently bound to Spo11, indicative of DSB sites. The frequency of DSB sites is overall constant between Rec8 binding sites. However, DSB cold spots are observed in regions spanning ±0.8 kb around Rec8 binding sites. The axis-associated cold spots are not due to the exclusion of Spo11 localization from the axis, because ChIP experiments showed that substantial Spo11 persists at Rec8 binding sites during DSB formation. Spo11 fused with Gal4 DNA binding domain (Gal4BD-Spo11) tethered in close proximity (≤0.8 kb) to Rec8 binding sites hardly forms meiotic DSBs, in contrast with other regions. In addition, H3K4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) remarkably decreases at Rec8 binding sites. These results suggest that reduced histone H3K4me3 in combination with inactivation of Spo11 activity on the axis discourages DSB hot spot formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaru Ito
- Department of Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Komaba 3-8-1, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
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