A Cis-Acting Locus That Promotes Crossing Over Between X Chromosomes in Caenorhabditis elegans

INVESTIGATIONS

A Cis-Acting Locus That Promotes Crossing Over Between X Chromosomes in Caenorhabditis elegans

A. M. Villeneuve
Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305

This study reports the characterization of a cis-acting locus on the Caenorhabditis elegans X chromosome that is crucial for promoting normal levels of crossing over specifically between the X homologs and for ensuring their proper disjunction at meiosis I. The function of this locus is disrupted by the mutation me8, which maps to the extreme left end of the X chromosome within the region previously implicated by studies of X;A translocations and X duplications to contain a meiotic pairing site. Hermaphrodites homozygous for a deletion of the locus (Df/Df) or heterozygous for a deletion and the me8 mutation (me8/Df) exhibit extremely high levels of X chromosome nondisjunction at the reductional division; this is correlated with a sharp decrease in crossing over between the X homologs as evidenced both by reductions in genetic map distances and by the presence of achiasmate chromosomes in cytological preparations of oocyte nuclei. Duplications of the wild-type region that are unlinked to the X chromosome cannot complement the recombination and disjunction defects in trans, indicating that this region must be present in cis to the X chromosome to ensure normal levels of crossing over and proper homolog disjunction. me8 homozygotes exhibit an altered distribution of crossovers along the X chromosome that suggests a defect in processivity along the X chromosome of an event that initiates at the chromosome end. Models are discussed in which the cis-acting locus deleted by the Dfs functions as a meiotic pairing center that recruits trans-acting factors onto the chromosomes to nucleate assembly of a crossover-competent complex between the X homologs. This pairing center might function in the process of homolog recognition, or in the initiation of homologous synapsis.

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				J. M. Gladden, B. Farboud, and B. J. Meyer Revisiting the X:A Signal That Specifies Caenorhabditis elegans Sexual Fate Genetics, November 1, 2007; 177(3): 1639 - 1654. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. E. Thomas and B. D. McKee Meiotic Pairing and Disjunction of Mini-X Chromosomes in Drosophila Is Mediated by 240-bp rDNA Repeats and the Homolog Conjunction Proteins SNM and MNM Genetics, October 1, 2007; 177(2): 785 - 799. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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				A. J. MacQueen, M. P. Colaiacovo, K. McDonald, and A. M. Villeneuve Synapsis-dependent and -independent mechanisms stabilize homolog pairing during meiotic prophase in C. elegans Genes & Dev., September 15, 2002; 16(18): 2428 - 2442. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. P. Colaiacovo, G. M. Stanfield, K. C. Reddy, V. Reinke, S. K. Kim, and A. M. Villeneuve A Targeted RNAi Screen for Genes Involved in Chromosome Morphogenesis and Nuclear Organization in the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline Genetics, September 1, 2002; 162(1): 113 - 128. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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				C. Sanford and M. D. Perry Asymmetrically distributed oligonucleotide repeats in the Caenorhabditis elegans genome sequence that map to regions important for meiotic chromosome segregation Nucleic Acids Res., July 15, 2001; 29(14): 2920 - 2926. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. J. MacQueen and A. M. Villeneuve Nuclear reorganization and homologous chromosome pairing during meiotic prophase require C. elegans chk-2 Genes & Dev., July 1, 2001; 15(13): 1674 - 1687. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. M. Chin and A. M. Villeneuve C. elegans mre-11 is required for meiotic recombination and DNA repair but is dispensable for the meiotic G2 DNA damage checkpoint Genes & Dev., March 1, 2001; 15(5): 522 - 534. [Abstract] [Full Text]

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